Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. tilok chand mahroom (1887-1955) and his son jagan nath azad are an illustrious father-son team of urdu shu’ara. From miaNvaali (now in pakistan), they migrated to India in 1948, after unsuccessfully trying to remain in lahore. This Ghazal is modeled after Ghalib’s “aadmi ko bhi mayassar nahiN insaaN hona” and is linked to it in the page ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’.
1
kuchh buri baat nahiN saahab¹-e imaaN² hona
agar³ imaan² se matloob⁴ ho insaaN hona   1.master, possessor 2.faith 3.if 4.meaning, intent
This she’r has echoes of Ghalib’s ‘aadmi ko bhi mayassar nahiN insaaN hona’. It is not bad to have faith (believe in religion) if the purpose of the belief is to become human. Thus, human-ness that unites is valued above conventional faith that divides.
2
barg-haa¹-e gul²-e tar³ ka ye pareshaaN⁴ hona
jurm⁵ hai gul-kada⁶-e dahr⁷ meN KhandaaN⁸ hona   1.petals 2.rose 3.wet, fresh 4.scattered, spread 5.crime 6.house of roses, garden 8.smile
When a flower blooms, it is considered to have smiled. But also, soon after it blooms, it wilts, sheds its petals that are scattered all over. Thus, in the rose-garden that is this world, it is a crime to be happy (to smile). The punishment of this crime is that petals fall off and are scattered. This she’r has echoes of Ghalib’s, ‘maut se pahle aadmi, Gham se najaat paaye kyuN’.
3
jab kisi Ghunche¹ ko khilte² hue dekha maiN ne
aa gaya yaad vahiN dil ka pareshaaN³ hona   1.bud 2.blossoming 3.worried
Whenever I saw a bud blossoming, right there I recalled my heart getting worried. This could be because he foresaw what is going to happen to the blossoming bud.
4
ho gaya meri pareshaaN-nazari¹ ka baa’is²
jalva³-e husn⁴ ka har samt⁵ faraavaaN⁶ hona   1.wandering/unfocussed glance 2.basis 3.manifestation 4.(divine) beauty 5.direction 6.plentiful
The manifestation of divine beauty is plentiful all around. The poet/devotee’s eyes wander from one scene to the next. Thus, this has become the basis of his wandering glance.
5
ahl¹-e vahshat² ka Thikaana³ bhi kahiN to hotaa
nahiN be-sarfa⁴ bayaabaaN⁵ ka bayaabaaN hona     1.people of 2.passion, madness 3.abode, place/refuge 4.useless 5.wilderness
The idea of this she’r is based on the legendary image of majnuN of laila-majnuN fame. He wandered the desert in search of laila. Thus, we have to have some place/refuge for mad/passionate lovers. That is what the wilderness is useful for. After all the wilderness as a wilderness is not useless.
6
dam¹ Gham²-e ishq ka bharte hue naale³ karna
aarzu⁴ dard⁵ ki aur taalib⁶-e darmaaN⁷ hona     1.‘dam bharna’ is an expression meaning encourage, increase, fortify 2.sorrow 3.wailing 4.longing 5.pain 6.seek, demand 7.cure
On the one hand the lover constantly increases the intensity of the sorrow of love (sorrow because the beloved does not reciprocate). On the other hand he wails in pain. Wailing is considered to be relieving some of his tension. It is at least a partial cure. Thus, the lover is doing opposite things … increasing the intensity of his love on the one hand and seeking a cure through wailing, on the other.
7
baa’is¹-e hairat²-e arbaab³-e suKhan⁴ hai mahroom⁵
ahd⁶-e piiri⁷ meN tumhaara ye Ghazal-KhwaaN⁸ hona   1.basis, reason 2.surprise, puzzle 3.owners, patrons, lords 4.versification, composing poetry 5.pen-name of the poet 6.age, period 7.old age 8.reciting Ghazal
O mahroom, you recitation of Ghazal at the time of your old age surprises/puzzles other poets. This could be a compliment to himself saying when most others in their advanced years stop composing, but this poet still goes on, much to the surprise of others.