Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. baam dev sharma rishi paTialavi (1917-1999) originally from hoshiarpur in punjab. He was a disciple of nasim noormahli, who in turn was a disciple of daaGh dehlavi. He has written exquite Ghazal in chaste urdu and many progressive nazm in chaste urdu as well as in spoken hindi/urdu/hindustani. He was part of a group of friends who organized joint celebration of one another’s religious festivities to promote communal harmony. This Ghazal with the same radeef/qaafiya as Ghalib’s ‘saaqi ne kuchh mila na diyaa ho sharaab meN’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
jab dil ko izteraab¹ na tha izteraab¹ meN
aisa bhi ek daur² tha ahd³-e shabaab⁴ meN    1.restlessness, anxiety 2.times, period 3.era, times 4.youth
In nostalgia, the poet/lover recalls the time of his youth. He was in love and his heart was restless because of it, but the restlessness of his heart was a source of joy, not of anxiety. Such a time there was during my youth, he recalls.
2
aa’ina¹ ban gaya hai mere zauq²-e diid³ ka
voh husn⁴ jo nehaaN⁵ hai kisi ke hijaab⁶ meN    1.mirror, reflection 2.desire 3.to see, sight 4.beauty 5.hidden 6.veil
The beauty hidden behind someone’s veil can either be the unseen, mysterious divine beauty or the beauty of the beloved. The poet/lover/devotee has an intense desire to see/discern that beauty, so much so, that the hidden beauty itself has become a reflection of his desire to see i.e., it also has a desire to be seen. Thus, even though both the desire to see and the desire to be seen are present, they can be present only as long as there is a veil, otherwise the mystery will break.
3
zauq-e-nazar¹ meN taab-e-nazar² hi nahiN kahiiN
jalva³ to har jagah hai nazar ke javaab⁴ meN    1.desire to see 2.ability/capacity to bear sight/discernment 3.manifestation, image 4.answer, response
We may have the desire to see, but we don’t have the capacity/ability to bear the sight, or to discern it from what we do see. Manifestation is everywhere, around us, in response to our desire to see. This refers to the supposed divine presence in everything around us and our inability to discern this manifestation.
4
dil se maiN is adaa-e-sitam¹ par nisaar² huN
sau-sau³ karam⁴ haiN ek Khata⁵ ke javaab⁶ meN    1.style/grace of cruelty 2.ready to lay down life, devoted 3.hundreds 4.kindnesses 5.transgression 6.answer, recompense
This could apply to the poet/lover’s unconditional love to the beloved, but I will concentrate only on the ‘divine beloved’. In mystic philosophy, the original ‘sitam’ is when humans were separated from the divine and given a body. The ultimate goal is ‘fanaa’ – annihilation of the self and merger with the divine spirit. There is also a wealth of ash’aar (one copied below) that say that god’s forgiveness is more than the creature’s transgressions. Thus, I am ready to give my life for this grace of kindness, for every transgression, I get hundreds of generosities.
mohammed iqbal
moti samajh ke shaan-e kariimi ne chun liye
qatre jo the mere araq-e infe’aal ke
5
ek dard¹-e la-ilaaj², ilaaj³-e Gham-e-hayaat⁴
likkha gaya azal⁵ se hamaare hisaab⁶ meN     1.pain, sorrow 2.incurable 3.remedy, cure 4.sorrow of life 5.eternity, beginning 6.accounting (of fate)
As a remedy of the sorrow of life, an incurable pain has been prescribed/written into the account of my fate. Thus, the poet/lover has the sorrow of life to deal with and as a cure for it, he has been granted an incurable pain i.e., the pain of love. Said Ghalib …
ranj se Khuu-gar hua insaaN to miT jaata hai ranj
mushkileN mujh par paRiiN itni keh aasaaN ho gaiiN
6
samjhe na hum unheN na humeN voh samajh sake
ek umr¹ kaT² ga’ii hai savaal-o-javaab³ meN    1.lifetime 2.passed 3.question and answer
This could be about mutual understanding between people or between lover and beloved. Both talk past each other and do not understand what the other means, even though a lifetime is spent in questions and answers.
7
hoga na zauq¹-e diid² pe dil apna mutma’in³
jalve⁴ taRap⁵ uTheNge na jab-tak⁶ naqaab⁷ meN    1.desire 2.sight, to see 3.satisfied 4.manifestations, images 5.become restless/eager 6.until and unless 7.veil
My heart will not be satisfied with the mere desire to see, until and unless the manifestations/images of the beloved become restless/eager to be seen.
8
aye ehtiyaat¹-e zabt²-e mohabbat tu hi bata
dil par ho eKhtiyaar³ kahaaN tak shabaab⁴ meN    1.caution 2.forbearance, restraint 3.discretion, control 4.youth
The poet/lover is young, but has exercised forbearance in the expression of his love. Thus, O restraint of love, you yourselves tell me, how long can youth control its heart.
9
zarroN¹ ko de rahe haiN jo anjum² faroziyaaN³
kyuNkar⁴ voh chhup sakeNge naqaab⁵-e hijaab⁶ meN    1.particles, grains (of dust) 2.stars 3.brilliance 4.how 5.veil 6.pardah tradition
They who grant the brilliance of stars to grains of dust, how can they hide behind the veil of the tradition of pardah. The beauty and brilliance of the beloved, reflecting on dust, makes it shine like stars. How can such beauty hide behind a veil.
10
jis lafz¹ meN nehaaN² ho rishi³ mudd’aa⁴-e shauq⁵
milta hai shaaz-shaaz⁶ mohabbat ke baab⁷ meN     1.word 2.hidden 3.pen-name of the poet 4.purpose, goal 5.love, desire 6.rarely 7.theme, chapter
O rishi, the word behind which is hidden the (true) purpose of love, is only rarely found in the chapter/theme/story of love. What is the ‘true’ purpose of love, is left for us to define.