Heard this sher ?
Ajgaonkar
I was reading a Marathi (a language spoken in a certain part of India) poem a
while ago. The poet is renowned for his poetic but frustratingly abstract work.
He quotes the following sher at the begginning -
Chot Lagne ko to Lagtee Hai Jigar par yaksna
Jarf ke farq se Aawaz badal jatee Hai . . .
What does this mean ? I am not sure if this is a sher or two unrelated lines.
Any help ?
Gopal Ajgaonkar
Ali Minai
The she'r should be:
CHOT lagnE ko to lagtI hae jigar par yaksAN
zarf kE farq se AvAz badal jAtI haE
It means:
Every heart suffers the same blow, but the difference in `zarf'
changes the sound [of the cry] that follows.
Well, literally, jigar = liver, but idiomatically, the word is used
to denote the inner self. I have loosely translated that as ``heart''.
`zarf' is an interesting concept. Literally, it means `capacity' or
`vessel' (for holding fluid). Idiomatically, it also means `depth of
character', `dignity', `grace', etc. Mainly, it is used to denote
that aspect of character which allows a person to behave gracefully,
generously, and without revealing his/her inner suffering. A person
with `zarf' is called `bA-zarf' (with zarf) or `AlI-zarf' (one with high
capacity), while one without `zarf' is termed `kam-zarf'. A person of
the latter variety has no generosity of character, is vengeful, easily
angered, mistrustful, unable to hold his/heremotions in check, unable
to keep a secret, etc. In other words, a shallow person. IMO, this is
one of the more profound and interesting terms in Urdu (and Farsi ---
the word itself is Arabic).
A couple of ash'ar my illustrate the meaning:
keh rahA haE SHOr-e daryA sE samandar kA sukUt:
jis ka jitnA zarf haE, utnA hi voh KHAmOSH haE! (Natiq)
jo 'AlI-zarf hOtE haEN hamESHA jhuk ke miltE haEN;
surAhI sar-nigUN hO kar bharA kartI hae paEmAnA. (?)
and, if I may be allowed to quote one of my own ash'ar:
hae yUN bhi talKH bohut harf-e SHikva-E sAqI,
aor ehl-e zarf ke nazdIk tO harAm bhi haE!
In all three, the poets have used puns on the dual meaning of `zarf'.
Ali
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ba-qadr-e SHaOq nahIN zarf-e taNgnA-e GHazal
kuCHh aOr CHAhiye vus'at mirE bayAN ke liyE. Ghalib
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--
Ali Minai
Jamil Ahmad
ami...@holmes.ececs.uc.edu (Ali Minai) wrote:
> In article <19990923231430...@ng-cl1.aol.com>,
> Ajgaonkar <ajga...@aol.com> wrote:
> >Greetings . . .
> >
> >I was reading a Marathi (a language spoken in a certain part of
India) poem a
> >while ago. The poet is renowned for his poetic but frustratingly
abstract work.
> >He quotes the following sher at the begginning -
> >
> >Chot Lagne ko to Lagtee Hai Jigar par yaksna
> >Jarf ke farq se Aawaz badal jatee Hai . . .
> >
> >What does this mean ? I am not sure if this is a sher or two
unrelated lines.
>
> The she'r should be:
>
> CHOT lagnE ko to lagtI hae jigar par yaksAN
> zarf kE farq se AvAz badal jAtI haE
>
> It means:
>
> Every heart suffers the same blow, but the difference in `zarf'
> changes the sound [of the cry] that follows.
>
> Well, literally, jigar = liver, but idiomatically, the word is used
> to denote the inner self. I have loosely translated that as ``heart''.
>
> Ali
>
Talking of the sound arising from the 'jigar' being struck, I am
reminded of a beautiful she'r of Mirza Jaanjaanaan, quoted by Iqbal:
saddaa-e-tesha keh bar sang mee-khurad digar ast
khabar be-geer keh aavaaz-e-tesha o jigar ast.
[Literally: "When the axe strikes a stone, it makes a different sort
of sound. Go and find out, for this seems to be the sound of the
axe striking the liver."] The allusion is of course to Farhad,
digging the canal of milk.
Jamil
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Vijay S. Bajwa
Chot lagne ko to lagti hai jigar par ek-dum
Gehraai (zarf) ke farq se awaaz badal jati hai
Jaise surahi ko kankar maro, agar pani bhara hua hai, dabi awwaz
aayegi, agar khali hai to ziada.
Ajgaonkar wrote:
> Greetings . . .
>
> I was reading a Marathi (a language spoken in a certain part of India) poem a
> while ago. The poet is renowned for his poetic but frustratingly abstract work.
> He quotes the following sher at the begginning -
>
> Chot Lagne ko to Lagtee Hai Jigar par yaksna
> Jarf ke farq se Aawaz badal jatee Hai . . .
>
> What does this mean ? I am not sure if this is a sher or two unrelated lines.
>
> Any help ?
>
> Gopal Ajgaonkar
--
Vijay S. Bajwa
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