For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
خیر سے غبار اپنا ۔شوکت علی خاں فانیؔ بدایونی
۱
بے خودی پہ تھا فانیؔ کچھ نہ اختیار اپنا
عمر بھر کیا ناحق ہم نے انتظار اپنا
۲
تابِ ضبطِ غم نے بھی دے دیا جواب آخر
ان کے دل سے اٹھتا ہے آج اعتبار اپنا
۳
عشق زندگی ٹھہرا لیکن اب یہ مشکل ہے
زندگی سے ہوتا ہے عہد اُستُوار اپنا
۴
شِکوَہ برملا کرتے، خیر یہ تو کیا کرتے
ہاں مگر جو بن پڑتا شِکوَہ ایک بار اپنا
۵
غم ہی جی کا دشمن تھا غم سے دور رہتے تھے
غم ہی رہ گیا آخر ایک غم گسار اپنا
۶
لے گیا چمن کو بھی موسمِ بہار آ کر
اب قفس کا گوشہ ہے حاصلِ بہار اپنا
۷
جھوٹ ہی سہی وعدہ کیوں یقیں نہ کر لیتے
بات دل فریب اُن کی دل امیدوار اپنا
۸
انقلاب عالم میں ورنہ دیر ہی کیا تھی
ان کے آستاں تک تھا خیر سے غبار اپنا
۹
دل ہے مضطرب فانیؔ آنکھ محوِ حیرت ہے
دل نے دے دیا شاید آنکھ کو قرار اپنا
ख़ैर से ग़ुबार अपना – शौकत अली ख़ां फ़ानी बदायूनी
१
बे-ख़ुदी पे था फ़ानी कुछ न एख़्तियार अपना
उम्र भर किया नाहक़ हम ने इंतेज़ार अपना
२
ताब-ए ज़ब्त-ए ग़म ने भी दे दिया जवाब आख़र
उन के दिल से उठता है आज ए’तेबार अपना
३
इश्क़ ज़िंदगी ठहरा लेकिन अब ये मुश्किल है
ज़िंदगी से होता है अहद उस्तुवार अपना
४
शिक्वा बरमला करते, ख़ैर ये तो क्या करते
हाँ मगर जो बन पड़ता शिक्वा एक बार अपना
५
ग़म ही जी का दुश्मन था ग़म से दूर रहते थे
ग़म ही रह गया आख़र एक ग़म-गुसार अपना
६
ले गया चमन को भी मौसम-ए बहार आ कर
अब क़फ़स का गोशा है हासिल-ए बहार अपना
७
झूट ही सही वादा क्यूँ यक़ीं न कर लेते
बात दिल-फ़रेब उन की दिल उमीद-वार अपना
८
इन्केलाब-ए आलम में वर्ना देर ही क्या थी
उन के आस्ताँ तक था ख़ैर से ग़ुबार अपना
९
दिल है मुज़्तरिब फ़ानी आँख महव-ए हैरत है
दिल ने दे दिया शा’एद आँख को क़रार अपना
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed shaukat ali KhaaN faani badayuni (1879-1941), BA 1901, law 1908. Stumbling law practice. Invited to hyderabad by maharaja kishan parshaad in 1932, working as the principal of a reputed school. Alcohol proved to be a bid problem. He died forlorn and destitute. Much of his work was lost. This is a Ghazal that he composed in the zamin of Ghalib, ‘mizshgaan-e aahu pusht-Khaar apna’ and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, on the Theme page.
1
be-Khudi1 pe tha fani2 kuchh na eKhtiyaar3 apna
umr bhar kiya naahaq4 ham ne intezaar5 apna 1.without senses, in a trance, intoxicated 2.pen-name of the poet 3.self-control, will 4.unjustified, useless 5.waiting
O faani, I never had any control over myself in the matter of intoxication. I always fell for drinking and lost my senses. Given that I had no control, it was useless for me to ‘wait for myself’ all life long. Here ‘wait for myself’ means wait for me to come to my senses. Thus, he had been waiting for this (sobriety) all life long and it never happened.
2
taab1-e zabt2-e Gham ne bhi de diya javaab3 aaKhir4
un ke dil se uThta5 hai aaj e’tebaar6 apna 1.strength 2.forbearnce 3.‘javaab de dena’ is an expression meaning to give up 4.finally 5.‘dil se uThna’ is expression meaning ‘to stop doing something’ 6.trust
Poetic convention is that the lover should be stoic and bear his sorrow silently so as not to malign the reputation of the belove. But his sorrow was so intense and so sustained that his strength and forbearance finally gave up i.e., he began to openly express his sorrow. The result was that the beloved could no longer trust him to keep her secret.
3
ishq zindagi Thahra1 laikin ab ye mushkil2 hai
zindagi se hota hai ahd3 ustuvaar4 apna 1.used here to mean ‘it has been decided/settled’ 2.difficulty 3.promise 4.strong
It is given that the promise of/commitment to love for the beloved has to be strong. But now love itself has become life i.e., the basis of life. The poet/lover lives because he loves. But a strong commitment to love then implies a strong commitment to living. That appears to be a difficulty to the poet, who would rather die.
4
shikva1 barmala2 karte, Khair3 ye to kya karte
haaN magar jo ban paRta4 shikva1 ek baar apna 1.complaint 2.openly, publicly 3.used here the sense of ‘oh all right, I agree’ 4.ban paRna is an expression meaning succeed
I should/might have complained openly and loudly … on the second thoughts I agree, I could never have done that, but I might have complained to her (privately) if there was any chance that it would succeed even once.
5
Gham hi ji1 ka dushman2 tha Gham se duur rahte the
Gham hi rah gaya aaKhir3 ek Gham-gusaar4 apna 1.life 2.enemy 3.finally, in the end 4.sympathizer, friend
I thought sorrow was the anathema/hateful for life, so I stayed away from sorrow. Now in the end it turns out that the only sympathizer left is sorrow itself i.e., he has nothing else to turn to, except sorrow.
6
le gaya chaman ko bhi mausam1-e bahaar2 aa kar
ab qafas3 ka gosha4 hai haasil5-e bahaar2 apna 1.season 2.spring 3.cage 4.corner 5.benefit, end result
It is convention that poet is portrayed as a bird. The bird has been caught and put in a cage. He is particularly miserable in spring missing his nest and his friends. All he could get as a benefit of spring was a corner of his cage while spring has taken over the whole garden.
7
jhuuT hi sahi vaada1 kyuN yaqiN2 na kar lete
baat dil-fareb3 un ki dil umid-vaar4 apna 1.promise 2.believe, trust 3.heart deceiving/captivating 4.hopeful
It may have been a false promise, but how could I not have trusted her. Her words were captivating, and my heart was hopeful. Said Ghalib …
tere vaade pe jiye hum tu ye jaan jhuuT jana
keh Khushi se mar na jaate, agar e’tebaar hota
8
inqelaab1-e aalam2 meN varna3 der hi kya thi
un ke aastaaN4 tak tha Khair5 se Ghubaar6 apna 1.revolution, turning around 2.world 3.otherwise 4.threshold 5.safely, with well being 6.dust
The poet/lover is dead and turned to dust. The breeze blows his dust/ashes to her door. Of course, the poet is still able to see all this and write about it. Had the dust passed beyond her threshold, had she seen it, the the realization of this tragedy would have changed her mind. This would amount to a world-wide revolution without any delay. But all he could see was the dust getting safely to the threshold, nothing beyond. Recall that this is all that ever happened to him during his lifetime. All he could do, if that, was reach her threshold, not beyond.
9
dil hai muztarib1 fani2 aaNkh mahv3-e hairat4 hai
dil ne de diya shaa’ed5 aaNkh ko qaraar6 apna 1.restless, eager 2.pen-name of the poet 3.engrossed, obsessed 4.amazement 5.perhaps 6.peace and quiet
The eye, perceiving the beloved’s beauty is engrossed in amazement. It is stunned – so stunned that everything is quiet and peaceful for it. The heart on the other hand is restless. Perhaps the heart has given away its peace and quiet to the eye. Possibly, the scenario is that the heart was peaceful until the eye saw the beloved. When that happened, the heart gave up its peace and quiet to the eye (which was amazed and stunned). As a result of giving up its peace, the heart became restless.
mohammed shaukat ali KhaaN faani badayuni (1879-1941), BA 1901, law 1908. Stumbling law practice. Invited to hyderabad by maharaja kishan parshaad in 1932, working as the principal of a reputed school. Alcohol proved to be a bid problem. He died forlorn and destitute. Much of his work was lost. This is a Ghazal that he composed in the zamin of Ghalib, ‘mizshgaan-e aahu pusht-Khaar apna’ and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, on the Theme page.
1
be-Khudi1 pe tha fani2 kuchh na eKhtiyaar3 apna
umr bhar kiya naahaq4 ham ne intezaar5 apna
1.without senses, in a trance, intoxicated 2.pen-name of the poet 3.self-control, will 4.unjustified, useless 5.waiting
O faani, I never had any control over myself in the matter of intoxication. I always fell for drinking and lost my senses. Given that I had no control, it was useless for me to ‘wait for myself’ all life long. Here ‘wait for myself’ means wait for me to come to my senses. Thus, he had been waiting for this (sobriety) all life long and it never happened.
2
taab1-e zabt2-e Gham ne bhi de diya javaab3 aaKhir4
un ke dil se uThta5 hai aaj e’tebaar6 apna
1.strength 2.forbearnce 3.‘javaab de dena’ is an expression meaning to give up 4.finally 5.‘dil se uThna’ is expression meaning ‘to stop doing something’ 6.trust
Poetic convention is that the lover should be stoic and bear his sorrow silently so as not to malign the reputation of the belove. But his sorrow was so intense and so sustained that his strength and forbearance finally gave up i.e., he began to openly express his sorrow. The result was that the beloved could no longer trust him to keep her secret.
3
ishq zindagi Thahra1 laikin ab ye mushkil2 hai
zindagi se hota hai ahd3 ustuvaar4 apna
1.used here to mean ‘it has been decided/settled’ 2.difficulty 3.promise 4.strong
It is given that the promise of/commitment to love for the beloved has to be strong. But now love itself has become life i.e., the basis of life. The poet/lover lives because he loves. But a strong commitment to love then implies a strong commitment to living. That appears to be a difficulty to the poet, who would rather die.
4
shikva1 barmala2 karte, Khair3 ye to kya karte
haaN magar jo ban paRta4 shikva1 ek baar apna
1.complaint 2.openly, publicly 3.used here the sense of ‘oh all right, I agree’ 4.ban paRna is an expression meaning succeed
I should/might have complained openly and loudly … on the second thoughts I agree, I could never have done that, but I might have complained to her (privately) if there was any chance that it would succeed even once.
5
Gham hi ji1 ka dushman2 tha Gham se duur rahte the
Gham hi rah gaya aaKhir3 ek Gham-gusaar4 apna
1.life 2.enemy 3.finally, in the end 4.sympathizer, friend
I thought sorrow was the anathema/hateful for life, so I stayed away from sorrow. Now in the end it turns out that the only sympathizer left is sorrow itself i.e., he has nothing else to turn to, except sorrow.
6
le gaya chaman ko bhi mausam1-e bahaar2 aa kar
ab qafas3 ka gosha4 hai haasil5-e bahaar2 apna
1.season 2.spring 3.cage 4.corner 5.benefit, end result
It is convention that poet is portrayed as a bird. The bird has been caught and put in a cage. He is particularly miserable in spring missing his nest and his friends. All he could get as a benefit of spring was a corner of his cage while spring has taken over the whole garden.
7
jhuuT hi sahi vaada1 kyuN yaqiN2 na kar lete
baat dil-fareb3 un ki dil umid-vaar4 apna
1.promise 2.believe, trust 3.heart deceiving/captivating 4.hopeful
It may have been a false promise, but how could I not have trusted her. Her words were captivating, and my heart was hopeful. Said Ghalib …
tere vaade pe jiye hum tu ye jaan jhuuT jana
keh Khushi se mar na jaate, agar e’tebaar hota
8
inqelaab1-e aalam2 meN varna3 der hi kya thi
un ke aastaaN4 tak tha Khair5 se Ghubaar6 apna
1.revolution, turning around 2.world 3.otherwise 4.threshold 5.safely, with well being 6.dust
The poet/lover is dead and turned to dust. The breeze blows his dust/ashes to her door. Of course, the poet is still able to see all this and write about it. Had the dust passed beyond her threshold, had she seen it, the the realization of this tragedy would have changed her mind. This would amount to a world-wide revolution without any delay. But all he could see was the dust getting safely to the threshold, nothing beyond. Recall that this is all that ever happened to him during his lifetime. All he could do, if that, was reach her threshold, not beyond.
9
dil hai muztarib1 fani2 aaNkh mahv3-e hairat4 hai
dil ne de diya shaa’ed5 aaNkh ko qaraar6 apna
1.restless, eager 2.pen-name of the poet 3.engrossed, obsessed 4.amazement 5.perhaps 6.peace and quiet
The eye, perceiving the beloved’s beauty is engrossed in amazement. It is stunned – so stunned that everything is quiet and peaceful for it. The heart on the other hand is restless. Perhaps the heart has given away its peace and quiet to the eye. Possibly, the scenario is that the heart was peaceful until the eye saw the beloved. When that happened, the heart gave up its peace and quiet to the eye (which was amazed and stunned). As a result of giving up its peace, the heart became restless.
