For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
نقش و نگار دیکھ کر ۔ شیام موہن لال جگرؔ بریلوی
۱
دل پر رہا نہ اختیار، حسنِ نگار دیکھ کر
ہوش بجا نہ رہ سکے، جوشِ بہار دیکھ کر
۲
دل بھی وہ دل نہیں ہے اب، جس کو میں زخم کہہ سکوں
ٹیس اُٹھی ہے پھر کہاں، نشترِ یار دیکھ کر
۳
میری سرشت میں ہی ہیں، رنج پسندیاں بھری
بڑھتا ہے خود بخود قدم، دشت میں خار دیکھ کر
۴
اُف رے تجلّیِ جمال، اُف رے نظر فروزیاں
دیکھ سکیں نہ کچھ بھی ہم، جلوۂ یار دیکھ کر
۵
قِصّۂ عہدِ رفتہ پھر، تازہ ہوا ہے اے جگرؔ
ٹوٹے ہوئے کھنڈر میں آج نقش و نگار دیکھ کر
नक़्श-ओ-निगार देख कर – श्याम मोहन लाल जिगर बरेलवी
१
दिल पर रहा न एख़्तियार, हुस्न-ए निगार देख कर
होश बजा न रह सका, जोश-ए बहार देख कर
२
दिल भी वो दिल नहीं है अब, जिस को मैं ज़ख़्म कह सकूं
टीस उठी है फिर कहाँ, नश्तर-ए यार देख कर
३
मेरी सरिश्त में ही हैं, रंज-पसंदियां भरी
बढ़ता है ख़ुद-ब-ख़ुद क़दम, दश्त में ख़ार देख कर
४
उफ़ रे तजल्ली-ए जमाल, उफ़ रे नज़र फ़रोज़ियां
देख सकें न कुछ भी हम, जलवा-ए यार देख कर
५
क़िस्सा-ए अहद-ए रफ़्ता फिर, ताज़ा हुआ है अए जिगर
टूटे हुए खंडर में आज, नक़्श-ओ-निगार देख कर
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. shyaam mohan laal jigar barelavi (1890-1976) Ghazal, nazm, rubaaii, masnavi and critical treatises as well as linguistics. In addition to poetic collections, he has writes about issues of literary style in sehat-e zabaan, autobiography in hadees-e Khudi. His father, rai kanhaiya laal, was poet and a shaagird of Ghulam hasnain qadr who himself was a disciple of Ghalib. He learnt urdu and faarsi from a local ustaad, then high school and BA in philosophy and faarsi. Started out teaching in a school, went into government administration and progressed to become deputy collector. Early retirement, pension and teaching jobs followed but remained in straitened circumstances.
1
dil par raha na eKhtiyaar1, husn2-e nigaar3 dekh kar
hosh4 bajaa5 na rah sakay, josh6-e bahaar7 dekh kar 1.control, possession 2.beauty 3.beauty, beloved 4.senses, judgement 5.in place, appropriate 6.abundance, exuberance, passion 7.spring, blooms
I lost control of my heart, upon seeing the beauty of the beloved. My senses did not remain in place, upon seeing the abundance of blooms/exuberance of spring. Of course, ‘josh-e bahaar’ itself can be metaphorically the beauty/glory of the beloved.
2
dil bhi voh dil nahiN hai ab, jis ko maiN zaKhm1 kah2 sakuN
Tees3 uThi hai phir kahaaN, nashtar4-e yaar5 dekh kar 1.wound 2.call by that name, say 3.shooting pain 4.knife 5.beloved
Here ‘nashtar-e yaar’ is the glance or the eyelashes of the beloved. Having been stung by her glance or cut by her eyelashes, he feels a sharp pain. He wonders where this pain could be. After all, he no longer has a heart (he gave to the beloved a long time ago); he can no longer ascribe this pain to the heart.
3
meri sarisht1 meN hi haiN, ranj-pasandiyaaN2 bhari
baRhta hai Khud-ba-Khud3 qadam4, dasht5 meN Khaar6 dekh kar 1.nature, character, temperament 2.pain-loving 3.by itself 4.step 5.wilderness 6.thorns
The classical picture of a mad/passionate love is that he rips his clothes and wanders the desert like majnuN. The soles of his feet have boils but he does not seek to avoid even acacia thorns. Thus, it is my nature to be pain loving. I step forward when I see thorns in the desert.
4
uff1 re tajalli2-e jamaal3, uff re nazar4 faroziyaaN5
dekh sakeN na kuchh bhi ham, jalva6-e yaar7 dekh kar 1.oh, ah 2.brilliance 3.glory, beauty 4.eyes 5.dazzling, blinding 6.face, image 7.beloved
Oh! the brilliance of her beauty, oh! the blinding of my eyes. I could not see anything, after looking at the face of the beloved.
5
qissa1-e ahd2-e rafta3 phir, taaza4 hua hai aye jigar5
TooTe huay khanDar6 meN aaj, naqsh-o-nigaar7 dekh kar 1.story, memories 2.times, age, period 3.past 4.fresh 5.pen-name of the poet 6.ruins 7.decorations, etchings and paintings
O jigar, when I see the paintings and etchings among ruins, I am reminded of the times gone by. This could of course be a literal description of what he sees, but it could also mean the ruins of his heart and among the ruins, some sweet and pleasing images which bring back memories of happy times.
shyaam mohan laal jigar barelavi (1890-1976) Ghazal, nazm, rubaaii, masnavi and critical treatises as well as linguistics. In addition to poetic collections, he has writes about issues of literary style in sehat-e zabaan, autobiography in hadees-e Khudi. His father, rai kanhaiya laal, was poet and a shaagird of Ghulam hasnain qadr who himself was a disciple of Ghalib. He learnt urdu and faarsi from a local ustaad, then high school and BA in philosophy and faarsi. Started out teaching in a school, went into government administration and progressed to become deputy collector. Early retirement, pension and teaching jobs followed but remained in straitened circumstances.
1
dil par raha na eKhtiyaar1, husn2-e nigaar3 dekh kar
hosh4 bajaa5 na rah sakay, josh6-e bahaar7 dekh kar
1.control, possession 2.beauty 3.beauty, beloved 4.senses, judgement 5.in place, appropriate 6.abundance, exuberance, passion 7.spring, blooms
I lost control of my heart, upon seeing the beauty of the beloved. My senses did not remain in place, upon seeing the abundance of blooms/exuberance of spring. Of course, ‘josh-e bahaar’ itself can be metaphorically the beauty/glory of the beloved.
2
dil bhi voh dil nahiN hai ab, jis ko maiN zaKhm1 kah2 sakuN
Tees3 uThi hai phir kahaaN, nashtar4-e yaar5 dekh kar
1.wound 2.call by that name, say 3.shooting pain 4.knife 5.beloved
Here ‘nashtar-e yaar’ is the glance or the eyelashes of the beloved. Having been stung by her glance or cut by her eyelashes, he feels a sharp pain. He wonders where this pain could be. After all, he no longer has a heart (he gave to the beloved a long time ago); he can no longer ascribe this pain to the heart.
3
meri sarisht1 meN hi haiN, ranj-pasandiyaaN2 bhari
baRhta hai Khud-ba-Khud3 qadam4, dasht5 meN Khaar6 dekh kar
1.nature, character, temperament 2.pain-loving 3.by itself 4.step 5.wilderness 6.thorns
The classical picture of a mad/passionate love is that he rips his clothes and wanders the desert like majnuN. The soles of his feet have boils but he does not seek to avoid even acacia thorns. Thus, it is my nature to be pain loving. I step forward when I see thorns in the desert.
4
uff1 re tajalli2-e jamaal3, uff re nazar4 faroziyaaN5
dekh sakeN na kuchh bhi ham, jalva6-e yaar7 dekh kar
1.oh, ah 2.brilliance 3.glory, beauty 4.eyes 5.dazzling, blinding 6.face, image 7.beloved
Oh! the brilliance of her beauty, oh! the blinding of my eyes. I could not see anything, after looking at the face of the beloved.
5
qissa1-e ahd2-e rafta3 phir, taaza4 hua hai aye jigar5
TooTe huay khanDar6 meN aaj, naqsh-o-nigaar7 dekh kar
1.story, memories 2.times, age, period 3.past 4.fresh 5.pen-name of the poet 6.ruins 7.decorations, etchings and paintings
O jigar, when I see the paintings and etchings among ruins, I am reminded of the times gone by. This could of course be a literal description of what he sees, but it could also mean the ruins of his heart and among the ruins, some sweet and pleasing images which bring back memories of happy times.
