Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. daaGh dehlavi (1831-1905) grew up in laal qila and was a shaagird of zauq. Towards the end of his life he lived and died in hyderabad. His Ghazals tend to be light and romantic but their language and musicality lend themselves to singing. This Ghazal is a part of a series of hum-radeef/same refrain Ghazal that are linked to the appropirate icon on the Refrain page.
1
aap ka e’tebaar¹ kaun kare
roz ka intezaar² kaun kare   1.depend on, believe 2.wait
The beloved has made promises and broken them routinely. The poet/lover is exasperated/pained – who can depend on what you say, how can I wait for you every day?
2
zikr¹-e mehr²-o-vafa³ to ham karte
par tumheN sharmsaar⁴ kaun kare   1.mention, talk 2.kindness 3.keeping faith 4.shameful
I would have talked to you about being kind and faithful, but that would have given you cause to be ashamed. I don’t want to do that, hence no such talk.
3
ho jo us chashm¹-e mast² se be-Khud³
phir use hoshiyaar kaun kare   1.eyes 2.intoxicating 3.drunk
The beloved’s eyes are intoxicating and when someone gets drunk on those, how can he be woken up/sobered up again.
4
tum to ho jaan ek zamaane ki
jaan tum par nisaar¹ kaun kare   1.sacrificial offering
This offers a play on words … the word jaan in the first misra is used in the sense of “life of the party”, but then I don’t see how the second misra follows logically from the first. You are the life of the party of the whole world. How can I (or anyone) lay down their life for you? If someone sees a better connection, please let me know.
5
aafat¹-e rozgaar² jab tum ho
shikva³-e rozgaar kaun kare   1.used in the sense of cause of mischief 2.daily life 3.complaint
You are the primary cause of daily mischief (everyone is in love with you and they are all kept hanging). But if it the beloved who is the cause of problems, how can anyone complain about them.
6
apni tasbih¹ rahne de zaahid²
daana daana shumaar³ kaun kare   1.prayer beads, rosary 2.pious, preacher 3.count
Leave your rosary alone, O, preacher. Why waste your time counting each bead.
7
hijr¹ meN zahr kha ke mar jaauN
maut ka intezaar² kaun kare   1.separation 2.wait
The pain of separation (from the beloved) is such that the poet/lover would rather poison himself and die, rather than wait in misery for natural death to take him.
8
aaNkh hai tarak¹, zulf hai sayyad²
dekheN dil ka shikaar kaun kare   1.wooden beam, or a line of wooden beams floating in a river, used here in the sense of arrows 2.hunter, trapper
Her eyes are like arrows and her tresses like a web that snares. Which of these will get my heart first.
9
vaada karte nahiN ye kahte haiN
tujh ko ummid-vaar¹ kaun kare   1.hopeful, expecting a promise to be fulfilled
The beloved doesn’t make a promise and says, why make you hopeful of fulfilment.
10
daaGh ki shakl dekh kar bole
aisi soorat ko pyaar kaun kare   She took one look at daaGh and said, how can I love such a face.