Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mirza mohammed raf’ii sauda (1713-1781) wrote faarsi and urdu, romantic and sufiyaana Ghazal in classical style. Contemporary (somewhat senior) of mir taqi mir. sauda, along with mir taqi mir was a strong proponent of communal harmony. They made much fun of orthodoxy. The range of themes he covers in his Ghazal range from deeply sufiyaana to playfully romantic. This Ghazal has the same radeef ‘ki tarah’ as a number of others and linked to them on the ‘Refrain’ page.
1
sham’a meN harchand¹ hai sar se guzar jaane² ki tarah
khab³ gaii laikin hamaare dil meN parvaane⁴ ki tarah   1.even though 2.sar se guzar jaana as an expression is sometimes used to mean willing to give up life 3.make a mark 4.moth
The candle burns to give light and, in the process, gives up its own life. That is the style of the candle but the style that makes a mark in the heart of the poet is that of the moth which circles around the flame showing its intense love until it is burnt by the flame itself.
2
yaa¹ tabassum², ya nigah³, yaa vaa’da⁴, yaa gaahe⁵ payaam⁶
kuchh bhi aye Khaana-Kharaab⁷ us dil ke samjhaane⁸ ki tarah    1.either 2.smile 3.glance 4.promise 5.occasional 6.message 7.heart-breaker 8.used here to mean console
Either a smile or a glance or a promise or sometimes a message. Something, O heart-breaker to console this heart.
3
bulbuloN ko duuN huN diivaaN-fuGhaani¹ meN daras²
varna³ gulshan meN hai mere kaun si jaane ki tarah    1.reciting Ghazals of the diivaan 2.lesson 3.otherwise
I go to the garden with the excuse of teaching the nightingale how to recite/sing Ghazal. Otherwise, what other way can I go to the garden. There is an implication that the beloved is in the garden and he needs an excuse to visit there and catch a glimpse.
4
tujh bin aaNkhoN se meri mardum¹ hue sahra-nashiiN²
sa’el³ se mujh ashk⁴ ke har ghar hai viiraane⁵ ki tarah    1.people 2.desert-dwellers 3.flood 4.eyes 5.desolation
The poet/lover has no access to the beloved. Without her, he has been crying his eyes out. Because of his eyes people have become desert dwellers. The flood caused by his eyes has caused desolation in every house. This could mean that people have left their homes and gone into the desert or the desolation caused by the flood makes the whole place look like a desert/wilderness.
5
kaaT kar palTe hai naagin¹ tab asar² karta hai zahr³
siikh li zulfoN⁴ se tere un ke bal-khaane⁵ ki tarah    1.female cobra 2.effect 3.poison 4.hair, curls 5.turning and twisting
When the cobra bites and sways back, then its poison takes effect. The cobra has learnt this style from your curly hair – the beloved’s curly hair and swaying is also a poison that kills.
6
ghar kiya butaaN¹ ne dil ko mere de shikast²
toR kar k’aaba³ banaate haiN ye but-Khaane⁴ ki tarah    1.idols, beloved 2.defeat 3.the heart is supposed to be where god is … the house of god, hence k’aaba 4.idol-house
The beloved defeats/destroys the poet’s heart and makes a home of herself in it. It is like destroying the k’aaba and making an idol-house.
7
jaae¹ gul² toRe hai gulchiiN³ baaGh meN ab chob⁴-e gul
kuchh nazar⁵ aati hai sauda⁶ bahaar⁷ aane ki tarah   1.short for bajaae – instead of 2.rose 3.flower picker 4.branch 5.can be seen, it appears that 6.pen-name of the poet 7.spring
The flower picker goes into the garden and cuts/trims branches of the rose (instead of picking flowers – perhaps because there are no flowers yet). This trimming is a sign of the impending arrival of spring.