Ghalib - Bahut sahee gam-e-getee

Hey! Recall that magical line in the Faiz we looked at earlier which began with 'bahut sahee gam-e-getee"? I just happened to recall that there is a lovely Ghalib ghazal which has exactly the same line!! Trust me to not have remembered it at the time - despite all the time I've spent poring through Ghalib's Deewaan...! :)

Faiz was, of course, a huge fan of Ghalib [even the titles of three of his principal works are direct quotes from Ghalib], and he has inserted Ghalib's words into his own elsewhere too [notably, in his lovely poem 'rang hai dil ka mere' he uses the magical phrase 'khoon-e-jigar hone tak' from one of ghalib's best ghazals 'aah ko chaahiye ek umr asar hone tak'. (mental note: we have to look at both of these soon!!)]

Anyway, this one is just a three-sher piece in the Deewaan, but still a nice one.... A usually well-informed acquaintance whom i sent an email to yesterday pointing out this particular instance of 'imitation being the truest form of flattery' tells me that while only three shers of this Ghazal appeared in the printed version of the Deewaan, Ghalib had later sent someone a letter in which he had included some 3-4 additional ones. Unfortunately, this chappie doesn't have the complete version either... but he did claim to recall one of the missing shers, which I've included below (the second one), because it seemed too charming to leave out (although i have only his word that it's an original ghalib, and not his own attempts at shayari! Actually it's too good to be his!)

बहुत सही गम-ए-गेती शराब कम क्या है

गुलाम-ए-साकी-ए-कौसर हूँ मुझको गम क्या है

"the sorrows of the world are manifold(/powerful), but the wine isn't in short supply (/no less)

As the slave of the saaqi of kausar, what worry do I have?"

The 'Kausar' is, in Koranic tradition, a pond just outside heaven (fed by a well-spring that emerges from within paradise), from which the virtuous are supposed to drink their fill on the day of judgment, before finally being brought into the hallowed presence. Presumably someone who 'serves' the person who, in turn, serves from this fount, would have an assured supply of its 'aqua vitae'!

Apart from the theological hyperbole of the second line, the entire sher can also be seen as a flirting compliment to the earthly साकी who is passing the drinks around the mehfil... a sort of 'I'm a slave to you, you heavenly creature... just don't be miserly with the hooch!!'

कटे तो शब कहें काटे तो सांप कह्‌लावे

कोई बताओ कि वह ज़ुल्फ़-ए-ख़म-ब-ख़म क्या है

"if they get cut (pass) one would call them the night; if they sting, they would be likened to a serpent
Will someone tell me what these braided tresses are?!"

There goes Ghalib with his impossibly teasing word-play again...!! The object of his mischievous attention being the long braids that the Beloved wears her curls in...

The piquancy of the sher comes from the idiomatic use of कटना when used for a period of time, like the night. Idiomatically, शब् का कटना is the process of 'getting through the night'. But the literal meaning, of course, is to 'cut the night', which allows him to take teasing shots at the Beloved - namely, if one could cut her braids, they could be called the night, etc... the likening of them to snakes is also so visually evocative - braided long hair actually being rather serpentine in appearance, i mean!


तुम्हारी तर्ज़-ओ-रविश जानते हैं हम क्या है

रकीब पर है अगर लुत्फ़ तो सितम क्या है

"Your manner of behaving, I know (very) well
If it is grace/favours (that you're dispensing) to the Rakeeb, then what is oppression?"


Very sweet! This sher works (and works well!) in two quite distinct senses: in the first interpretation, it is an outright accusation directed at the Beloved - since she is perversely sadistic, even her deliberately brazen favours to the Raqeeb (as mentioned earlier, 'Raqeeb', like 'gair', 'dushman' and 'adu' is used to describe the poet's rival for the Beloved's affections) are actually aimed at tormenting the Poet (and not out of any genuine affection towards the Raqeeb). This is more or less the 'standard' politics of love, that has been the subject of commentary in virtually every tradition of poetry and prose... not much more that can be said about it.

In the other (and in my opinion, more delicious) interpretation, the Poet takes a sort of petty satisfaction in the thought that - knowing her unfaithful ways - the Beloved's apparent favours towards the Raqeeb will ultimately end up oppressing him in the same hell-fires that the Poet is currently burning in!


सुखन मे खामह-ए-गालिब की आतिश-अफ्शानी

यकीन है हम को भी, लेकिन अब उसमे दम क्या है

In (his) poetry, the scattering of fire by Ghalib's pen
I too believe (in it), but what life/strength now remains in it/him?"

Ha ha! Only someone as delightfully arrogant as Ghalib could so consistently come up with totally brilliant ways of praising himself!!

Just look at this gem of a maqta!! With a simple addition of a 'bhee', Ghalib attributes the fawning opinion (that his pen is filled not with ink, but with the fires of genius) to everybody but himself!! To which he, at best, humbly agrees!! And to compound the audaciousness, he goes on to wonder, with studied-innocence, whether his pen (or he himself) still continues to command the same strength of force that his interlocutors credit him with!!!! As he is well aware, the answer to that query is only too evident in the ghazal that has just been presented!!

आतिश-अफ्शानी !!! (to sprinkle fire) What a picturesque expression!

Faiz - Sach hain hamiin ko aap ke shikve

Another nice Faiz...

Sach hai ham hii ko aap ke shikve bajaa naa the
beshak sitam janaab ke sab dostaanaa the

सच है हम ही को आप के शिकवे बजा ना थे

बेशक सितम जनाब के सब दोस्ताना थे

"it's true that it was I who did not find your (legitimate) complaints acceptable
Without a doubt, all your oppressions were (inflicted in) friendly (spirit)"

A typical taunt directed at the heartless Beloved who is brazen enough to first torture, and then protest that she was acting out of the friendliest of intentions! With ironic generosity the poet concedes his earlier unreasonableness in having (unfairly) dismissed her claim...

Haa.n jo jafaa bhii aap ne kii kaiyade se kii
haa.n ham hii kaaraaband-e-usool-e-wafaa naa the

हाँ जो जफ़ा भी आप ने की कायदे से की

हाँ हम ही काराबंद-ए-उसूल-ए-वफ़ा ना थे

"Its true that even the cruelties you committed, you committed 'properly'
Its true that I myself was (guilty of) non-compliance with the principles of faithfulness"

Another sarcastic "yeah, sure.... whatever you say!" response to the unreasonable explanations the oppressive Beloved...whose oppressions have carefully been inflicted without deviating from the 'rules of the game'!


aaye to yuu.n ki jaise hameshaa ke the meharbaan
bhule to yuu.n ki goyaa kabhii aashnaa na the

आये तो यूँ कि जैसे हमेशा के थे मेहरबान

भूले तो यूँ कि गोया कभी आशना ना थे

"when you come, it is as if you have always been so merciful
(and) when you forget (me), it's as if we have never (even) been acquainted/lovers"

The capricious unpredictability of the Beloved...


kyo.n daad-e-gham ham ne talab kii, buraa kiyaa
ham se jahaa.n mein kushta-e-gham aur kyaa na the?

क्यों दाद-ए-गम हम ने तलब की, बुरा किया
हम से जहाँ मे कुश्ता-ए-गम और क्या ना थे

"why did I desire applause for (my) pain; that was wrong of me
weren't there other martyrs-to-pain in the world, like I?"

Why did i expect the world to be impressed by my pain? While it may seem of acopalyptic proportions to me, there are many others walking about in the world, who've suffered the same agony of love! When seen objectively, even this exquisite pain, my last remaining treasure, is actually quite commonplace...!


While it works beautifully as a 'relativisation' of one's personal pain (as above), the sher can also be read in a more 'Beloved-specific' context.... i.e. "why should i alone be admired (or sympathised with) for having suffered at her hands? There are hundreds who have been similarly afflicted by her lethal charms", etc...
----

Gar fikr-e-jakhm kii, to khatavaar hai.n ki ham
kyo.n mahv-e-madh-e-khuubii-e-tegh-e-adaa na the

ग़र फिक्र-ए-ज़ख्म की, तो ख़तावार हैं, कि हम
क्यों मह्व-ए-मध्-ए-खूबी-तेग-ए-अदा ना थे
"if (i was) worried about my wounds, then I stand guilty
because, why wasn't I engrossed in praise of the excellence of the sword of (your) charms?"

Ha Ha!! A beauty!

Continuing his exquisite sarcasm, the poet ironically admits to the Beloved that it would be wrong of him to worry about his injuries (at her hands)... instead he should be absorbed in praise of the weapon that inflicted them so effortlessly... मह्व-ए-मध्-ए-खूबी-तेग-ए-अदा is the sort of poetic expression that only Faiz could have tossed in so casually!

-----
har chaaraagar ko chaaraagari se gurez thaa
varnaa hamei.n jo dukh the bahut laadawaa ne the


हर चारागर को चारागरी से गुरेज़ था
वरना हमें जो दुःख थे बहुत लादवा ना थे
"all healers were reluctant to heal
otherwise, my ailments were not so incurable"
And who were these charlatan chaaraagars who evaded their responsibilities to heal, and let the Lover needlessly suffer in his pain? The Beloved certainly, for she had the surest cure... but also the Almighty, who could have 'cured' him by administering the 'coup de grace' even earlier!
-----

lab par hai talkhii-e-mai-e-ayyaam, varnaa Faiz
ham talkhii-e-kalaam par maa'il zaraa na the

लब पर है तल्खी-ए-मय-ए-अय्याम, वरना फैज़
हम तल्खी-ए-कलाम पर माइल ज़रा ना थे
"the bitterness of the wine of the world (lingers) on my lips, Faiz
or else, I am not the least enamoured of bitter words"

Like all Faiz maqtas, a veritable tour-de-force!

If his poesy comes out in harsh flavours, explains the poet, it is because of the 'acrid wine of every-day life', which leaves its caustic traces on his lips, and 'colours' whatever comes out of his mouth... otherwise, he himself has no fondness for vinegary verse!

Faiz - Ham par tumhe chaahane ka

Ham par tumhaarii chaah kaa ilzaam hii to hai
dushnaam to nahi.n hai ye ikraam hii to hai

हम पर तुम्हारी चाह का इल्ज़ाम ही तो है
दुष्नाम तो नहीं है ये इकराम ही तो है
"It is only of loving you that i stand accused, after all
(That) isn't a disgrace; it is an honour, after all!"

To be in the docks for as enviable a crime as that! Where's the shame in it? Why would anyone find it disgraceful? It is quite a badge of honour, in fact!

This sher sets a delightful mood of 'rebellious optimism' or a 'querulous insistence on seeing the bright side of tragedy', which holds throughout this outstanding ghazal, In fact, i am beginning to regard it as one of the very best, even by Faiz's lofty standards!

The intensely evocative तो in the radif makes this ghazal difficult to translate - it adds a sort of 'petulance' of emotion, which one can at best try to capture by tagging on a clumsy expression like, "after all", at the end of the lines where it occurs! This is what i have done, as a sort of uneasy compromise, though i'm acutely conscious of the fact that it kills the 'flow' of the words one sees in the original...



Karte hai.n jis pe taan koi jurm to nahi.n
shauq-e-fuzool-o-ulfat-e-naakaam hii to hai

करते हैं जिस पे तान, कोई जुर्म तो नहीं
शौक़-ए-फुज़ूल-ओ-उल्फत-ए-नाकाम ही तो है
"that which (people) taunt (me for) isn't a crime, after all!
'a taste for useless and helpless love' is all that it is...after all!"

I must admit that that is a very very inadequate translation of a magical phrase like शौक़-ए-फुज़ूल-ओ-उल्फत-ए-नाकाम !! But WHAT will you...?? Some things, you just feel !!



Dil muddai ke harf-e-malaamat se shaad hai
ai jaan-e-jaa.n ye harf teraa naam hii to hai

दिल मुद्दई के हर्फ़-ए-मलामत से शाद है
ए जान-ए-जां, ये हर्फ़ तेरा नाम ही तो है
"(my) heart delights in the critical word of the litigant (complainant)
O light of my life, that word is just your name, after all!"

Lovely! The main 'word' that dominates the charge-sheet (of the litany of the litigant) is the name of the Beloved, because the accusation against the Poet is precisely of being in love with her... but the Beloved's name is not something that the poor accused can hear without swaying in mesmerised delight! Hence, even the 'reading out of the charges' in the courtroom is something that is giving him tremendous pleasure in the dock!!

dil naa-ummiid to nahi.n, naakaam hii to hai
lambii hai gham kii shaam, magar shaam hii to hai

दिल ना-उम्मीद तो नहीं, नाकाम ही तो है
लम्बी है गम की शाम, मगर शाम ही तो है
"the heart isn't hope-less, after all...it is only helpless
the night of sorrow is (admittedly) long; but it is only a night...after all!"

WOW!

In my opinion, the jewel in the crown! In fact, it is a very strong contender for my favourite sher of all time! It sort of keeps running in one's head, for weeks afterwards !!

Note that in the first line, the translation says that the 'heart is not hope-less' and NOT 'heart is not hopeless'... i wanted to point out the distinction because the adjective 'hopeless' in English means 'not worth hoping for', whereas the ना-उम्मीद in the sher means something like 'without hope' or 'devoid of hope'... where the 'hope' is for some 'external' unmentioned destiny(presumably reunion with the Beloved)... I used 'hope-less' instead of 'without hope' here because the former goes better with the 'helpless' that i used as translation for नाकाम (which literally means 'without effect')!

While both the lines in this sher deserve to be savoured at length, the second is just impossibly heartstopping...


Dast-e-falak mei.n gardish-e-taqdiir to nahi.n
dast-e-falak mei.n gardish-e-ayyaam hii to hai

दस्त-ए-फ़लक मे गर्दिश-ए-तकदीर तो नहीं
दस्त-ए-फ़लक मे गर्दिश-ए-अय्याम ही तो है
"it's not the wheels of destiny that lie in the Almighty's hands, after all
It is only the wheels of life that lie in His hands"

Another classy sher!

दस्त-ए-फ़लक मे is literally 'in the hand of the sky', which is a haunting way of saying 'in God's control'...

The Creator might well have a perverse taste for making us jump through hoops, but why despair? After all, His capricious control doesn't extend to our ultimate destiny (or so the poet would have us -or at least HIMSELF - believe). He merely controls the pedestrian ups and downs of our life... our quotidian (yes, yes - there's THAT word again!) concerns, that's all!

'Gardish' is another of those untranslatable words... it means something like 'wanderings' or 'cycles'... but the exact nuance doesn't exist in any English expression.



aakhir to ek roz karegii nazar wafaa
vo yaar-e-khush-khasaal sar-e-baam hii to hai

आख़िर तो एक रोज़ करेगी नज़र वफ़ा
वो यार-ए-खुश-ख़साल सर-ए-बाम ही तो है
"some day, surely, the eyes will finally be loyal
that virtuous Beloved is only on the rooftop, after all!"

Some comic relief in the midst of all that profundity!

The haughty Beloved stands on the rooftop, like in an ivory tower! Surely, someday the poet's eye will be true to him and favour him with a glimpse of her - He tells himself "come on, it can't be that difficult, I only have to look UP! She isn't that inaccessible to the eye!! She is only on top of a roof!!!'

Droll!


Bhiigii hai raat Faiz, ghazal ibtidaa karo
waqt-e-sarod dard kaa hangaam hii to hai

भीगी है रात 'फैज़', ग़ज़ल इब्तिदा करो
वक़्त-ए-सरोद दर्द का हंगाम ही तो है
"the night is sultry, Faiz, let's begin a ghazal
the music of the moment is only the clamour of pain, after all!"

How better to drown the hubbub of pain, than to distil this 'music-of-the-moment' into a ghazal?? And who better to do it than Faiz...?

Zauq - Na Kartaa zabt main naalaa to

As requested...

Actually, this one is short but quite, QUITE, brilliant! Some truly soaring imagery!


ना करता ज़ब्त मैं नाला तो फिर ऐसा धुँआ होता
कि नीचे आसमां के और नया इक आसमां होता
"if i hadn't controlled (my) lament, there would have been such (a cloud of) smoke
that below the sky there would have been another new sky"

This one seems pretty straightforward, isn't it? The lament that rises from the Lover's burning heart comes with thick clouds of smoke... so if the Lover was to actually give vent to his agonies for any length of time, the smoke would spread from horizon to horizon, like a 'second sky'...

But remember that 'aasmaan' is also a synonym for the Almighty in the Ghazal world... and immediately much more intriguing interpretations of the second line open up! Zauq was being VERY clever here!


जो रोता खोल कर जी तन्गना-ए-दहर मे आशिक
तो जू-ए-कहकशां मे भी फलक पर ख़ून रवां होता
"if the Lover was to open out his heart and weep in the contrained (confines of the) world
blood would flow even along the Milky Way (river) in the sky"

Lovely!

Continuing the overall idea of the previous sher, Zauq chooses, in this one, to highlight the 'limitedness' of God's world, in comparison to the expanse of the Lover's grief...

'जी खोल के रोना' is a popular idiom in hindi even today. Literally translating as 'to open the heart and cry', the expression actually means something like 'to have a GOOD cry', meaning to cry without constraint, to let out all one's grief in tears etc...

But Zauq uses the idiom for some truly sharp word play here - if the Lover was really to 'open out' his grieving heart, how would it ever fit into this extremely limited universe of God? ['तन्गना' is literally a narrow passage, so 'तन्गना-ए-दहर' is used to signify the metaphorical lack of space in the god's world]

And so, what would be the result if the Lover was to try opening out his heart (full of his ebbing life blood) in this space-constrained universe... well, the 'river in the sky' [i.e. the Milky Way] would suddently find it's waters reddened with the poet's blood!!


बगूला ग़र ना होता वादी-ए-वहशत मे ए मजनूँ
तो गुम्बद हमसे सरगश्तों की तुर्बत पर कहाँ होता
"if there wasn't a whirlwind in the valley of despair, O Majnuun
then how would there have been a dome over the tombs of crazed ones like us?"

Another brilliant one!

You're probably familiar with at least the general contours of Nizami's legendary 'Laila and Majnuun' love-tragedy which, i believe, formed the template for 'Romeo & Juliet'. The central idea of the story is the 'madness' of majnuun and his crazed wanderings in the wilderness... lost in Laila's love... and his ultimate demise on hearing of Laila's death.

Extending a kindred hand to Majnuun, the poet points out to him that it is lucky that the 'valley of madness' is visited by whirlwinds, which create 'stately domes' even over the 'graves' of those madmen (like the poet and Majnuun) who have perished in the wilderness...

The choice of words is especially breathtaking... 'sargasht' could literally translate to something like 'having whirlwinds in the head', meaning, of course, madmen whose heads keep 'spinning'... but when you juxtapose this nuance with the first line's use of 'whirlwinds in the valley of madness'.... wow!



ना करता ज़ब्त मैं गिरिया तो ए ज़ौक इक घड़ी भर मे
कटोरे की तरह घड़ियाल के गर्क आसमां होता
"if I hadn't controlled (my) tears, O Zauq, then in just a moment
the sky would have drowned in the clockface, as (it does) in a bowl"

Just TOO clever!! Ghalib would have been proud of this one!

What awesome imagery... and once again, what amazing word play!

"घड़ी भर मे' is an idiomatic way of saying 'in a moment', but the literal translation is, of course, 'in a clock' (घड़ी can mean both 'moment' and 'clock').

So just look at the way Zauq plays with the various possibilities of virtually every word he uses here... if the poet doesn't control his tears 'in a moment' then the 'clock' would fill up with his tears, becoming like a bowl... and the sky would 'drown' in it, just as the sky drowns in a bowl of water (the allusion being to the sky's reflection in water, of course)... But once again, remember that 'aasmaan' also means God, and what is he saying now? That his tears would fill up Time itself, and drown the Creator?!

Other possibilities too... Ghariyaal is used in the second line to make it explicit that the first line's 'Ghari' should be interpreted as 'clock' and not just as 'moment'... but apart from meaning a Clock (actually, usually a large curved metal plate - rather like a bowl - that used to be struck to mark time), Ghariyaal also means a crocodile... so is the sky (Almighty) at risk of 'drowning in a crocodile' (i.e. getting eaten by one) that is swimming in the poet's tears?

The possibilities are infinite... with the only certainty being that Zauq was being extremely tongue-in-cheek here!

Zauq - Laayi hayaat aaye

Ok... 'Zauq' now.

Zauq had already been the official court poet of Bahadur Shah Zafar for several years before Ghalib began to receive the patronage of the Emperor. Reportedly, the two men didn't share the best of vibes - Zauq is said to have disapproved of Ghalib's 'dissolute lifestyle', and Ghalib (typically!) didn't think much of Zauq's poetry.

Despite Ghalib's opinion of him, Zauq did write some pretty nifty stuff – like this one, for instance, which has long been one of my favourites. A set of melancholy observations, loaded with 'quiet wisdom' and preaching a mixture of detachment and fatalism... very nice!

लाई हयात आये, कज़ा ले चली चले

अपनी खुशी ना आये, ना अपनी खुशी चले

'Existence brought, (and we) came; death/destiny took away, (and we) went

Neither did (we) come of our own accord, nor did (we) go of our own accord'

A gem of a sher, that encapsulates the central tragedy of existence - namely, the sheer lack of control over it - in a uniquely conversational style!

बेहतर तो है यही के ना दुनिया से दिल लगे

पर क्या करें जो काम ना बेदिल्लगी चले

'It is best, of course, that the heart does not get involved with the world

but what is one to do if one can't make do without involvements?'

What indeed?!

The eternal dilemma - the inability of the heart to remain detached from the vagaries of life; despite every saint and godman worth his cloth having blamed these attachments as the root of all sorrow! It was Jefferson who said 'The price of freedom is eternal vigilance', wasn't it?

हो उम्र-ए-खिज़्र भी तो कहेंगे बवक्त-ए-मर्ग

हम क्या रहे यहाँ अभी आये अभी चले

'Even if one has the lifespan of Khizr, one would (still) say at the time of death

(but) we barely lived here; we had just arrived, and now we leave'

Wow!

We spoke about the legend of Khizr in an earlier post... the immortal travelling saint...

This sher so wryly captures the fundamental insatiability of human nature... No matter how wretched one's existence might have been, when the end approaches, life begins to seem unfairly ephemeral...!

दुनिया ने किस का राह-ए-फ़ना में दिया है साथ

तुम भी चले चलो यूं ही जब तक चली चले

'Whom has the world accompanied on the way to oblivion?

You too; just continue walking until (the path) goes on'

Sound advice! Look not for companions on life's path... it's an expedition that has to be undertaken alone...

Shades of Tagore's 'Ekla chalo re'?

नाज़ां ना हो खिरद पे, जो होना है वो ही हो

दानिश तेरी ना कुछ मेरी दानिश्वरी चले

'Don't be arrogant about (your) intelligence; whatever has to happen, happens

Neither your knowledge, nor my learning, makes any difference'

'Que sera, sera!!'...A mantra that every 'control freak' should probably frame and put up on his wall!

कम होंगे इस बिसात पे हम जैसे बदकिमार

जो चाल हम चले वो निहायत बुरी चले

'on this chessboard, there must be very few novices (incompetents) like me

whatever move i played, it was extremely badly played!'

Don't you just love this one... it has such an endearing helplessness to it!

A 'qimaar' is literally a gambler or player, with 'badqimaar' normally used for beginners at the game...

While the ghazal universe would typically place the sher in the mouth of someone who has lost in love, the sheer 'contextless-ness' of the actual words makes it easy for us to invoke it as an 'internal lament' in any situation of personal defeat!

जाते हवा-ए-शौक़ में हैं इस चमन से 'ज़ौक'

अपनी बला से बाद-ए-सबा कहीं चले

'In the winds of longing/desire (I) leave this garden, Zauq

who cares (anymore) if the morning breeze blows somewhere!'

After having craved (as per ghazal stylisation) for the 'baad-e-sabaa' for so long, there is a lovely sense of the poet's disillusionment in the second line's "to hell with it" attitude! As long as one can be wafted off on the gusts of one's desires, who needs to stick around in the garden for the eternally awaited zephyrs?

Ghalib - Dil hii to hai, na sang-e-khisht

To return to Ghalib...


दिल ही तो है ना संग-ए-खिश्त, दर्द से भर ना आये क्यों
रोएंगे हम हज़ार बार, कोई हमें सताए क्यों
"It is only a heart, not stones and bricks, why won't it fill up with pain?
(of course) I will weep a thousand times; why does someone (want to) torment me?"

A sort of exasperated expostulation, possibly directed at the Beloved but equally possibly at the 'torments of the world' - "for god's sake, it is my heart, not something inanimate! Why would it not feel pain? And why would i not weep when it does? If someone has a problem with this, then why torment me in the first place??"

Sitting prettily in the general ambiance of Ghalib's universe, the sher does a goodish job of projecting an irritated vulnerability, and an air of resentful incomprehension - of the 'why on earth does everyone want to hurt me' variety!


दैर नहीं, हरम नहीं, दर नहीं, आस्तां नहीं
बैठे हैं रहगुज़र पे हम, ग़ैर हमें उठाये क्यों
"[It is] not a temple, not a place of worship, not a door, not a threshold
[It's] on the thoroughfare [that] I'm sitting, why would/does the Other make me get up?!"

Classic! Continuing the overall 'mood' of the previous sher, this one soars to Ghalib-ish excellence! The hapless poet laments out that he has, of his own accord, not even bothered to enter any of the sites, both faith-based and secular, where someone ELSE could claim proprietor-ship (and hence accuse him of trespassing) - Instead, he has chosen to seat himself in the middle of a public road! Surely, no one could assume the right to displace him even from there??!!

The religious-secular choice of words in the first line is especially enjoyable. Dair (or temple) is, i believe, used more frequently for Hindu places of worship, whereas Haram is technically the holy land of Mecca, and hence has an Islamic connotation. Hence, the poet defensively explains that he has given up his claims on all faith. On the other hand, 'door' and 'threshold' make it clear that he has no illusions of having a 'right of entry' to any home either.

Hence, he rules himself out of any shelter - whether of God, or of a loved one - resigning himself to a godless, loveless, state. "And yet", he (justly) complains - "can't they leave me in peace even now"?!

As is common in Ghalib's oeuvre, this would be a wonderful mushairaa sher - the first line, by itself, is so non-committal, and reveals so little of not just the meaning, but even the 'mood' (of irritated frustration) of the overall sher.

It is also interesting to see that it is the 'Gair' who is making him get up from the thoroughfare. Literally meaning 'other' or 'stranger' or 'non-acquaintance or non-relative' the word has come to be used, in Ghazal terminology, for the poet's rival for the Beloved's affections (Raqeeb, dushman, adu, being other appellations for this villainous character). Does ghalib mean that his rival has displaced him not just from the Beloved's 'door and threshold', but also from the 'houses of faith'? Or is it that, having lost out to him in the battle for the Beloved's affections, he has no fight left in him to challenge the Gair for entry in any sort of home, whether personal or religious...?

An alternative reading of the sher, again very 'Ghalib', would be in a sort of desperately 'triumphant' tone - "There! I've left all those locations and parked myself on the bloody street! NOW no one would make me get up!!"



जब वो जमाल-ए-दिल्फरोज़ सूरत-ए-महर-ए-नीमरोज़
आप ही हो नज़ारासोज़, परदे मे मुँह छिपाये क्यों
"when that shining-on-the-heart beauty; like the midday sun
is itself sight-searing; why hide the face in a veil?"

Another wonderful sher, delightfully ambiguous in its situational possibilities.

In one interpretation, the words apply with equal (and equally enjoyable) validity whether the poet is talking about the Celestial or the earthly Beloved. Essentially, the sher is a sort of bemused complaint - why bother to veil your face? In any case , your beauty is 'sight searing' (the literal usage in the sher is 'sight-melting') like the mid-day sun... hence even if you were to lift the veil, the undeserving watcher would be rendered blind by your radiance, and hence your modesty would be protected!

In another wonderful reading, the poet is trying to defend his Beloved who is not too particular about the social demands (of veiling her face in public) ... 'Well, why does she need to? In any case, no indiscreet eye can afford to look directly at her radiant face!"

The most commented and appreciated point about this sher is the almost impossibly lovely internal rhythmic structure - the symphony of 'dilfaroz' 'neemroz' and 'nazaaraasoz' - all the while maintaining the overall technical metre of the ghazal. Even ghalib has pulled something like this off only in two or three places in his entire deewaan!



दशना-ए-गम्ज़ा जां-सितां, नावक-ए-नाज़ बेपनाह
तेरा ही अक्स-ए-रुख़ सही, सामने तेरे आये क्यों
"(the) dagger of (your) glance (is) life-seizing; (the) arrow of your graceful airs (is) without escape
even if it's the reflection of your face; why (would it) come before you?"

Ha ha!! With the 'weapons of mass destruction' that the Beloved carries, in the form of her lethally smoldering sidelong glances and her haughtily coquettish mannerisms, even her reflection dreads the thought of appearing before her!


While the idea is somewhat similar to the previous sher, the mood here is much more unequivocally playful! There is also an implied and subtle challenge to the Beloved - since 'her reflection coming before her' is equivalent to 'she herself coming before her reflection', the poet maliciously suggests that she can never afford to regard herself in a mirror without risking a classic instance of 'friendly fire'!!

Once again, in typical mushaira style, the sher postpones the punch of its joke till the last possible moment...

Words like 'naaz' [and 'shokhii'], so common in Urdu poetry, are particularly difficult to translate in English. 'Coquettishness' or 'gracefulness' or 'airs' only sum up part of what these intensely evocative words actually convey. The problem isn't linguistic so much as 'cultural' - the sort of societal context where a woman would need to display her beauty through such oblique 'artifices' can be evoked in occidental tongues only with difficulty (it might be easier in French than in the more prosy English, though).


क़ैद-ए-हयात-ओ-बंद-ए-गम अस्ल मे दोनो एक हैं
मौत से पहले आदमी गम से निजात पाए क्यों
"the 'prison of existence' and the 'shackles of sorrow' are both, in fact, the same
why should/would man be freed of pain, before death?"

A starkly pithy evocation of the bleakness of life! Since existence and pain are, fundamentally, one and the same (the most literal meaning 'asl' being something like 'at the root'), it is futile, even logically impossible, to pray for a pain-free existence... it is also clear what offers the only possible 'escape' (nijaat) from pain...

The would/should ambiguity of the second line is also pregnant with a delicious multiplicity of meaning!


हुस्न और उसपे हुस्न-ए-ज़न, रह गयी बुलहवस की शर्म
अपने पे इतिमाद है, ग़ैर को आज़माए क्यों
"beauty, and on (top of) that, 'beauty of thought'; the lustful-watcher saved his honour
There is confidence in oneself; why test the Other"

Tricky!

I believe there is some difference between conflicting editions of Ghalib's work, as it was recorded, in the exact wording of the second line - which has added to the demanding-ness of this (even otherwise oblique) sher.

One commonly accepted interpretation seems to be that the Beloved, because of the 'beauty of her thought' doesn't bother to 'test' the Other (the much-vilified 'Gair' or the poet's rival) which helps the latter preserve his honour. The 'beauty of thought' of the Beloved seems to be based on the sort of confidence in her own beauty that doesn't even require visual confirmation of the admiration of others. Hence, she innocently moves about with all her artful mannerisms, indifferent to the regard of the spectators, and hence the ignoble Other can continue to ogle her without risking the ignominy of discovery (by her)...

Since the sher makes it clear that this apparent 'pure-mindedness' of the Beloved is based on her confidence in her own beauty, it can also be read in a sarcastic tone... the poet jealously complaining about the Beloved's indulgence in permitting the Gair to ogle her beauty unhindered, even though she is perfectly aware of (and probably even enjoying!!) his lustful regard... the 'beauty of thought' would, in this interpretation, be a taunt directed at the Beloved, born out of understandable heartburn!


वां वो गुरूर-ए-इज्ज़-ओ-नाज़, यां ये हिजाब-ए-पास-ए-वज़ा
राह मे हम मिलें कहाँ, बज़्म मे वो बुलाएँ क्यों
"over there, that pride in grandeur and grace; over here this modesty (born out) of regard for self-respect
where (how) would we meet on the street; why would she call (me) to her Soiree?"

Nice! On one hand, there's the Beloved, haughtily conscious of her own station in life and her beauty; on the other, there's the lover, abjectly aware of his own lowliness and undeservingness, but jealously protective of his self-respect.

The situation is an obvious non-starter - he wouldn't risk public ignominy by contriving to encounter her on the street, and she would obviously never extend him an invitation to one of her parties!

Note that it's difficult to pin a 'mood' to the sher - there doesn't seem to be a great degree of distress in the poet's observation; he almost seems wryly amused by the hopelessness of his situation!

'paas-e-vaz'a' is an expression literally meaning something like 'attention to self-respect' and is used for a sort of 'personal credo' that lays down the limits of acceptable and unacceptable, based on one's sense of personal dignity... 'hijaab' is literally a veil, but is used metaphorically for any sort of constraint or self-restraint worn out of a sense of moral/social correctness...


हाँ वो नहीं खुदापरस्त, जाओ वो बेवफा सही
जिसको हो दीन-ओ-दिल अज़ीज़, उसकी गली मे जाये क्यों
"yes, she isn't god-fearing; fine, so she's unfaithful
he who values (his) heart or faith, why would he go to her lane?"

My favourite sher in the Ghazal!

With what an easy 'conversational' style does the poet answer the well-meaning but self-appointed guardians (remember 'naaseh'?) who warn him about the godlessness and faithlessness of the Beloved! "Fine, granted she is like that! Who on earth is asking those (like you) who fear for their hearts or faith to go near her?"

The delicious implication, of course, is that for the poet neither his heart nor his faith is 'azeez' - he is determined to pursue the Beloved even though he's fully aware that the chase will cost him his soul as well as his happiness.

There is also (as always with Ghalib) a more malicious reading that suggests itself - the poet may be hinting that some of the people advising him about the sins of the Beloved are themselves in the habit of frequenting her neighbourhood, and he is pointedly revealing his knowledge of this...!

It is definitely the colloquial 'airiness' of this sher which makes it one of Ghalib's best-loved. The use of 'haan' 'jaao' and 'sahii' in the first line are concessions to everyday speech which just defy translation!

'khudaparast' is literally 'god-worshiping', but god-fearing would be the closest English equivalent, i suppose...


ग़ालिब-ए-खस्ता के बग़ैर कौन से काम बंद हैं
रोईये ज़ार-ज़ार क्या, कीजिये हाय-हाय क्यों
"in the absence of the destroyed Ghalib, what works/activities have come to a halt?
why weep bitterly? Why lament (unnecessarily)?"

Once again, this maqta can't really be translated except with mechanical insufficiency!

Like many of Ghalib's sher's this one features a 'voice from behind the grave'. (The dead) Ghalib addresses those grieving for him, and points out that all their normal activities are, actually, continuing as before, despite his death... hence why make a great show of grief or loss?

The mood seems to be wryly mocking. There is a sense of amused sadness at the way the world continues to go about its business; which comes through in the chiding tone used in the second line... the (completely untranslatable) 'zaar zaar' and 'haye haye' hint that the expressions of grief are needlessly (and insincerely) exaggerated!

Faiz - Shaam-e-Firaaq

Another one of my Faiz favourites, if only for the outstanding first and last shers! This Ghazal has been sung with breathtaking emotion by a whole bunch of singers.

shaam-e-firaaq ab naa puuchh, aayi aur aa ke Tal gayii
dil thaa ki phir bahal gayaa, jaa.n thii ki phir sambhal gayii

शाम-ए-फिराक अब ना पूछ, आई और आ के टल गई
दिल था कि फिर बहल गया , जां थी कि फिर संभल गई
"Ask no more (about) the night of separation; it came, and passed
The heart got diverted again; life found its feet again"

Wow! The translation does no justice to this glorious sher!

What a huge span of time and experience seems to be captured in the (otherwise simple) words of these two lines... there is a palpable sense of sadness with which Faiz takes note of the way life inevitably finds the means to go on - almost a sense of disappointment at the failure of that much lamented, much demonised, 'shaam-e-firaaq' to inflict a lasting blow!!

And yet, there is also this delicious sense of 'falseness' that rings through his brave claim of the heart managing to find other diversions... one can feel that life never does, actually, manage to shrug off the effects of the separation from the Beloved, and 'find its feet again'...



bazm-e-khayaal mei.n tere husn kii shamaa jal gayii
dard kaa chaand bujh gayaa hizr kii raat Dhal gayii

बज़्म-ए-ख़्याल मे तेरे हुस्न की शमा जल गई
दर्द का चांद बुझ गया हिज्र की रात ढल गई
"in the salon of (my) thoughts, the candle of your beauty was lighted
the moon-of-pain extinguished itself, the night of separation slipped away"

This is just poetic analogy, but a phrase like 'dard kaa chaand bujh gayaa' has the sort of beauty that defies translation.

'bazm-e-khayaal' is also tricky to capture the sense of... literally meaning a 'get-together/soiree of thought', it stands for that realm of the mind where the lover's thoughts and feelings come together and interact... and on this meeting-place within the mind, the Beloved's beauty casts a magical light, eclipsing the 'moon of pain' and creating the illusion that dawn has broken through after the night of separation... it is that illusion that the sher celebrates...



jab tujhe yaad kar liyaa subah mahak mahak uThii
jab teraa gham jagaa liyaa raat machal machal gayii


जब तुझे याद कर लिया सुबह महक महक उठी
जब तेरा गम जगा लिया रात मचल मचल गई
"whenever you were remembered, the mornings became fragrant
when your pain was awakened, the nights grew restless"

Simple, almost too simple; but it still manages to capture that something 'special' that can't be described. The dual-repetition of 'mahak' and 'machal' not only adds a magically lyrical touch, but also creates the impression of a state-of-affairs that repeats almost indefinitely!

dil se to har muaamlaa kar ke chale the saaf ham

kahne mei.n un ke saamne baat badal badal gayii

दिल से तो हर मुआमला करके चले थे साफ हम
कहने मे उनके सामने बात बदल बदल गई
"in the heart i had sorted out all the issues before setting out
(however) while recounting before her, (my) words changed themselves"

A cute one! The poet's inability to present his heart's pain to the Beloved is lamented so beautifully here - he explains that it isn't as though he hadn't figured out beforehand what he had to tell her, but when it actually came to telling her, he found that he had ended up saying something quite different than what he intended to...

one gets this wonderful picture of a smitten lover blundering ineffectually through an appeal to a haughtily impatient Beloved, and nervously ending up saying something else! 


aakhir-e-shab ke hamsafar Faiz na jaane kahaa.n gaye
rah gayii kis jagah sabaa, subah kidhar nikal gayii

आख़िर-ए-शब के हमसफ़र फैज़ ना जाने कहाँ गए
रह गई किस जगह सबा, सुबह किधर निकल गई
"who knows where the fellow-travellers of the end-of-the-night went, Faiz?
at which spot did the breeze get left behind? and which way did the dawn walk off?

the 'fellow-travellers' who had come together at that magical moment when night was ending, namely the morning-breeze and the flush-of-dawn, lost each other's company soon after... the breeze lingered on at some crossroad and was left behind; the dawn raced off towards the brightness of the day...

That's some poetry, isn't it?

Momin - Asar usko zaraa nahin hotaa

Ok, Momin next! This is one of his most famous ones, probably justly so.

Momin is supposed to have been a 'metrically perfect' poet, i.e., all his ghazals are supposed to conform to the strict metrical prescriptions of the classical ghazal form. Even without a great degree of understanding of complicated Beh'r rules, one can feel the exceptional lyricism that a ghazal like, say, 'wo jo ham mein tum mein karaar thaa' sports. However, from a purely semantic point of view, I honestly haven't found too many of his poems remarkable - probably just the limitations of my appreciation!

This particular one isn't half bad, though!! :)


असर उसको ज़रा नहीं होता
रंज राहत-फज़ा नहीं होता

There isn't the slightest effect on her
Distress/anger is not comfort-increasing (like this)

I'm not ENTIRELY sure about this... but i think he is making the Lover give a self-delusional 'positive spin' to the obvious lack of effect his ardour has on the Beloved - by telling himself that if she were really distressed/angry with him, she couldn't have been so comfortably/peacefully indifferent!

Or he could just be bemoaning the fact that distress, which is all he is capable of, isn't something that, by itself, can bring any comfort to him.



बे-वफ़ा कहने की शिकायत है
तो भी वादा-वफ़ा नहीं होता

(she) resents (my) calling (her) unfaithful
(but she) still doesn't turn true to (her) promises

Fair enough... she can't have it both ways, can she...?!



ज़िक्र-ऐ-अग्यार से हुआ मालूम
हर्फ़-ऐ-नासेह बुरा नहीं होता

from the mention/recounting of Rivals, (I) realised
(that) the counsellor's reproaches are not (always) bad (incorrect)

The 'naaseh' or solicitous advisers who counsel the Lover against his infatuation for the unfaithful Beloved are rarely taken seriously by him... until he is confronted with an account of the many Rivals on whom the Beloved has showered her philandering favours...



तुम हमारे किसी तरह ना हुए
वरना दुनिया में क्या नहीं होता
There was no way to make you mine
else what might not have happened in the world

This one's pretty straight-forward. But nice nonetheless... it leaves open such a world of unsaid possibilities...

who was it who said, 'For all the sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been!"'?



उस ने क्या जाने क्या किया ले कर
दिल किसी काम का नहीं होता

Who knows what she did (with it, after) having taken it
a heart is of no use (to anyone)

Oho, very nice!



इम्तिहान कीजिये मेरा जब तक
शौक़ ज़ोर-आज़मा नहीं होता

Go ahead and test me until
love doesn't (acquire a taste for) tests of strength

A slightly ominous warning to the Beloved...'careful, my love will let itself be subjected to these ordeals only so far... beyond a point, it may well seek to square off against its torturers...!"



एक दुश्मन कि चर्ख है, ना रहे
तुझ से ये ऐ दुआ नहीं होता

There's (only) one enemy - the circle of fate; (but that) it may not remain -
this much, o benediction, you can't achieve!

'duaa' means, of course, 'good wishes' or 'blessings'. The Poet, however, feels that such pious benedictions are of no use to him if they can't help him vanquish the one adversary ranged against him - namely, the hand of fortune! ['charkh' literally means a 'wheel', and the usage here would translate very conveniently to something like 'wheels of fortune']



आह तूल-ऐ-अमल है रोज़ अफ्जूं
गरचे एक मुददा नहीं होता

a sigh prolongs the extent of expectations everyday
although there's not (even) a single objective

'muddaa' is an extremely multivalent word, which can mean anything from 'issue' to 'meaning' to something 'claimed, searched or desired for'... 'afzoon' translates to 'increasing, augmenting...', while 'tool-e-amal' would be read as the 'length of hope'. The entire sher encapsulates a nice sense of the futility and confusion of love...the scope and intensity of desire and determinations sweetly with a complete lack of concretely achievable targets to strive for...!


नारसाई से दम रुके तो रुके
मैं किसी से ख़फा नहीं होता

If lack of access kills me, let it
I don't (ever) take offence at anyone

Once again, simple in meaning... but it has a nicely fatalistic air to it... "fine, let me die trying to reach her; i am beyond caring or resenting!"


तुम मेरे पास होते हो गोया
जब कोई दूसरा नहीं होता

It is as if you are with me
when(ever) someone else is not

The highlight of the ghazal!

I mentioned this earlier, but - Ghalib is supposed to have offered his entire deewaan in exchange for this one sher!! And who can blame him? How can anyone sum up the ESSENCE of love any better than this?? "whenever i am alone, i am with you". Period!!


हाल-ए-दिल यार को लिखूं क्यूँ-कर
हाथ दिल से जुदा नहीं होता

How to write the state-of-(my)-heart to the sweetheart?
(My) hand refuses to move from my heart

Droll! So intense is the pain in his heart that the Lover can't stop clutching at it... and consequently can't pick up the pen to describe his suffering to the Beloved!


रहम कर, खस्म-ऐ-जान-ऐ-गैर ना हो
सब का दिल एक सा नहीं होता

Be merciful; don't be the enemy of the Rival's life
not everyone's heart is (made of) the same (stuff)!

Ha ha! Very nice! The Poet taunts the Beloved with mock solicitude for the Rival's welfare... "don't subject him to the same tortures as me - his heart is unlikely to be able to suffer your caprices with the same fortitude as mine!"


दामन उसका जो है दराज़ तो हो
दस्त-ए-आशिक रसा नहीं होता

If her dress is long, let it be
the hand of a lover does not reach out

Hmm....nice too! दामन is almost entirely untranslatable, although you are probably familiar with its many connotations. In is used mostly for the Beloved's garment, usually a flowing/trailing part of it, that can be caught ('catching of the daaman' being a frequently used metaphor for 'winning' the Beloved) or used (again metaphorically) to shelter oneself, etc...

Here the poet seems to be saying that even if the Beloved's daaman is long and flowing (and consequently 'reachable'), it is inconceivable for a Lover's hand to commit the effrontery of actually reaching for it!


किसको है ज़ौक-ए-तल्ख़-कलामी लैक
जंग बिन कुछ मज़ा नहीं होता

Who has a taste for the bitter word; but
there's no fun without battle!

Ha! This one's sharp! The 'conversational/rhetorical' style in which the sher is said adds greatly to its merit. 'Kisko hai zauq-e-talkh-kalaamii'?, or 'it's true that nobody enjoys (exchanging) bitter words'... but then, is life any fun without occasionally descending into the battlefield?!!


चारा-ए-दिल सिवाय सब्र नहीं
सो तुम्हारे सिवा नहीं होता

There is no cure for (my) heart without peace
and that doesn't happen (come) without you

A nice paradox... any possible 'cure' for the lover's agitated heart requires it to first come out of its feverishly restless state ... but in the absence of the Beloved, there's little chance of that happening! And if the Beloved was there, there would be no need for any cure!


क्यूँ सुने अर्ज़-ए-मुज़्तरिब ऐ मोमिन
सनम आख़िर खुदा नहीं होता

why should (she) listen to the pleas of the restless, Momin?
the Beloved/idol isn't the Allmighty, after all

Sweetly bitter! The barb is directed not at the Beloved, as it seems to be, but actually at the Almighty - who is ALSO obviously refusing to heed the pleas of the restless! Such divine sarcasm!!

There is also some nice word-play here. The literal meaning of 'sanam' is 'idol', although the word, like 'but', is commonly used in the Ghazal world to describe the Beloved... In this sher, however, if one takes 'sanam' in its literal sense, the entire couplet becomes the 'standard' Islamic injunction against idolatory [i.e., 'how can an idol answer the pleas of the helpless? It isn't really God!']. Once again, the implied sarcasm would be against the true God... who is content to sit watching the helpless appealing to his idol!

Faiz - Dasht-e-tanhaaii mein

As desired....Solitude and Remembrance!

dasht-e-tanhaai mei.n ai jaan-e-jahaa.n larzaa hai.n

terii aazaaz ke saaye tere honTo.n ke saraab

dasht-e-tanhaai mei.n duurii ke khas-o-khaaq tale

khil rahe hai.n tere pahluu ke saman aur gulaab

uTh rahii hai kahii.n qurbat se terii saa.ns kii aanch

apnii khushbuu mei.n sulagtii hui madhham madhham

duur ufaq par chamaktii huii qatraa qatraa

gir rahii hai terii dildaar nazar kii shabnam

is qadar pyaar se ai jaan-e-jahaa.n rakhaa hai

dil ke rukhsaar pe is waqt terii yaad ne haath

yuu.n gumaa.n hotaa hai garche hai abhii subah-e-firaaq

Dhal gayaa hizr kaa din aa bhii gayii vasl kii raat

 


दश्त-ए-तनहाई मे ए जान-ए-जहाँ लर्जां हैं
तेरी आवाज़ के साए तेरे होंठों के सराब
दश्त-ए-तन्हाई मे दूरी के खस-ओ-ख़ाक तले
खिल रहे हैं तेरे पहलू के समन और गुलाब

उठ रही है कहीँ कुरबत से तेरी सांस की आंच
अपनी खुशबू मे सुलगती हुई मद्धम मद्धम
दूर उफक पर चमकती हुई कतरा कतरा
गिर रही है तेरी दिलदार नज़र की शबनम

उस क़दर प्यार से ए जान-ए-जहाँ रखा है
दिल के रुखसार पे इस वक्त तेरी याद ने हाथ
यूँ गुमां होता है गर्चे है अभी सुबह-ए-फिराक
ढल गया हिज्र का दिन आ भी गई वस्ल की रात


In the wilderness of solitude, my love,
quiver the shadows of your voice, the mirages of your lips
In the wilderness of solitude, under the dusts of distance
are sprouting the jasmines and roses of your nearness

Rising from somewhere close by is the warmth of your breath
simmering in its own fragrance, slowly, ever so slowly...
On the distant horizon, glistening, drop by drop
falls the dew of your beloved eyes

So lovingly, sweetheart, has your memory placed its palm on my heart's face right now
that, even though it is the dawn (beginning) of parting,
it feels as if the day of separation is over, the night of union is here already


Memories may be all that the wretched have to sustain themselves... but what a powerful source of sustenance they can be!

I know of no one who's said it better than Faiz!!