Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. kripaal siNgh bedaar (1916-1977), shaiKhupura. His family had no background in shaa’eri but he started composing while still in school. In dayaal siNgh college he won student competitions in a mushaa’era and came to the notice of taajvar najeebaabaadi professor of urdu and faarsi at the time. Later he became his ustaad/mentor. He had to flee to India under very difficult circumstances and lost all financial means. Finally, in 1967 he became lecturer in punjab university, paTiala. His collection was published in 1977 with a grant from the punjab government. In this collection he has a nazm which describes how he saved a muslim girl from being raped by a sikh mob. Another nazm describes his pain at the loss of home. This Ghazal is composed with same radeef and qaafiya as Ghalib’s ‘saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN’ and is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’.
1
kya kya gulaabiyaaN¹ haiN tumhaare shabaab² meN
goya³ bahaar⁴ Doob⁵ gaii hai sharaab⁶ meN   1.used here to mean mischief, tricks 2.youth 3.as if 4.spring 5.drowned, drenched 6.wine
O, what mischief/playfulness/teasing there is in your youthfulness. It is as if spring itself is drenched in wine. In poetic convention, spring is a time of celebration/renewal/love. Spring rains create the mood for (among other things), drinking wine. Thus, the beloved’s youthfulness is supplying both spring celebrations and wine.
2
gul-posh¹, gul-farosh², gul-andaaz³, gul-taraaz⁴
jannat simaT gaii hai tumhaare shabaab meN   1.rose-decked 2.rose-providing/scattering/spreading 3.rose-style 4.ornamented/decorated with roses 5.collected, congealed 6.youth
The beloved is the embodiment of the beauty of the rose as if heaven itself is gathered/congealed into her youth.
3
har sharmgiiN¹ ada² se numayaaN³ hai baaNkpan⁴
kya be-hijaabiyaaN⁵ haiN tumhaare hijaab⁶ meN    1.shy, coy 2.style 3.evident 4.mischief, rebellion 5.unveiling 6.veil
The beloved is nominally veiled, following conventions. But in spite of that she is able to show her playful/teasing style with shy gestures. O what revelations there are in your veiling.
4
saaqi tere jamaal¹-e sahr-aafriiN² ki Khair³
chehre ki ek kiran bhi mila de sharaab meN    1.face, beauty 2.enchantment creating 3.long live
Here the saaqi and the beloved are the same. May her enchanting looks be preserved forever. Add a ray of light of the radiance of your face to the wine as you serve it.
5
yuN jach¹ gaya nazar² meN tere pairahan³ ka raNg⁴
sau phool khil⁵ gaye nigah-e-inteKhaab⁶ meN    1.suit, fit, just right 2.sight 3.clothing 4.style 5.blossomed 6.selective/discriminating eye
The poet/lover took one look at her clothes and her style made a mark on his sight. It was as if a hundred flowers blossomed in his discriminating eye.
6
barham¹ hua tha Khair² se ek din mizaaj-e-dost³
ab tak hai nazm⁴-e shaam o sahr⁵ inKhelaab⁶ meN    1.scattered, strayed, annoyed 2.wishing well, being happy 3.mood of the beloved 4.arrangement 5.dawn, day 6.turned around
Once, a long time ago, the mood of the beloved strayed from the path of being happy with me. To this day the arrangement of days and nights (life) has been topsy turvy.
7
haqqa¹ keh us sitam² meN koii turfagi³ na thi
shaamil⁴ jo ho saka na tumhaare itaab⁵ meN    1.in truth 2.cruelty 3.rarity, novelty 4.included 5.anger
The beloved thinks up novel ways of turturing her lovers. Thus, the truth is that the kinds of torture that did not get included in your cruelty were simply not novel enough to be worth it.
8
bedaar¹, aabru² bhi gaii sarvari³ ke saath
miTTi⁴ hui Kharaab, jahaan-e Kharaab⁵ meN    1.pen-name of the poet 2.respect 3.mastery 4.miTTi Kharaab hona is an expression meaning bring disrepute to self and to one’s lineage/origins 5.material world
This probably has a reference of expulsion of aadam from heaven, symbolizing the separation of the human soul from the divine, loss of respect and mastery over angels. In sufi tradition fana/annihilation leading to union/merger with the divine is desirable and the material world is undesirable. Thus, O bedaar, separation from the divine caused loss of respect and mastery. You brought disrepute to yourself and your ancestry by coming to this material world.