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. kalidas gupta raza dates this Ghazal to 1816, a period when Ghalib composed Ghazal with farfetched analogies and tangled logic. In the final print diivaan Ghalib included only the maqta/last she’r but I have worked on the complete Ghazal. There are several others in the same radeef/qaafiya and are linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam one earlier Ghazal linked to Ghalib peshrau-hamqadam.
1
na bhuula izteraab¹-e dam-shumaari² intezaar³ apna
keh aaKhir shiishah-e-saa’at⁴ ke kaam aaya Ghubaar⁵ apna    1.restlessness, eagerness 2.counting minutes 3.waiting 4.glass of time i.e., hourglass 5.dust
During his lifetime the poet/lover waited restlessly for the beloved counting every minute. Even in death, his ‘waiting’ did not forget the art of counting minutes. His dust (corpse disintegrated and reduced to dust) was used in an hourglass i.e., he is still counting minutes waiting for the beloved.
2
ze-bas¹ aatish ne fasl-e-raNg² meN raNg³-e digar⁴ paaya
charaaGh-e-gul⁵ se DhuuNDhe hai chaman meN sham’a-Khaar⁶ apna    1.az-baskeh, because 2.season of colour i.e., the colourful season of spring 3.used here to mean character/nature 4.different 5.candle of the rose 6.thorn/wick of the candle
The rose (usually thought of as red) is often likened to a flame e.g., one of the collections of jigar muradabadi is called aatish-e gul. Thus, fire/flame has found a different character in springtime. What is that character – it has taken the form of a rose, like flame looking for its ‘thorn’ – the tip of its wick.
3
asiir¹-e be-zabaaN² huN kaash-keh³ sayyaad⁴-e be-parva⁵
ba-daam⁶-e jauhar⁷-e aaiina ho jaave shikaar⁸ apna    1.captive 2.voiceless, helpless 3.I wish/pray 4.hunter, birdcatcher 5.uncaring 6.by the net 7.polish 8.captive
Typical of Ghalib’s Ghazal of this period, the she’r has difficult to untangle imagery. The poet/lover is bird and the uncaring/cruel beloved (birdcatcher) has caught him in her net. He is helpless/voiceless and in this state likens himself to the polish lines of mirror. In Ghalib’s days mirrors were made by finely polishing a metal surface. Polish lines invariably showed up on the surface of the mirror. Ghalib not only likens himself to the voiceless polish lines but also considers them to be a net. The beloved, looking at herself in the mirror, will get so enamored with her own beauty that she cannot look away-she will become a captive in that net (recall that Ghalib likens himself to such a net). Thus the hunter would become a captive of the prey.
4
magar¹ ho maan’a²-e daaman-kashi³ zauq⁴-e Khud-aaraaii⁵
hua hai naqsh-band⁶-e aaiina saNg-e-mazaar⁷ apna     1.so that 2.forbidder 3.pulling away the hem of the robe, going away 4.taste for 5.self-adornment 6.image-maker 7.tombstone
The poet/lover is dead and buried. His tombstone makes an image of a mirror i.e., it ‘becomes’ like a mirror. It imitates a mirror so that when the beloved comes to visit, she will see a mirror and her taste for self-adornment is so strong that it will forbid her to (prevent her from) pulling away the hem of her robe, i.e., from going away.
5
dareGh¹! aye naatavaani² varna³ ham zabt-aashnayaaN⁴ ne
tilasm⁵-e raNg meN baandha tha ahd⁶-e ustuvaar⁷ apna    1.alas 2.weakness, fragility 3.otherwise 4.familiar with/experts in self-control 5.enchantment, magic 6.determination 7.strong
In poetic convention lovers exercise self-control and do not reveal their anguish for fear of maligning the reputation of the beloved. They tie up i.e., hold strongly their ‘zabt, self-control’ in a magical colour/style which does not betray their inner turmoil. But alas, their weakness has caused them to break out in sorrow and reveal their love.
6
agar¹ aasoodagi² hai mudd’uaa³-e ranj⁴-e betaabi⁵
niyaaz⁶-e gardish⁷-e paimaana⁸-e mai⁹ rozgaar¹⁰ apna   1.if 2.comfort, peace 3.goal, destination 4.sorrow 5.restlessness 6.devotional offering 7.circulation 8.cup 9.wine 10.daily survival
In a tavern the cup of wine keeps circulating from patron to patron. The goal of this circulation is to give everyone some comfort/pleasure. This circulation is like the restlessness that a lover feels. Thus, if the goal of restlessness is pleasure/fulfilment, then offer my own restlessness as a devotion to the circulation of the cup. Perhaps the implication is that he wants to drink away his sorrow.
7
asad¹ ham vo junuuN-jaulaaN² gadaa³-e be-sar-o-paa⁴ haiN
keh hai sar-panjah⁵-e mizshgaan⁶-e aahu⁷ pusht-Khaar⁸ apna 1.pen-name of the poet 2.running (fast) in madness of passion 3.beggar 4.be-sar-o-paa is an expression meaning without any means/belongings 5.tips of fingers/nails of the palm 6.eyelashes 7.deer 8.backscratcher
Imagine a lover running in the desert in mad passion looking for the beloved. He is running fast because of his madness, and he has no belongings (not even a backscratcher). He is running faster than a deer with the deer is close behind him so much so that his eyelashes work as his backscratcher. The focus of this imagery is the mad passion of the lover.