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.
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.
14
ham aise mahv¹-e nazaara² na th’e jo hosh³ aataa
magar tumhaare taGhaaful⁴ ne hoshiyaar⁵ kiya     1.engrossed, captivated 2.looking 3.awareness, senses 4.indifference 5.alert, wise
The first misra should be read as either as a question or as an exclamation. Was I not so engrossed in looking at you that I would not have come to senses, meaning I was so captivated that I would have remained in a trance forever. But your indifference woke me up, it made me alert to what was going on.
20
huaa hai koi magar uss ka chaahne vaalaa
keh aasmaaN¹ ne teraa sheva² eKhtiyaar³ kiya     1.sky, fate 2.habits, ways 3.adopt
The ways of the beloved are cruelty and indifference. In poetic tradition, the sky is considered to be fate … because the common expression is that fate descends from the sky. Fate too, is cruel and indifferent. Thus, the sky has adopted the ways of the beloved. But has anyone loved the sky, like they love you!
21
na puuchh dil ki haqiiqat¹ magar ye kahte haiN
voh be-qaraar² rahe jis ne be-qaraar² kiya     1.true/real condition 2.restless, agonized
Don’t ask me about the real condition of my heart, but they say the one who causes agony is also restless. It is the beloved who has caused agony in the heart of the lover. She is also restless and asking about the condition of his heart.