Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mahr lal soni zia (1913-1986), kapurthala, panjab. Even though he had no family tradition of urdu or shaa’eri, he fell in love with both at an early age and learnt at home from an ustaad. He got a BA and MA from Forman Christian College and served as student magazine editor. Worked at the Reserve Bank of India. He was a shaagird of seemab akbarabadi and has more than half a dozen collections to his credit. He started composing in 1930 with the first collection published in 1934. In addition to nazm, Ghazal and rubaaii, he published biographies and critiques of shu’ara. This Ghazal is linked to ‘Ghazal hoti hai’ on the Refrain Index page.
1
mujh peh jab hogi teri chashm¹-e karam² jaan-e-Ghazal³
dekh looNga soorat⁴-e takmeel⁵-e samaan⁶-e Ghazal    1.eyes, glance 2.kindness, favour 3.soul of Ghazal i.e., beloved 4.means, way forward 5.completion, perfection 6.requisites, arrangement
If your glance of favour falls upon me, O life/soul of Ghazal (beloved), then I will behold the means of perfection of the arrangement/order of Ghazal.
2
ahl-e-dil¹ ko kyuN na kar le daam²-e gesu³ ka aseer⁴
l’aabat⁵-e urdu keh hai Khud sa’ed⁶-e paikaan⁷-e Ghazal     1.people of heart, people in love 2.net, web 3.hair 4.captive 5.bird of prey 6.prey, target 7.arrow
The poet is giving Ghazal a status higher than the language itself. The language, urdu is like a bird of prey, hunting and capturing other birds, but it itself is a prey of arrow of Ghazal. When such is the case, then why would people in love not become captives in the net of the hair of Ghazal – the beloved’s hair being traditionally described as a web.
3
chaak¹-e daamaan²-e Ghazal se phooTi sooraj ki kiran³
aur ab kya chaahiye tujhko sana-Khwaan⁴-e Ghazal    1.tear 2.hem of the garment 3.ray of light 4.singer of praise, bard
Through the tear in the hem of Ghazal’s robe, emerge the sun’s rays. What more praise do you desire, O bard/praise-singer of Ghazal?
4
jab bana le barq¹ shaaKh²-e gul³ peh apna aashiyaaN⁴
chheR de us vaqt koi saaz⁵-e irfaan⁶-e Ghazal   1.lightning 2.branch 3.rose 4.nest, home 5.song 6.mystic knowledge, wisdom, gnosis
In poetic tradition lightning always strikes the branch of the rose bush to burn up the nest of the bulbul. The poet paints a scene where this tradition is broken and mutual love and harmony prevail. So much so that lightning makes its abode on the rose branch. At that time someone should break out into a song of praise of the Ghazal (since Ghazal often is about mystic knowledge).
5
yeh fusoon¹-e kaif² o masti³, yeh tilasm⁴-e husn⁵ o ishq⁶
yeh numood⁷-e raNg o nik’hat⁸ zer-e-daamaan⁹-e Ghazal     1.enchantment 2.pleasure 3.intoxication 4.spell 5.beauty 6.love 7.growth, appearance 8.fragrance 9.under the hem of the garment, collected in the hem, in possession of
The enchantment of pleasure and intoxication, the spell of beauty and love, the manifestation of colour and fragrance – all these are in the possession of Ghazal.
6
miir o sauda, zauq o Ghalib, momin o daaGh o amiir
mohsin¹-e urdu haiN sab, un par hai ehsaan²-e Ghazal   1.benefactor 2.munificence, generosity
mir taqi mir, mirza sauda, ibrahim zauq, mirza Ghalib, momin KhaaN momin, daaGh dehlavi and amiir minaaii were all benefactors of urdu because Ghazal was generous to them i.e., Ghazal is behind the glory of urdu.
7
nazm¹ ne phaila diye daam²-e ifaadiyyat³ magar
aye ziya⁴, hai roz⁵ afzooN⁶ aaj bhi shaan⁷-e Ghazal     1.poem not of Ghazal structure 2.web 3.profit, commercialism 4.pen-name of the poet 5.every day 6.increasing
O ziya, even though the nazm/poem has spread the net of profitability/commercialism, the glory of the Ghazal increases day by day.