Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. munshi raghunath siNgh haajir dehlavi (1884-1922). Both father and grandfather were poets and scholars of urdu and faarsi. He started composing at the age of 13-14. His father died in 1906 and he moved to bhopal for work and returned to dehli in 1910 to re-start his family practice, establishing a clinic named ‘daar-ul-shifa’. He died in 1922 before he could publish his diivaan, but his son collected his papers and published it. His brother, kaviraj raghunandan singh saahir wrote the preface. In addition to his diivan, there is a collection of his Ghazal called, ‘Ghalib aur haajir’, all composed in the zamin of Ghalib. This Ghazal in the zamin of ‘yeh bhi mere dil meN hai’ is linked to that category under the icon ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’, on the Theme Index page.
1
log kahte haiN keh laila parda¹-e mahmil² meN hai
qais³ kahta hai Ghalat⁴ hai, voh to mere dil meN hai    1.veil 2.camel carriage, palanquin 3.majnuN 4.wrong
People say that laila is behind the curtain in the camel carriage but majnuN says that this is wrong; she is in his heart.
2
mujh ko daa’va¹ tha keh tera ishq mere dil meN hai
dekhta huN ab tera charcha² har ek mahfil³ meN hai    1.claim 2.talk, fame 3.gathering
I used to claim that your love was in my heart (and that nobody knew about it). Now I see that your fame has spread to every gathering. Said qamar jalaalavi …
kabhi kaha na kisi se tere fasaane ko
na jaane kaise Khabar ho gayee zamaane ko
3
ek nazar¹ dushman² ki jaanib³ ek hamaari samt⁴ hai
kuchh nahiN maa’loom kya us be-vafa⁵ ke dil meN hai    1.glance 2.rival 3.direction 4.towards 5.faithless
One glance in the direction of the rival and another towards me; no one knows what’s in the heart of that faithless one.
4
aur bhi ek haath¹ aye qaatil² Khuda ke vaaste³
jaan thoRi si abhi baaqi⁴ tan⁵-e bismil⁶ meN hai     1.used here to mean blow, cut 2.killer 3.for god’s sake 4.remaining 5.body 6.sacrificial animal
In poetic convention the ‘qaatil’ is the beloved and the ‘bismil’ is the poet/lover. The sincere lover considers it a matter of great fortune to be slaughtered at the hands of the beloved. Here she is slaughtering him but is not quite finished. He begs her … one more blow/cut for god’s sake, there is still some life left in the body of the lover.
5
aap poora¹ kar nahiN sakte mujhe maa’loom hai
poochh kar kya kijiyega jo tamanna² dil meN hai    1.to complete i.e., to fulfil 2.desire
You cannot fulfil it, I know. What is the use of asking what is my heart’s desire.
6
raah¹-e ulfat² meN chala jaata huN maiN divaana-var³
kuchh nahiN maa’loom kitna faasla⁴ manzil⁵ meN hai     1.path 2.love 3.like a madman 4.distance 5.destination
I keep going along the path of love like a madman. I have no idea how far the destination is.
7
ek voh din the keh jab tha aarzuoN¹ ka hujoom²
ab yeh haalat³ hai keh hasrat⁴ ki bhi hasrat⁵ dil meN hai     1.desires 2.crowd, onslaught 3.condition 4.longing 5.deprivation, listlessness
The poet has used the two meanings of ‘hasrat’ rather skillfully. There was a day when there used to be an onslaught of many desires in the heart. Now my condition is such (so totally hopeless) that I feel deprived of even longing.
8
paarsa¹ bhi rind² ban jaate haiN aa kar is jagah³
kuchh ajab⁴ taasiir⁵ maiKhaane⁶ ke aab-o-gil⁷ meN hai    1.abstinent 2.wine drinkers 3.place 4.strange, fascinating 5.effect 6.tavern 7.water and clay, constituents, basic nature, genes
Even the abstinent get transformed into wine drinkers when they come to this place. There is a fascinating effect in the nature of the tavern.
9
almadad¹ aye naaKhuda²-e bahr³-e ulfat⁴ almadad
faasla⁵ do haath⁶ ka ab kashti o sahil⁷ meN hai    1.help 2.boatman 3.sea 4.love 5.distance 6.two strokes of the oar 7.shore
The poet/lover is in a boat on the sea of love. The sea is stormy and trying to row ashore. There is a short distance (a few more strokes of the oar) to the shore but he needs help and calls out to the boatman for help.
10
faisla¹ ho jaa’e kis ki dosti manzoor² hai
maiN bhi huN maujood³ dushman⁴ bhi teri mahfil⁵ meN hai    1.judgement, decision 2.accepted 3.present 4.rival 5.gathering, presence
The beloved traditionally keeps all her admirers/lovers hanging, playing one against the other. But now the poet/lover and his rival are both present before the beloved and he pushes for a decision … which one do you choose, let it be decided today!
11
aap agar anjaan¹ ban jaa’eN to is ka kya ilaaj²
aap ko maa’loom hai jo kuchh hamaare dil meN hai    1.feigned ignorance, pretending to not know 2.cure, remedy
What remedy do I have if you pretend to not know. You know full well what is in my heart.
12
ishq bhi dushvaar¹ tark²-e ishq bhi dushvaar-tar³
yeh dil-e naa⁴-aaqibat⁵-andesh⁶ ab mushkil⁷ meN hai    1.difficult 2.giving up 3.more difficult 4.negative, non 5.end, conclusion 6.anticipating 7.difficulty
Being in love is difficult, giving it up is even more difficult. The heart unable to anticipate the conclusion of the journey of love, is in diffulty.
13
munhasir¹ hai marg² par biimaar³-e ulfat⁴ ki shifa⁵
chaaragar⁶ tuu kyuN abas⁷ sa’ii⁸-e lahaasil⁹ meN hai    1.dependent 2.death 3.sick, love-sick 4.love 5.cure 6.healer 7.useless 8.effort 9.without yield, fruitless
The cure of the love-sick lover depends on death. O healer why do you persist in this fruitless effort of trying to cure him. Said Ghalib …
qaid-e-hayaat-o-band-e-Gham asl meN donoN ek haiN
maut se pahle aadmii Gham se nijaat paae kyuN
14
voh yahaaN az-Khud¹ chale aa’eN ge haajir² dekhna
kuchh agar³ taasiir⁴ apne jazba⁵-e kaamil⁶ meN hai     1.of their own volition 2.pen-name of the poet 3.if 4.effect 5.emotion, sentiment 6.complete, perfect, sincere
O haajir, if there is any effect in the sincerity of my love, the beloved will come here on her own volition, just wait and see. The implication is that his love is sincere, but it will have an effect only if there is any justice in the world.