Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. manohar lal bahaar (1912-????), whose father, rai shahed lal taught him urdu and farsi at home. He was invited to mushaa’era in hyderabad regularly. His collection ‘bahaaristan’ was published in 1977. There are at least 4 additional collections of his poetry. He retired as a high-level official in the Department of Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh.
1
maa’el¹-e kufr² nahiiN, qaa’el³-e islaam nahiiN
bandah⁴-e ishq huN maiN, bandah-e auhaam⁵ nahiiN    1.inclined towards, liking 2.non-belief, belief other than islaam 3.convinced 4.servant, devotee 5.superstitions
I am not inclined towards other faiths, nor am I convinced (of the truth of) islaam. I am a devotee of universal love, I am not bound by superstitions/traditions. The implication is that all received faith is based on traditions or superstitions.
2
gardish-e-vaqt¹ ne voh dhoom² macha³ rakkhi hai
aaj duniya ke kisi gosh’e⁴ meN aaraam⁵ nahiiN    1.trials and tribultions of the present times 2.chaos 3.spread 4.corner 5.peace and quiet
Considering the times during which the poet lived, it is quite possible that he is talking about the changing communal relations in India. The trials of the times have spread such chaos that there is no peace in any corner of the world.
3
jis ka maslak¹ hi mohabbat ki parastish² Thahra³
hai ye ilzaam⁴ agar⁵ us pe, to ilzaam nahiiN     1.doctrine, rule of conduct 2.devotion, worship 3.decided, settled 4.accusation 5.if
If the one who has decided that their doctrine is the worship of universal love is accused of it (believing in something other than conventional religions), then this is not an accusation at all. The implication is that such an accusation is a credit, an honour.
4
daur¹-e haazir² se Ghaniimat³ raha daur¹-e maazi⁴
yeh voh aaGhaaz⁵ hai jis ka koi anjaam⁶ nahiiN     1.times, age 2.present 3.enough, blessing, better 4.past 5.beginning 6.ending
There was something going on during the time of the poet – I speculate that it was worsening relationships between communities. Even though the ‘present times’ (during this period) were about independence, the worsening relationships made them worse than the past times, when at least these relationships were better. What is starting in the present times has no ending, which portends to be not good.
5
kab se be-kaif¹ guzarti² hai meri tanhaa’ii³
ek ars’e⁴ se koi dard⁵ ka paiGhaam⁶ nahiiN     1.joyless 2.passes 3.solitude 4.long time, ages 5.pain, sorrow 6.message
The poet is alone and his solitude passes joylessly. For ages, I have not received any message of pain/sorrow. The meaning of each misra is clear enough, but it will take some effort to make sense of the second misra and relate it to the first. (a) For ages now the poet/lover has not received any message from the beloved. Such messages are usually of pain and sorrow because the beloved never openly accepts offers of love. But at least the messages indicate that there is some connection. But lately the poet feels completely ignored and overlooked, hence his solitude is spent joylessly. (b) This is about messages of pain/sorrow of the world (not from the beloved). There is no one else that is feeling this pain and no one is sharing such messages with him. Hence, his solitude is joyless.
6
be-shu’uuri¹ se hua azm² hamaara naakaam³
aaj tak manzil⁴-e maqsood⁵ tah-e-gaam⁶ nahiiN     1.lack of wisdom, foolishness 2.resolve, firm intentions 3.failed 4.destination 5.desired 6.under footsteps/feet
Because of foolishness, our firm resolve has failed. Even to this day we are not on the path to our desired destination. This is a political message about society heading in the wrong direction.
7
pii ke kam-zarf¹ bahakte² haiN, pilaata hai unheN
saaqiya kya mer’e hiss’e³ meN koii jaam⁴ nahiiN     1.low capacity 2.intoxicated, senseless 3.portion 4.cup, goblet
The saaqiya here is like fate handing out wine/gifts. She is giving wine to drink to those who are already drunk and have little capacity to bear anymore. O saaqiya, is there no cup of wine in my portion/allocated to me. This could well be about the distribution of wealth/rights in the emerging social order.
8
sab ke hoNToN¹ pe mera naam ba-har-soorat² hai
jis ko kahte haiN bahaar³ aaj voh gumnaam⁴ nahiiN    1.lips 2.under all conditions 3.pen-name of the poet, spring 4.unknown
Under all conditions, my name is on the lips of everyone. The one who is called bahaar is not unknown these days. Thus, he is claiming his position in literary circles.