Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. manohar lal shaarib (1920-1962) learnt urdu, farsi and arabi at home. After matriculation he worked for the agriculture department in hyderabad. He was very much a part of the progressive circle of shu’ara. This Ghazal is in the style of Ghalib’s ‘dete haiN baada zarf-e qadah-Khwaar dekh kar’ and is linked to the appropriate icon under ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’ on the Theme Index Page.
1
inkaar¹ meN nehaaN² tera eqraar³ dekh kar
jii Khush hua nazaakat⁴-e guftaar⁵ dekh kar   1.refusal, denial 2.hidden 3.acceptance, agreement 4.delicacy, sophistication 5.conversation
The beloved has a delicate and refined style to speaking. Of course, she turns down any advances made by the poet/lover but in a very sophisticated style. Hidden in this, is her acceptance. The poet/lover is delighted to see her refined style of conversation, saying no with a hidden message of ‘yes’.
2
hona paRa har ek tajalli¹ ko be-naqaab²
meri nigaah³-e shauq⁴ ka me’aar⁵ dekh kar     1.brilliance, manifestation of beauty 2.unveiled, appear 3.sight 4.love, desire 5.standard
This she’r invokes the story of moosa on koh-e tuur, mount Sinai, and Ghalib’s she’r without explicitly mentioning either. Said Ghalib …
girni thi ham pe barq-e tajalli ne tuur par
dete haiN baada zarf-e qadah-Khwaar dekh kar
The Biblical/qur’aanic story is that Moses went up Mount Sinai, asking to see god. There was a lightning strike and Moses fainted. Ghalib implies that Moses did not have the capacity to see divine brilliance and suggests that wine should be served only in proportion to the capacity of the wine-drinker. Echoing all of this, shaarib says that every brilliance had to unveil itself when it saw the high standards of his ‘nigaah-e shauq’, discriminating/demanding eye.
3
jin ki nigaah¹ meN nahiN raNgiini²-e bahaar³
vo kya kareNge ye gul-o-gulzaar⁴ dekh kar 1.eyes 2.colour, beauty 3.spring 4.rose and garden
Those whose eyes do not have the capability to see this colourful spring, what can they do with these flowers and gardens. This could simply be about the beauty of the material or the spiritual world. But most likely, ‘raNgiini-e bahaar’ is the vision of a socially just society. Those who do not have that vision, what can they do with these baubles around them.
4
maaNgi¹ hai sidq²-e dil se dua ham ne maut³ ki
un ki nazar⁴ meN rahm⁵ ke aasaar⁶ dekh kar    1.asked for 2.sincerity 3.death 4.eyes 5.kindness, pity 6.effects, signs, hints
The beloved is always cruel to the poet/lover. But this time (for an unknown or unstated reason) he sees kindness in her eyes. He prays for death with all sincerity of his heart. Why? We are left to guess. Is it because seeing that kindness in her eyes he feels satiated, feels that this is the climax of his life and wishes to die. Or, he believes that this is not sustainable and wants to die before her anger returns. Or, he believes that doomsday must be around the corner for this to have happened. We can pick any variation we like.
5
aisoN ki¹ kaj-ravi² nahiN hoti kabhi mu’aaf³
chalte nahiN jo vaqt⁴ ki raftaar⁵ dekh kar    1.people like these 2.crooked path 3.forgiven 4.times, the present 5.speed, direction, ways
manohar lal shaarib was a part of the progressive group of shu’ara. He is probably talking about the socialist cause and about people who have deviated from it or are working at cross-purposes. Those who do not follow the demands of time, do not take up the path that the times call for, will never forgiven, he says.
6
aye dost¹ jaagte hi kaTi hai shab²-e alam³
niind aa gayii hai sub’h ke aasaar⁴ dekh kar    1.friend, beloved 2.night of 3.sorrow (caused by separation from the beloved) 4.signs
It appears that a friend (or perhaps even the beloved) has chanced upon the poet/lover (perhaps in the street of the beloved), sleeping. That he is asleep is a metter of surprise and the poet/lover feels compelled to explain. The night of sorrow (due to separation) was spent awake and restless. With emerging signs of dawn, with all hope of union lost, he finally dosed off a bit.
7
zaahid¹ bhi aaj mo’taqad²-e jaam³ ho gaya
shaa’estagi⁴-e shaarib⁵-e sarshaar⁶ dekh kar    1.preacher 2.convinced of, believer in 3.cup (of wine) 4.urbane, refined, sophisted 5.pen-name of the poet 5.satisfied, satiated, intoxicated
It appears that the preacher has come upon the poet-wine-lover who is in a satiated state of ecstacy. He finds this to be such a sophisticated and refined state that he is convinced of the goodness of wine.