For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
سجدہ میرے آگے ۔ اُما شنکر شاداںؔ
۱
مغموم ہے وہ جانِ تمنّا مرے آگے
اے کاش کہ ایسا تو نہ ہوتا مرے آگے
۲
شاید ہوں اِسی وجہ سے محرومِ نظارہ
بے پردگیِ حُسن ہے پردہ مرے آگے
۳
میں ایک نئی راہ پہ ہوں مست و خراماں
کعبہ مرے پیچھے، نہ کلیسا مرے آگے
۴
دُنیا مجھے سمجھی ہے وہی تم بھی سمجھ لو
کہنے سے تو اچھا ہے نہ کہنا مرے آگے
۵
اب طالب و مطلوب میں کچھ فرق نہیں ہے
اب آپ بھی کر لیجئے سجدہ مرے آگے
۶
شاداںؔ مری ہستی میں ہے طوفان کا عالم
ساحل ہے نہ کشتی ہے نہ دریا مرے آگے
सज्दा मेरे आगे – उमा शंकर शादां
१
मग़्मूम है वो जान-ए तमन्ना मेरे आगे
अए काश के ऐसा तो न होता मेरे आगे
२
शा’एद हुं इसी वजह से महरूम-ए नज़ारा
बे-परदगी-ए हुस्न है परदा मेरे आगे
३
मैं एक नई राह पे हूं मस्त ओ ख़िरामां
का’बा मेरे पीछे, न कलीसा मेरे आगे
४
दुनिया मुझे समझी है, वही तुम भी समझ लो
कहने से तो अच्छा है न कहना मेरे आगे
५
अब तालेब ओ मत्लूब में कुछ फ़र्क़ नहीं है
अब आप भी कर लीजिये सज्दा मेरे आगे
६
शादां मेरी हस्ती में है तूफ़ान का आलम
साहेल है न कश्ती है न दर्या मेरे आगे
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. uma shaNkar varma shaadaaN (xxxx-xxxx). I could not find anything about the poet other than that he grew up around bhopal and gwalior. His collection, published in 1984, does not have a single word about him. It was selected and published by the madhya pradesh urdu academy. My guess is that at the time of the publication of his collection, he was already a mature person. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam – ‘baazeecha-e atfaal hai duniya mere aage’.
1
maGhmoom1 hai vo jaan2-e tamanna3 mere aage
aye kaash4 keh aisa to na hota mere aage 1.saddened 2.life, soul 3.desire 4.I wish
The life and soul of the poet/lover’s desire (jaan-e tamanna) is the beloved. But for some reason, she has been saddened by something that has happened. We are left to guess what could have happened. But the second misra tells us that the poet wishes that this had not happened, had not made the beloved sad. Even if we take a guess at what the cause might be, I am at a loss to figure out what this she’r means beyond the literal interpretation.
2
shaa’ed1 huN isi vajah2 say mahroom3-e nazaara4
pe-pardagi5-e husn6 hai parda mere aage 1.perhaps 2.reason, cause 3.deprived of 4.seeing, observing 5.unveiled-ness, the state of being unveiled 6.beauty, beloved
The ‘husn’ here could be either universal beauty or the beloved. In either case the poet/lover/observer would like this beauty to be subtle, leaving for him to imagine it for himself. The unveiled-ness of beauty imposes a curtain/veil before him and perhaps that is the reason that he is deprived of seeing/observing beauty (or the beloved). The implication is that imagination/subtlety is richer than direct vision.
The following interpretation contributed by zaheer (and accepted with thanks)
The words ’nazara’ and ‘husn’ symbolise the divine i.e the real beauty. The captivating beauty of the universe is only a reflection and a trivial manifestation of the real beauty. While it’s referred to as ‘be-pardagi-e husn’ (unveiledness of the real beauty), it’s also the veil between the beholder and the divine – and hence the idea that ‘be-pardagi-e husn hai parda mere aage’.
Though trivial, the manifestation is enough to mesmerise the beholder. It is designed to restrict the beholder because of his inability to sight the divine (as evidenced by various theological narratives). The poet here regrets that the perceptible beauty of the universe, which is a reflection of the divine is what deprives him of sighting the divine.
3
maiN ek naii raah1 pe huN mast2 o KhiraamaaN3
kaa’ba mere piichhe na kaliisa4 mere aage 1.path 2.intoxicated, happy 3.gentle gait 4.church
Said Ghalib …
iimaaN mujhe roke hai jo khaiNche hai mujhe kufr
ka’bah mere piichhe hai kaliisaa mere aage
Thus, it might seem that Ghalib is torn between ka’bah and kaliisa while the poet abjures both and strikes a new path for himself (a path of universal love) on which he travels happily.
Contributed by zaheer …
the poet seems to express a profound sufi thought or a decanted idea of spirituality that discards the rigid formats of worship – islamic, Christian or others. He would rather want to connect to the divine in his own spiritual ways.
As mumtaz mirza points out:
‘manzil hai bahut duur tasavvur se bhi aage
ye dayr o kaleesa to sar-e raahguzar haiN’ –
the sher appears to be a critique of those, who, in the name of religion, are bogged down in the formats, (which are mere passages helping one to reach the destination i.e being close to the divine) while the reality of true worship is completely lost to them.
4
duniya mujhe samjhi hai vahi tum bhi samajh lo
kahne se to achchha hai na kahna mere aage It seems that he is disillusioned about what the world thinks of him and seems to have gotten so tired of it that he gives up trying to change the situation. He turns the beloved and says … ‘you too’ i.e., go ahead and think of me that same way that the world does. I think it is better for me not to say anything … because whatever I say will not have any affect.
5
ab taalib1 o matloob2 meN kuchh farq3 nahiN hai
ab aap bhi kar liijiye sajda4 mere aage 1.one who desires/worships 2.one who is desired/worshipped difference 4.prostration, bow down
The poet/devotee is the one who worships and god is the matloob-the one who is the object of worship. The poet raises the sufiyaana concept of oneness of the creator and created and says that now that there is no difference between the two, you too bow down to me.
6
shaadaaN1 meri hasti2 meN hai toofaan3 ka aalam4
saahel5 hai, na kashti hai, na darya6, mere aage 1.pen-name of the poet 2.being, existence 3.storm 4.condition 5.shore 6.sea
O shaadaaN, my person/being is like a raging storm. There is no shore in sight, no boat at hand nor do I see the sea. Thus, the poet seems to be completely overwhelmed.
uma shaNkar varma shaadaaN (xxxx-xxxx). I could not find anything about the poet other than that he grew up around bhopal and gwalior. His collection, published in 1984, does not have a single word about him. It was selected and published by the madhya pradesh urdu academy. My guess is that at the time of the publication of his collection, he was already a mature person. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam – ‘baazeecha-e atfaal hai duniya mere aage’.
1
maGhmoom1 hai vo jaan2-e tamanna3 mere aage
aye kaash4 keh aisa to na hota mere aage
1.saddened 2.life, soul 3.desire 4.I wish
The life and soul of the poet/lover’s desire (jaan-e tamanna) is the beloved. But for some reason, she has been saddened by something that has happened. We are left to guess what could have happened. But the second misra tells us that the poet wishes that this had not happened, had not made the beloved sad. Even if we take a guess at what the cause might be, I am at a loss to figure out what this she’r means beyond the literal interpretation.
2
shaa’ed1 huN isi vaj’h2 say mahroom3-e nazaara4
pe-pardagi5-e husn6 hai parda mere aage
1.perhaps 2.reason, cause 3.deprived of 4.seeing, observing 5.unveiled-ness, the state of being unveiled 6.beauty, beloved
The ‘husn’ here could be either universal beauty or the beloved. In either case the poet/lover/observer would like this beauty to be subtle, leaving for him to imagine it for himself. The unveiled-ness of beauty imposes a curtain/veil before him and perhaps that is the reason that he is deprived of seeing/observing beauty (or the beloved). The implication is that imagination/subtlety is richer than direct vision.
The following interpretation contributed by zaheer (and accepted with thanks)
The words ’nazara’ and ‘husn’ symbolise the divine i.e the real beauty. The captivating beauty of the universe is only a reflection and a trivial manifestation of the real beauty. While it’s referred to as ‘be-pardagi-e husn’ (unveiledness of the real beauty), it’s also the veil between the beholder and the divine – and hence the idea that ‘be-pardagi-e husn hai parda mere aage’.
Though trivial, the manifestation is enough to mesmerise the beholder. It is designed to restrict the beholder because of his inability to sight the divine (as evidenced by various theological narratives). The poet here regrets that the perceptible beauty of the universe, which is a reflection of the divine is what deprives him of sighting the divine.
3
maiN ek naii raah1 pe huN mast2 o KhiraamaaN3
kaa’ba mere piichhe na kaliisa4 mere aage
1.path 2.intoxicated, happy 3.gentle gait 4.church
Said Ghalib …
iimaaN mujhe roke hai jo khaiNche hai mujhe kufr
ka’bah mere piichhe hai kaliisaa mere aage
Thus, it might seem that Ghalib is torn between ka’bah and kaliisa while the poet abjures both and strikes a new path for himself (a path of universal love) on which he travels happily.
Contributed by zaheer …
the poet seems to express a profound sufi thought or a decanted idea of spirituality that discards the rigid formats of worship – islamic, Christian or others. He would rather want to connect to the divine in his own spiritual ways.
As mumtaz mirza points out:
‘manzil hai bahut duur tasavvur se bhi aage
ye dayr o kaleesa to sar-e raahguzar haiN’ –
the sher appears to be a critique of those, who, in the name of religion, are bogged down in the formats, (which are mere passages helping one to reach the destination i.e being close to the divine) while the reality of true worship is completely lost to them.
4
duniya mujhe samjhi hai vahi tum bhi samajh lo
kahne se to achchha hai na kahna mere aage
It seems that he is disillusioned about what the world thinks of him and seems to have gotten so tired of it that he gives up trying to change the situation. He turns the beloved and says … ‘you too’ i.e., go ahead and think of me that same way that the world does. I think it is better for me not to say anything … because whatever I say will not have any affect.
5
ab taalib1 o matloob2 meN kuchh farq3 nahiN hai
ab aap bhi kar liijiye sajda4 mere aage
1.one who desires/worships 2.one who is desired/worshipped difference 4.prostration, bow down
The poet/devotee is the one who worships and god is the matloob-the one who is the object of worship. The poet raises the sufiyaana concept of oneness of the creator and created and says that now that there is no difference between the two, you too bow down to me.
6
shaadaaN1 meri hasti2 meN hai toofaan3 ka aalam4
saahel5 hai, na kashti hai, na darya6, mere aage
1.pen-name of the poet 2.being, existence 3.storm 4.condition 5.shore 6.sea
O shaadaaN, my person/being is like a raging storm. There is no shore in sight, no boat at hand nor do I see the sea. Thus, the poet seems to be completely overwhelmed.
