Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mirza asadullah KhaaN Ghalib (1797-1869). I dare not write any introduction. On more than one occasion Ghalib has warned his readers that he needs no introduction or even address. I humbly comply. There are three Ghazal of Ghalib with the same qaafiya-radeef ‘aa kare koii’. All three are linked to the category, ‘ibn-e mariam hua kare koii’ dated 1847. Two other Ghazal (this is one of the two) are dated 1821 and are of a period when Ghalib was young (24 years old) and still composed in a style difficult to comprehend. There are numerous other Ghazal by other poets composed in the same qaafiya-radeef all linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’.
1
jab tak dahaan¹-e zaKhm² na paida³ kare koii
mushkil⁴ keh tujh se raah⁵-e suKhan⁶ vaa⁷ kare koii   1.mouth 2.wound, cut 3.create 4.difficult 5.path 6.conversation 7.open up
Conventionally a wound is like a mouth with red lips. An open wound/mouth also bleeds. Unless one creates a wound (in the heart) that is like a mouth, it is difficult to open a path of conversation (with the beloved). Thus, it is only severe pain of love that can open a path to approach the beloved.
2
sar-bar¹ hui na vaada²-e sabr-aazma³ se umr⁴
fursat⁵ kahaaN keh teri tamanna⁶ kare koii   1.equal, able to stand up to 2.promise 3.patience/edurance trying 4.life-span 5.leisure, time 6.desire, longing
The beloved promises to come/meet sometime in the future but the promised date never comes. His life-span could not stand up to this patience-trying promise. Reminds me of Ghalib’s misra … kaun jiita hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak. Who has the time (available) to continue to long for you i.e., death will overtake me before I achieve union.
3
aalam¹ Ghubaar²-e vahshat³-e majnuN hai sar-ba-sar⁴
kab tak Khayaal⁵-e turra⁶-e laila kare koii   1.world, universe 2.dust, illusion 3.madness, desert, wilderness 4.head to head, end to end 5.thought, imagination, desire 6.crest of the hair-do or the ornamental cap
The poet/lover/devotee desire union with the beloved/divine. He wanders the desert like majnuN and creates a dust storm (an illusion). How long can he keep thinking of (longing for) the crest of the cap/hair of the beloved. In a sufiyaana interpretation this world is an illusion. How long can you seek union with the divine in this world, when real union will happen only in the hereafter.
4
afsurdagi¹ nahiN tarab-insha²-e iltefaat³
haaN dard⁴ ban ke dil meN magar jaa⁵ kare koii     1.melancholy, sorrow 2.composing/expressing pleasure/joy 3.kindness, favours 4.pain 5.place, home
The poet/lover’s sorrow is not the kind of sorrow that will express itself as joy with an occasional favour granted by the beloved. But if the beloved agrees to make a place for herself in his heart and causes pain of love, then he will be happy.
5
rone se aye nadiim¹ malaamat² na kar mujhe
aaKhir kabhi to uqda³-e dil vaa⁴ kare koii   1.friend 2.blame, reproach 3.knot 4.open, unravel
O friend, do not blame me for crying. Afterall one has to unravel the knot of his heart sometime i.e., one has to let his emotions out.
6
timsaal¹-e jalva² arz³ kar aye husn⁴ kab talak
aaiina-e-Khayaal⁵ ko dekha kare koii    1.example 2.image 3.present, manifest 4.beauty 5.mirror of thought/imagination
O beauty (divine beauty) present/manifest your image/glory sometime. How long can one be content with seeing you only in the mirror of their imagination.
7
chaak¹-e jigar² se jab rah³-e pursish⁴ na vaa⁵ hui
kya faa’eda⁶ keh je’b⁷ ko rusvaa⁸ kare koii   1.tear 2.liver – the seat of forbearance 3.path 4.inquire after welfare 5.open up 6.use, benefit 7.shirt-front, collar 8.embarrass
Conventionally, the poet/lover tears is shirt-front in distress. He says what is the use of doing that when even tearing my liver/heart did not open up the path by which the beloved would come and inquire after my welfare.
8
bekaari¹-e junuuN² ko hai sar piiTne ka shuGhl³
jab haath TuuT jaa’eN to phir kya kare koii   1.uselessness, ineffectiveness 2.passion 3.past-time
The past-time of the ineffectiveness of passion is to keep beating the head in sorrow. But when even the hands are broken, what can one do.
9
husn¹-e faroGh²-e sham’a³-e suKhan⁴ duur hai asad⁵
pahle dil-e gudaaKhta⁶ paida⁷ kare koii     1.beauty 2.brilliance 3.candle 4.verse recitation 5.pen-name of the poet 6.melted, burning 7.create, develop
Conventionally the candle ‘sham’a-e mahfil’ is circulated in the gathering of poets and placed in front of the poet whose turn it is to recite. Before the poet can become deserving of the beauty of the brilliance of this candle, he has to develop and burning/passionate heart.