Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. moin ehsan jazbi (1912-2005) born in aazamgaRh and educated, taught and lived in aligaRh. Member of the Progressive Writers’ Association. He worked as an assistant editor of ‘aajkal’ of which josh malihabadi was also the chief editor. I am not sure if they overlapped but he was close to majaz, faani, sardar jafri and sibt-e hasan. He did his MA from aligaRh and later joined the faculty teaching there until his retirement. He also completed his PhD while teaching and published several collections of poetry.
1
har daaGh¹-e dil meN aks²-e ruKh³-e gulbadan⁴ liye
baiThe haiN ahl⁵-e ishq chaman-dar-chaman⁶ liye   1.wound, scar 2.reflection 3.face 4.rose bodied 5.people of 6.garden inside garden
People of love i.e., lovers have many scars in their heart (all given by the beloved). Each scar looks like a rose/garden. In each scar they carry an image/reflection of the beloved. That is another rose (the beloved is ‘gulbadan’). Thus, they carry rose within a rose sitting/waiting for the beloved to look upon them with favour.
2
jab zikr¹ un ke shahd²-e lab³ o ruKh⁴ ka chhiR⁵ gaya
hum chup rahe haiN talKhi⁶-e kaam⁷ o dahan⁸ liye     1.narrative, story 2.honey 3.lips 4.face, beauty 5.broke out 6.bitterness 7.throat 8.mouth
Poetic tradition requires the poet/lover to remain quiet, in control of himself. He is not to reveal his love for the beloved for fear of maligning her name/reputation. Thus, in the gathering of admirers/lovers when the story of the honey/sweetness of her lips and face broke out, he had to swallow a bitter pill and stay quiet.
3
har Khaarzaar¹-e Gham² se guzarte³ haiN ahl-e-Gham⁴
par narmi⁵-e Khiraam⁶-e nasiim⁷-e chaman liye   1.field of thorns 2.sorrow 3.pass through 4.people of sorrow of love, lovers 5.softness 6.gait, style 7.morning breeze
Lovers are used to pain and sorrow. They pass through fields of thorn with the gentle gait of the morning breeze, taking the pain calmly.
4
ab kya bataa’eN kaise bani kyuN ujaR¹ gaii
apne Khayaal² meN the jo hum anjuman³ liye   1.destroyed 2.thought, imagination 3.gathering, society
The poet and his comrades had a vision of a just society, but it did not materialize. How can I tell you, how it formed and how it was destroyed, the vision of society that we had.
5
banti¹ nahiN hai baat magar² sahibaan-e-aql³
phirte haiN hum se ahl-e-junooN⁴ ka chalan⁵ liye   1.work 2.but 3.people of intelligence 4.people of passion 5.ways, style
This is a contrast between passion and intellect. Most poets come down on the side of passion, as does jazbi. Intelligent people go about adopting the style of passionate people, but it doesn’t work. Said iqbal …
be-Khatar kood paRa aatish-e namrood meN ishq
aql hai mahv-e tamaasha-e lab-e baam abhi
to which I responded (see my zauq-e tajassus ke baab meN) …
namrood ki jo aag meN kooda bila Khatar
naadaan Khaak ho gaya us iltehaab meN