Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. daaGh dehlavi (1831-1905), grandson of bahadur shah zafar (because of the marriage of his widowed mother to zafar’s oldest son). After 1857, he had to move to rampur and later to hyderabad, where he died after 10+ happy years. His Ghazal are more earthy and romantic than sufiyaana or philosophical, but they are very popular because of their musicality. He was a disciple of zauq, whose rivalry with/jealousy of Ghalib is well known. But daaGh had good relations with Ghalib. This is a long Ghazal. It is posted in three parts to make for easy reading and listening. In addition, many singers have sung it, but each has selected a slightly different ash’aar in a slightly different order. A fourth post has been created with a composite version and audios of singers to read and listen at the same time. This Ghazal is linked to other ham-radeef Ghazal on the radeef-refrain Index page.
1
Ghazab¹ kiya tere vaade² pe e’tebaar³ kiya
tamaam⁴ raat qayaamat⁵ ka intezaar⁶ kiya    1.calamity 2.promise 3.trust, believe 4.all 5.doomsday, day of judgement 6.wait
I brought down a calamity on myself by trusting your promise. I waited for you all night long (trusting your promise that you would come). Waiting for the beloved is like waiting for the day of judgement. It is certain that it will come, but you don’t know when. Or waiting for the beloved is like waiting for doomsday, because that is the effect she has.
2
kisi tarah¹ jo na uss but² ne e’tebaar³ kiya
meri vafaa⁴ ne mujhe Khuub sharmsaar⁵ kiya   1.any condition 2.idol, beloved 3.trust, believe 4.fidelity, credibility 5.ashamed
The lover asserts his steadfast love and loyalty to the beloved. But under no circumstance does she believe/trust him. Thus his fidelity to put to extreme shame.
3
haNsaa haNsaa ke shab¹-e vasl² ashk-baar³ kiya
tasalliyaaN⁴ mujhe de de ke be-qaraar⁵ kiya     1.night of 2.union 3.shedding tears 4.consoling 5.restless
The poet/lover has finally achieved access to the beloved. It is the night of union and she does something to make him laugh to the point of tears. Then she consoles him and makes him even more restless. The imagery presented between the lines is that even though he has gotten access to the beloved all the time together is spent in fun and games, trivialities and he does not really get the emotional access that he craves.
4
ye kis ne jalva¹ hamaare sar-e mazaar² kiya
keh dil se shor³ uThaa haa’e be-qaraar⁴ kiya     1.appearance 2.grave, tomb 3.cry, loud noise 4.restless, yearn
The poet is dead and buried. He is in his tomb, but he can still see who is visiting and can write about it. Thus, who is it that has appeared at the head of my tomb to cause a loud wail to rise from the depths of my heart and made me even more restless. Of course, it is the beloved who is visiting.
5
sunaa hai teGh¹ ko qaatil² ne aab-daar³ kiya
agar ye sach hai to be-shub’h⁴ ham pe vaar⁵ kiya   1.sword 2.killer, beloved 3.shining, sharp 4.without doubt 5.strike, blow, cut
It is heard that the beloved has sharpened her sword. If this is true, there is no doubt that she strikes a blow at me. ‘ham pe vaar kiya’ can be read as a past tense in which case the sword needed sharpening after having struck a blow. It can be read as a future tense in the sense that she is getting the sword ready for him. Or, it can be read as figurative, if the sword has beens sharpened, it must be for me.
6
na aaye raah¹ pe voh, ijz² be-shumaar³ kiya
shab⁴-e visaal⁵ bhi maiN ne to intezaar⁶ kiya     1.path 2.entreaty, pleading 3.countless, numerous 4.night of 5.union 6.waiting
‘raah pe aana’ is an expression that means ‘to come to the straight path, to do the right thing. But here, the beloved does not come to the right path, does not give up her bad habits, even though the poet/lover has pleaded with her numerous times. After all, she promised to come and I waited for her all night long on the promised shab-e visaal i.e., she has not changed her old habit of not keeping her promise.
7
tujhe to vaa’da¹-e diidaar² ham se karnaa thaa
ye kyaa kiya keh jahaaN³ ko umiid-vaar⁴ kiya     1.promise 2.sight, viewing, meeting 3.world 4.hopeful
You should have promised me that you would come before me so that I could see/meet you. What have you done, you have made the whole world hopeful of your sight i.e., she has promised to come out (but not exclusively for the poet/lover). It is also possible that ‘the whole world’ is an exaggerated expression to mean ‘the rival’.
8
ye dil ko taab¹ kahaaN hai keh ho m’aal-andesh²
unhoN ne vaa’da³ kiya iss ne e’tebaar⁴ kiya     1.strength, ability to bear 2.apprehension of result 3.promise 4.trust, believe
The poet/lover’s heart is simple and trusting. How can it have the ability to bear the apprehension of the result (the result being a broken promise). She has promised and it (the heart) trusts.
9
kahaaN ka sabr¹ keh dam par hai ban gaii² zaalim³
bataNg⁴ aaye to haal⁵-e dil aashkaar⁶ kiya   1.patience 2.life-threatening 3.tyrant, beloved 4.tired, exhausted 5.condition 6.revealed
The poet/lover speaks of his agony to the beloved and she gets upset with him. ‘dam pe ban jaana’ or ‘jaan pe ban jaana’ is an expression that means become a question of life and death i.e., a life-threatening situation/condition. How long can I be patient, O tyrant. I have been patient for a long time and only when it has become a question of life and death have I revealed the condition of my heart to you.
10
taRap¹ phir aye dil-e naadaaN² keh Ghair³ kahte haiN
aKhiir⁴ kuchh na bani⁵ sabr⁶ eKhtiyaar⁷ kiya     1.suffer, thrash in pain 2.naive, simpleton 3.others, rivals 4.in the end 5.nothing worked out 6.patience, acceptance 7.adopted
Suffer once again, O naïve heart, because the rivals say (sarcastically) that in the end (in spite of my constant trying) nothing worked out and we (the lover and his heart) have adopted patience/helplessness.