An early ghazal of Ghalib's
Padmanabhan Srinagesh
Raj Kumar Sahib's ghazal was enchanting, and I was distracted by mundane
concerns so I did not express my appreciation earlier. On returning to
ALUP, I found a fair amount on non-UP-related matter, and thought I
would increase the signal to noise ratio by posting a ghazal of Ghalib
that is not in his Deevan. Ghalib discarded 1498 verses that he wrote
befor 1826. THis ghazal is from that discarded set, and I transliterate
somee shers from the Urdu original as presented in Ghalib: A critical
introduction by Sayyid Mahmood. (An extraordinary book). The cited
source is the Arshi edition.
Corrections and comments welcome.
hai kahAN tamannA kA dUsrA qadam yA rab
hamne dasht-e-imkAn ko aek naqsh-e-pA pAyA
be dimAgh khajAlat hUN, rashk imtihAN tA se
aek bekasi tujhko A'lam AshnA pAyA
KhAkbAzi-e-ummId kArkhAnah-e-tiflI
yAs ko do A'lam se lab ba khandah va pAyA
kyoN na vahshat ghAlib bAj khwah taskEn ho?
kishtah(?) taghAful ko khasam(?) khUn bahA pAyA
khasam = khe suAd meem
Nagesh
Jamil Ahmad
Nagesh Sahib, first of all a couple of corrections:
In the second she'r there should be "dimaagh-e-khajlat" rather than
dimaagh khajaalat. The meaning of the two words is the same of course.
Also the last words of the verse should be taa kay (till when), rather
than taa se.
The last verse should be:
"kushta-e-taghaaful ko khasm-e-khoon bahaa paaya".
[kushta-e-taghaaful: One who has been killed by indifference.
khasm = enemy, as distinct from khasam = owner].
These verses like most of the ones that Ghalib so sensibly weeded out
from his Diwaan, are convoluted, to say the least. Try figuring out the
meanings of the above verses, and you will know what I mean. Much of
his earlier poetry was written under the influence of Bedil, and we have
seen earlier on this forum what that was like. The couplets you have
quoted are the ones Ghalib discarded from two of his earlier ghazals.
He combined the remaining ash'aar into one ghazal that we now find in
the Diwaan-e-Ghalib:
kehte ho na den ge ham dil agar paraa paayaa
dil kahaan keh gum kijeeye ham ne mud'aa paayaa
ishq se tabee'at ne zeest ka mazaa paayaa
dard ki dawaa paayee dard-e-be-dawaa paayaa.
...
The very first manuscript of the Diwaan, from which Ghalib had discarded
so many verses, was discovered 50 years after the poet's death in a
library in Bhopal. In 1921, a century after it was written, the
manuscript was published and is known as 'Nuskha-e-Hameediya' - in
honour of the then Chief Secretary of the state of Bhopal.
Reading through 'Nuskha-e-Hameediya', I couldn't help thinking that had
Ghalib not discarded so much of his earlier poetry from the Diwaan, he
would not have attained the status that he enjoys today.
I quote just a few other ash'aar from the ones he did not see fit to
publish.
be dil na naaz-e-wehshat-e-jaib-e-dareeda khainch
joon boo-e-ghuncha yak nafas-e-aarmida khainch
paicheedagi hai haamil-e-toomaar-e-intizaar
paa-e-nazar ba daaman-e-shauq-e-daveeda khainch
barq-e-bahaar se hoon main paa dar hanaa hunooz
ai khaar-e-dasht, daaman-e-shauq-e-rameeda khainch
daryaa basaat-e-da'wat-e-sailaab hai Asad
saaghar ba baargaah-e-dimaagh-e-raseeda khainch.
Go figure!
Jamil
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Padmanabhan Srinagesh
> > Corrections and comments welcome.
> >
> > hai kahAN tamannA kA dUsrA qadam yA rab
> > hamne dasht-e-imkAn ko aek naqsh-e-pA pAyA
> >
> > be dimAgh khajAlat hUN, rashk imtihAN tA se
> > aek bekasi tujhko A'lam AshnA pAyA
> >
> > KhAkbAzi-e-ummId kArkhAnah-e-tiflI
> > yAs ko do A'lam se lab ba khandah va pAyA
> >
> > kyoN na vahshat ghAlib bAj khwah taskEn ho?
> > kishtah(?) taghAful ko khasam(?) khUn bahA pAyA
> >
> > khasam = khe suAd meem
> >
> > Nagesh
> >
>
> Nagesh Sahib, first of all a couple of corrections:
>
> In the second she'r there should be "dimaagh-e-khajlat" rather than
> dimaagh khajaalat. The meaning of the two words is the same of course.
> Also the last words of the verse should be taa kay (till when), rather
> than taa se.
>
Jamil Sahib:
It is such a pleasure to hear from you again!
The original had khajlat, but the Nathani Lughat only has khajAlat so I
used that instead. Now I know better.
> The last verse should be:
> "kushta-e-taghaaful ko khasm-e-khoon bahaa paaya".
>
> [kushta-e-taghaaful: One who has been killed by indifference.
> khasm = enemy, as distinct from khasam = owner].
>
> These verses like most of the ones that Ghalib so sensibly weeded out
> from his Diwaan, are convoluted, to say the least. Try figuring out the
> meanings of the above verses, and you will know what I mean. Much of
> his earlier poetry was written under the influence of Bedil, and we have
> seen earlier on this forum what that was like. The couplets you have
> quoted are the ones Ghalib discarded from two of his earlier ghazals.
> He combined the remaining ash'aar into one ghazal that we now find in
> the Diwaan-e-Ghalib:
>
> kehte ho na den ge ham dil agar paraa paayaa
> dil kahaan keh gum kijeeye ham ne mud'aa paayaa
>
> ishq se tabee'at ne zeest ka mazaa paayaa
> dard ki dawaa paayee dard-e-be-dawaa paayaa.
>
Thanks for the corrections and for pointing out that the remaining
verses are in the Deevan. I noted the lack of a matlA in the verses
discussed by Professor Mahmud. And the lack of a maqtA in the Deevan.
> The very first manuscript of the Diwaan, from which Ghalib had discarded
> so many verses, was discovered 50 years after the poet's death in a
> library in Bhopal. In 1921, a century after it was written, the
> manuscript was published and is known as 'Nuskha-e-Hameediya' - in
> honour of the then Chief Secretary of the state of Bhopal.
>
> Reading through 'Nuskha-e-Hameediya', I couldn't help thinking that had
> Ghalib not discarded so much of his earlier poetry from the Diwaan, he
> would not have attained the status that he enjoys today.
>
I'll look out for the Nuskha on my next trip to India. My library is
sadly deficient. It would be nice to have all the useful material in
one book. Or as Ghalib says:
"tAlIf-e-nuskha-hAye-vafA kar rahA thA main
majmuA-e-khyAl abhi fard fard thA"
You are right that the Ghalib verses I posted are incomprehensible. Let
me offer some comments based on Professor Mahmud's exposition. I hope
you and others may find these comments interesting. (I do not reproduce
the comments exactly since I have no desire to infringe Professor
Mahmud's copyright. So the Professor should not be held liable for any
mistakes in the following; I have taken the liberty of putting in some
of my reactions).
First sher: Where, Oh God, is the second footstep of desire? I have
found the first footprint (in?) the desert of contingent possibility
(the real world).
Second sher: I am not consumed by shame, nor envious. The whole world
experiences helplessness.
THird sher: The sandcastles of hope are like children's piles of sand.
Despair, with lips (composed of both worlds) agape, is laughing.
Fourth sher: Why should not Ghalib's frenzy be obligated to peace of
mind? The prey of Fate's negligence will not pay blood-money.
Professor Mahmud's comments (modulo typos) is:
"This is a very young effort, perhaps written in his late teens, but it
shows the boldness of his imagery. Despair is imagined as a colossal
figure with her two lips made of the world of matter and the world of
spirit, laughing at the hopes and fears of mankind! The poet does not
despair. however, nor does he ask for the crumbs that Fate can throw him
in return for his life blood. He will find his own solace."
I must admit that I would not have been able to see this meaning in
Ghalib's verses, but once it was pointed out to me, I found the verses
of very high quality. Perhaps Ghalib should have included notes (like
Eliot). But difficulty is inherent in his poetry, and he took pride in
being obscure:
Mushkil hai zabas kalAm mera ai dil
sun sunke use sukhanwarAn-e-kAmil
AsAn kehne ki karte hain farmAish
goyim mushkil, vagarnA goyim mushkil
> I quote just a few other ash'aar from the ones he did not see fit to
> publish.
SNIP! I need notes for these!
>
> Go figure!
>
> Jamil
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
As long as I have you on line: do you have the words and meaning of the
ghazal that begins:
khabar nigah ko, nigah chashm ko udU jAne
voh jalwahgar ko na main jaanUn aur na tu jAne
The gahazal is not in the Deevan I possess. It is sung beatifully on an
EMI cassette taken from a Pakistani TV serial of Ghalib's life. The
cassette also has a beautiful rendition of "phir is andAz se bahAr AI"
Regards,
Nagesh
Padmanabhan Srinagesh
>
> you have asked for the complete ghazal starting with:
>
> > khabar nigah ko, nigah chashm ko udU jAne
> > voh jalwahgar ko na main jaanUn aur na tu jAne
>
> printed differently; another example of the inconsistency I mentioned
> above. Anyhow, I post both ashaar below:
>
> Khabar nig'h ko, nig'h chashm ko adU jaanE
> voh jalwah kar ki naaN meN janUN aur naaN tu jaanE
>
> nafas be naalah raqeeb-o-nig'h be ashak adU
> ziadaah us se griftaar hUN ki tu jaanE
>
> This is from the edition of Diivan-e-Ghalib by 'Ghalib Institute, New
> Delhi'.
>
> I hope Jamil sahib has the full version and will post it to-gather with
> his rich commentary.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Vijay Kumar
Vijay Kumar Sahib:
Thanks for the response, especially to the new verses. I found your
corrections extremely helpful. I'll try to post the rest of the ghazal
soon.
I posted my understanding of the sher some weeks ago, but it was on an
unrelated thread, which I think many ALUPers may not have seen. As I
understood the first sher, it says that information (khabar) is in
opposition to nigah (glance or sight), and that sight is in opposition
to the eyes. In other words, both seeing and the eye are imperfect
means of assimilating information. So the splendor displayed by the
beloved (or God) cannot be fully appreciated by the senses. I suggested
that Ghalib might be implying that understanding is primarily an
emotional or spiritual effort, and not a physical or primarily
intellectual one.
Nagesh
vijay...@my-deja.com
Nagesh Sahib and Jamil Sahib,
I thoroughly enjoyed the above exchange. It would be wonderful if there
could be a "complete works of Ghalib", warts and all. With commentary
of course. The diivans avialable now, all have different selections and
all often exhibit subtle differences here and there. E.G. "Ghalib hameN
naaN cheR ki phir josh-e-ashak sE" has also been printed as "...josh-e-
ashak-baar" and "...josh-e-ashak meN" in various editions.
Jamil Sahib, I think there is a typo in the following she'r you posted:
kehte ho na den ge ham dil agar paraa paayaa
> > dil kahaan keh gum kijeeye ham ne mud'aa paayaa
The second line should be:
dil kahaaN ki gum "kiijE" ham neN mud'aa paayaa.
Kijeeye makes it out of meter.
Nagesh sahib,
you have asked for the complete ghazal starting with:
> khabar nigah ko, nigah chashm ko udU jAne
> voh jalwahgar ko na main jaanUn aur na tu jAne
One of the diivans I have includes two she'rs . The line you posted is
printed differently; another example of the inconsistency I mentioned
above. Anyhow, I post both ashaar below:
Khabar nig'h ko, nig'h chashm ko adU jaanE
voh jalwah kar ki naaN meN janUN aur naaN tu jaanE
nafas be naalah raqeeb-o-nig'h be ashak adU
ziadaah us se griftaar hUN ki tu jaanE
This is from the edition of Diivan-e-Ghalib by 'Ghalib Institute, New
Delhi'.
I hope Jamil sahib has the full version and will post it to-gather with
his rich commentary.
Respectfully,
Vijay Kumar
>
Ali Minai
Padmanabhan Srinagesh <nr...@pacbell.net> wrote:
>Jamil Ahmad wrote:
>>
>> In article <37C4BC...@pacbell.net>,
>> nr...@pacbell.net wrote:
>
>> > Corrections and comments welcome.
>> >
>> > hai kahAN tamannA kA dUsrA qadam yA rab
>> > hamne dasht-e-imkAn ko aek naqsh-e-pA pAyA
>
>me offer some comments based on Professor Mahmud's exposition. I hope
>you and others may find these comments interesting. (I do not reproduce
>the comments exactly since I have no desire to infringe Professor
>Mahmud's copyright. So the Professor should not be held liable for any
>mistakes in the following; I have taken the liberty of putting in some
>of my reactions).
>
>First sher: Where, Oh God, is the second footstep of desire? I have
>found the first footprint (in?) the desert of contingent possibility
>(the real world).
In fact, this she'r, in spite of being omitted from the standard
divan, has become one of Ghalib's best known and often quoted ash'ar.
It expresses a truly original thought (especially in the context of
that time), and uses a profound metaphor. I would speculate that the
reason Ghalib left it out of the divan was that the repetition of
`pA' at the end of the second line, which creates something called
`tanAfur' (hostility). Classical poets were very concerned with
avoiding such blemishes.
The other discarded verses that you quoted were probably well left
out.
On Jamil Sahib's point that Ghalib might not have attained his stature
if he had left these ash'ar in the divan, I think that is an axcellent
point. However, I would also say that Ghalib would not have become the
poet he was had he not experimented with this style in his formative
years. His urge to write `rEKHta' in `tarz-e bEdil' provided him with
the skill to create new metaphors, original conjunctions, and fresh
images. It was, so to speak, an apprenticeship where he learned to
create strange new ideas, much as an apprentice in a sculptor's studio
might produce weird forms to learn how stone is worked. Many of Ghalib's
playful creations turned out to be failures, and he discarded them, but
this gave him the sure touch which enabled other, better creations to
follow. He tried something new and eventually became Ghalib. Other
poets who hewed to a more traditional path were, by that decision,
doomed to produce only minor variations on traditional themes.
Ali Minai
--------------------------------------------------------------------
satAyiSH-gar hae vA'iz is qadar jis bAGH-e rizvAN kA
vo ik guldasta haE ham bE-KHudON kE tAq-e nisyAN kA Ghalib
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Ali Minai
Raj Kumar Pathria
>
> >> >
> >> > hai kahAN tamannA kA dUsrA qadam yA rab
> >> > hamne dasht-e-imkAn ko aek naqsh-e-pA pAyA
> >
>> >
> >found the first footprint (in?) the desert of contingent possibility
> >(the real world).
>
> divan, has become one of Ghalib's best known and often quoted ash'ar.
> It expresses a truly original thought (especially in the context of
> that time), and uses a profound metaphor.
What a thread has Nagesh Sahib initiated? And what a pleasure it has
been to see both Jamil Sahib and Ali Sahib back in the ring! And, of
course, the timely contribution of Vijay Sahib was an expected bonus!!!
I found it quite instructive to go through these early ash'aar of Ghalib
and to see, on one hand, the profundity of his thought (even at a rather
tender age) and, on the other hand, the structural convolution of his
composition which, on most occasions, does indeed merit 'exclusion' of
these ash'aar from his deevaan. However, when I read the above-quoted
she'r, my first reaction was: WOW! why did he exclude this one? I felt
better after reading Ali Sahib's note, which makes a conjectural guess
that I find totally plausible. And my joy knew no bounds when I
discovered, only today, that the very title of Professor Farmaan
Fatehpuri's tanqeed on Ghalib is -------
"tamanna ka doosra qadam"!!!!!
Vijay Sahib has raised the question: hasn't anyone published the
'complete deevaan of Ghalib, warts and all'? The readers of this column
will be pleased to know that, apart from the conventional deevaan we
normally buy at conventional shops, there are at least another 10-12
that are far bigger than the conventional one but, more importantly,
most of them include the 'nuskha-e-Hameediah' that Jamil Sahib has
alluded to. According to Janab At'har Razvi Sahib, who is the
founder-president of the Ghalib Academy, Toronto, the following three
are perhaps 'the best' --- clearly, a subjective opinion on his part but
a learned one:
1. The one by Janaab Kali Das Gupta Razaa who is regarded as one of the
leading 'maahireen-e-Ghalibiyaat' in the present-day India. His
compilation is the only one that is titled "deevaan-e-Ghalib kaamil",
and it details a lot of history of the various phases of Ghalib's
shaa'iri. This deevaan first appeared in 1990 and is still available at
some chosen bookstores in India.
2. The one by Ali Sardar Jaafary, which gives both Urdu and Hindi
versions of the deevaan (and is supposedly mukammil, though it doesn't
claim being so); it has some tashreeh as well. The get-up of this
edition makes it a collectors' item.
3. The one by Dr. Mo'aiyyan-ur-Rahmaan of the Punjab University, Lahore;
I don't know much about this publication, except for the fact that Razvi
Sahib is all praise for it.
I hope these comments help. I am sorry, Nagesh Sahib, that I did not
jump in earlier, --- the reason being that for the last one week I have
been engaged in composing a special nazm titled "yeh aashiyaaN hamaara".
The nazm is now complete and I hope to post it shortly for the enjoyment
of all ALUPers.
khair-andesh, Raj Kumar Qais
Padmanabhan Srinagesh
>
> Ali Minai wrote:
> >
> > >> >
> > >> > hai kahAN tamannA kA dUsrA qadam yA rab
> > >> > hamne dasht-e-imkAn ko aek naqsh-e-pA pAyA
> > >
> >> >
> > >found the first footprint (in?) the desert of contingent possibility
> > >(the real world).
> >
Welcome back Rak Kumar Sahib! And I, too, was delighted to see Jamil
Sahib and Ali Sahib on ALUP. I was away for a while and was so
disappointed to find so many invitations to visit non-Urdu-related sites
on my server.
I eagerly await the nazm. And is that your new takhallus? Here is
another Ghalib sher that is not in the standard Deevan:
qadd-o-gesU mein qais-o-kohakan ki AzmAish hai
jahAN ham haiN vahAN dAr-o-rasan ki AzmAish hai
Regards,
Nagesh
Ali Minai
Raj Kumar Pathria <rpat...@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
>
>What a thread has Nagesh Sahib initiated? And what a pleasure it has
>been to see both Jamil Sahib and Ali Sahib back in the ring! And, of
>course, the timely contribution of Vijay Sahib was an expected bonus!!!
Thank you for your kind words. I have been (and continue to be) very
busy with work and travel, but, as Ghalib said:
gO maEN rahA rahIn-e staim-hA-e rOzgAr
lEkin tirE KHayAl se GHAfil nahIN rahA
I have been reading ALUP, though lack of time has prevented me from
posting much.
>1. The one by Janaab Kali Das Gupta Razaa who is regarded as one of the
>leading 'maahireen-e-Ghalibiyaat' in the present-day India. His
>compilation is the only one that is titled "deevaan-e-Ghalib kaamil",
>and it details a lot of history of the various phases of Ghalib's
>shaa'iri. This deevaan first appeared in 1990 and is still available at
>some chosen bookstores in India.
I have this in my library, and have found it to be an excellent source.
The author has arranged the material chronologiclly, using a wide variety
of references and his own research, so one can find out in exactly which
year Ghalib wrote any given she'r. There was one occasion when I looked
for a she'r in this collection and could not find it. The she'r was
KHudA kE vAstE pardA na ka'bE kA uThA vA'iz
kahIN aEsA na hO yAN bhI vahI kAfar sanam niklE!
though this she'r does appear in some of Ghalib's regular divans. This
suggests that this text is missing some ash'ar, but it is a great
work.
This was published by Anjuman Taraqqi-e Urdu, and should be available
from them. One possible place to look is the Ghalib Academy's book
store in Nizamuddin, Delhi, where I have often found interesting
books. Ferozsons carry it in Pakistan.
>2. The one by Ali Sardar Jaafary, which gives both Urdu and Hindi
>versions of the deevaan (and is supposedly mukammil, though it doesn't
>claim being so); it has some tashreeh as well. The get-up of this
>edition makes it a collectors' item.
Yes, I have seen it and it is very nice.
>3. The one by Dr. Mo'aiyyan-ur-Rahmaan of the Punjab University, Lahore;
>I don't know much about this publication, except for the fact that Razvi
>Sahib is all praise for it.
I have not seen it (is the author Moin-ur-Rahman?) I'll try to see if
I can get a copy from Pakistan.
>
>I hope these comments help. I am sorry, Nagesh Sahib, that I did not
>jump in earlier, --- the reason being that for the last one week I have
>been engaged in composing a special nazm titled "yeh aashiyaaN hamaara".
>The nazm is now complete and I hope to post it shortly for the enjoyment
>of all ALUPers.
We will all look forward eagerly to reading this work.
Ali Minai
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ik yehI husn-E yaqIN taskIn-e jAn-O dil sahI:
mujh se vo GHAfil nahIN haE, us se maEN GHAfil sahI. Jigar
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Ali Minai
Ali Minai
Padmanabhan Srinagesh <nr...@pacbell.net> wrote:
>
>.... Here is
>another Ghalib sher that is not in the standard Deevan:
>
>qadd-o-gesU mein qais-o-kohakan ki AzmAish hai
>jahAN ham haiN vahAN dAr-o-rasan ki AzmAish hai
Again, a very famous she'r, and this time I have no hypothesis why
Ghalib left it out. I have always thought that this was one of
Ghalib's most strikingly modern ash'ar. It could have been written
by Faiz a hundred years later!
In the current discussion, one must remember hw Ghalib selected
ash'ar for his divan. After doing a selection himself, based on
an apparently quite disordered collection of manuscripts and
published pieces, he handed it over to Maulana Fazl-e Haq
Khairabadi, one of the great scholars of the time. The Maulana
made a very rigorous selection, and some of the stuff might have
been left out because of his rather than Ghalib's choice. Ghalib
was always very respectful towards Maulana Fazl-e Haq, and would
not have disputed his opinion. Some other friends (Shefta?,
Azurda?) were also, I believe, involved in the selection, but
Maulana Fazl-e Haq had the major say.
Ali
-----------------------------------------------------------------
junUn-E dil na sirf itnA ke us gul-paErahan tak haE;
qad-O gEsU se apnA silsilA dAr-O rasan tak haE. Majrooh
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--
Ali Minai
Jamil Ahmad
nr...@pacbell.net wrote:
> ... Here is
> another Ghalib sher that is not in the standard Deevan:
>
> qadd-o-gesU mein qais-o-kohakan ki AzmAish hai
> jahAN ham haiN vahAN dAr-o-rasan ki AzmAish hai
>
>
> Nagesh
>
I was surprised to read this, since I always thought this was one of
the later ash'aar of Ghalib. On looking for this sh'r in my copy of
the Diwaan, I found that it was very much there. Then I looked in
Nuskha-e-Hameediya to see if it is there too, because that would
have confirmed it was written before 1821. There is no she'r in
this zameen in the Nuskha.
I can only assume that it was mistakenly excluded from the printing of
the Diwaan that Nagesh Sahib has.
Incidentally this ghazal has at least three verses that have become
proverbial. One is the second line of the she'r under discussion;
two others are:
vafaa daari men shaikh-o-barhaman ki aazmaa'ish hai.
and
naye fitnon men ab charkh-e-kuhan ki aazmaa'ish hai.
Padmanabhan Srinagesh
>
>
> I was surprised to read this, since I always thought this was one of
> the later ash'aar of Ghalib. On looking for this sh'r in my copy of
> the Diwaan, I found that it was very much there. Then I looked in
> Nuskha-e-Hameediya to see if it is there too, because that would
> have confirmed it was written before 1821. There is no she'r in
> this zameen in the Nuskha.
> I can only assume that it was mistakenly excluded from the printing of
> the Diwaan that Nagesh Sahib has.
>
> Incidentally this ghazal has at least three verses that have become
> proverbial. One is the second line of the she'r under discussion;
> two others are:
>
> vafaa daari men shaikh-o-barhaman ki aazmaa'ish hai.
>
> and
> naye fitnon men ab charkh-e-kuhan ki aazmaa'ish hai.
>
> Jamil
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Jamil Sahib:
Thanks for the additional information. The Deevan I have is in Devnagri
script, and is not authoritative. I have an Urdu version but the print
is truly tiny, and my skill at reading Urdu interacts with my poor
eyesight to make the text unreadable. But I'll look at it tonight.
The third verse of the ghazal in the version sung by Rafi is my
favorite:
rag-o-pai meiN jab uttare zehr-e-gham phir dekhiye kya ho
abhi to talkhi-e-kAm-o-dahan ki aazmaaish hai
And the meaning, I think, is:
When the venom of sorrow seeps into your marrow, see the havoc and feel
that emotion.
Until now your lips have taken small sips of passion's bitter, but quite
harmless, potion.
Rag-o-pai = veins of the feet, but used to indicate the very fibre or
essence of one's being
talkhi-e-kAm = bitterness of passion
dahan = mouth
I would be very interested in seeing the other verses in this ghazal. I
think Tejjit Sahib may have posted some additional ashaar, and I will
look for them in my files.
Nagesh
Jamil Ahmad
nr...@pacbell.net wrote:
> The third verse of the ghazal in the version sung by Rafi is my
> favorite:
>
> rag-o-pai meiN jab uttare zehr-e-gham phir dekhiye kya ho
> abhi to talkhi-e-kAm-o-dahan ki aazmaaish hai
>
> And the meaning, I think, is:
>
> When the venom of sorrow seeps into your marrow, see the havoc and
feel
> that emotion.
> Until now your lips have taken small sips of passion's bitter, but
quite
> harmless, potion.
>
> Rag-o-pai = veins of the feet, but used to indicate the very fibre or
> essence of one's being
> talkhi-e-kAm = bitterness of passion
> dahan = mouth
>
> I would be very interested in seeing the other verses in this ghazal.
I
> think Tejjit Sahib may have posted some additional ashaar, and I will
> look for them in my files.
>
> Nagesh
Here is the complete ghazal:
huzoor-e-shah men ahl-e-sukhan ki aazmaa'ish hai
chaman men khush-navaayaan-e-chaman ki aazmaa'ish hai
[This she'r refers to the Emperor's court, where the ghazal was
probably recited.]
qad-o-gaisoo men qais-o-kohkan ki aazmaa'ish hai
jahaan ham hain vahaan daar-o-rasan ki aazmaa'ish hai
[For Majnoon and Farhaad the test is Laila's and Shireen's charm;
for me it's death. There is a beautiful play on words here. One
meaning is: I am being used to test and try out the gallows and rope.
Another is that the perseverance of Majnoon and Farhaad is being tested
to the limit; but here the ability of the gallows is being tested to the
limit.]
karen ge kohkan ke hausle ka imtihaan aakhir
hunooz us khastah ke niroo-e-tan ki aazmaa'ish hai
[Right now they are merely testing the physical strength of
Farhaad, by asking him to dig a canal of milk. They will eventually
test his forbearance too when they send him the news of Shireen's
death.]
naseem-e-misr ko pir-e-kan'aan ki hava khaahi
use Yousaf ki boo-e-pairhan ki aazmaa'ish hai
[This refers to the story of Yousaf. After Yousaf was thrown in a
well by his half-brothers, he was discovered by a passing caravan, which
took him along to Egypt and sold him. Yousaf's distraught father,
Ya'qoob (the old man of Kan'aan) could smell his son's clothes from
hundreds of miles away. The poet says that the breeze coming from Egypt
brought along the smell of Yousaf's clothes not as a favour to Ya'qoob;
but merely to test the effectiveness of the smell.]
vuh aaya bazm men, dekho, na keheeyo phir keh ghaafil the
shikeeb-o-sabr-e-ahl-e-anjuman ki aazmaa'ish hai
[mehboob is about to come; beware, don't say later that you were
unaware. If you are not alert, you might be robbed of your
forbearance].
rahe dil hi men teer achhchha, jigar ke paar ho behtar
gharaz shust-e-but-e-naavak fagan ki aazmaa'ish hai
[Whether the arrow pierces the heart and remains there or goes
through it, is equally good (is irrelevant). I am only testing the aim
of the mehboob.]
naheen kuchh subah o zunnaar ke parde men giraai
vafaadaari men shaikh o barhaman ki aazmaa'ish hai
[It is not the (shaikh's) string of prayer beads or the
(brahmin's) sacred thread that can tie them strongly to their ideals.
What is being tested is their own loyalty.]
paRaa reh ai dil-e-vaabasta, be-taabi se kia haasil
magar phir taab-e-zulf-e-pur shikan ki aazmaa'ish hai
[Oh heart, who have been tied in the zulf, just stay put. What
is the use of struggling to free yourself? Is it the the strength of
those curly tresses that you want to test?
Here 'magar' means 'but do you?', etc. This meaning is now obsolete in
Urdu, but still current in Farsi.]
rag-o-pai men jab utre zehr-e-gham tab dekhiye kia ho
abhi to talkhi-e-kaam-o-dahan ki aazmaa'ish hai
[When the poison of grief reaches throughout the body, then I
don't know what will happen. As it is, merely the bitterness of the
poison is testing my mouth and throat to the limit.]
vuh aa'en ge maire ghar wa'da kaisaa dekhnaa Ghalib
naye fitnon men ab charkh-e-kuhan ki aazmaa'ish hai.
[Mehboob is promising to come to my house - as if I should believe it.
It is as if the old sky is being tested by newly stirred up trouble ( I
am too experienced to be fooled by this promise).
Alternative meaning of the second line is that it is a challenge for the
old sky to come up with new troubles for me.]
Ghalib being Ghalib, there must be other meanings to each of these
ash'aar. Other explanations will be most welcome.
zaman...@gmail.com
> Salaam!
>
> Raj Kumar Sahib's ghazal was enchanting, and I was distracted by mundane
> concerns so I did not express my appreciation earlier. On returning to
> ALUP, I found a fair amount on non-UP-related matter, and thought I
> would increase the signal to noise ratio by posting a ghazal of Ghalib
> that is not in his Deevan. Ghalib discarded 1498 verses that he wrote
> befor 1826. THis ghazal is from that discarded set, and I transliterate
> somee shers from the Urdu original as presented in Ghalib: A critical
> introduction by Sayyid Mahmood. (An extraordinary book). The cited
> source is the Arshi edition.
>
> Corrections and comments welcome.
>
> hamne dasht-e-imkAn ko aek naqsh-e-pA pAyA
>
> aek bekasi tujhko A'lam AshnA pAyA
>
> KhAkbAzi-e-ummId kArkhAnah-e-tiflI
> yAs ko do A'lam se lab ba khandah va pAyA
>
> kyoN na vahshat ghAlib bAj khwah taskEn ho?
> kishtah(?) taghAful ko khasam(?) khUn bahA pAyA
>
> khasam = khe suAd meem
>
> Nagesh
Respect
Sabah