Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. taalib dehlavi-shiish chandr saxena (1910-1975), born and raised in ambaala. High school, 1925. After some interruption, BA (1935) from Hindu College, dehli. Started composing in 1927; shaagird of munshi maharaaj barq dehlavi. He may have been independently wealthy. He writes about frequent mushaa’era held at his house. He collected and compiled the works of munshi maharaj barq dehlavi, ramprakash sahir hoshiarpuri and chandrbhan kaifi dehlavi, which might otherwise have been lost. In addition, he compiled a collection called ‘hamaare husain’, elegies composed by non-muslim shu’ara as tributes to husain and karbala. This Ghazal, in the zamiin of Ghalib’s ‘diida-e tar yaad aaya’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
phir tera tiir¹-e nazar² yaad aaya
phir humeN zaKhm³-e jigar⁴ yaad aaya    1.arrow 2.glance 3.wound 4.liver/heart
The beloved’s glance is like an arrow. It pierces the heart and liver. The poet remembers such a glance of the beloved and he immediately recalls the wounds of his liver and heart.
2
go¹ bahut dil se bhulaana² chaaha
bhoolne vaala magar yaad aaya    1.even though 2.forget
Even though the poet tried hard to forget; to eradicate the memory (of the beloved) from his heart, he still remembered the forgetful one. The beloved is characterized as the one who forgets i.e., ignores the poet/lover.
3
yaad¹ bhoole² se kareNge na kabhi
aur bhoole se agar yaad aaya?     1.remember 2.by mistake
This she’r presents a nice word play with the words yaad, bhool. The poet/lover has resolved not to remember the beloved even by mistake. But what can he do if he remembers her even without a deliberate effort.
4
maut¹ ne raKht²-e safar³ kya baandha⁴
zindagaani ka safar³ yaad aaya    1.death 2.provisions 3.journey 4.made arrangements, packed
The poet is about to die; death has made arrangements, packed provisions for the journey to the next world. Just at this moment, the dying poet remembers the journey of life. Either the whole life is flashing before his mind, or he is mentally not prepared to go. We are left to decide.
5
yaad aana tha ba-har-haal¹ jise
shaam bhoole to sahr² yaad aaya    1.under any condition, inevitable 2.dawn
It is inevitable that the poet/lover remember the beloved. If he were to ever not remember her in the evening, then her memories will flood in at dawn.
6
haa’e kya chiiz hai hubb-ul-vatanii¹
th’e jo Ghurbat² meN to ghar yaad aaya    1.love of the homeland 2.exile, away from home, in a foreign land
O, how strong is the love of the homeland. When I was I was away (or exiled) I remembered home.
7
jis ko miTTi meN mil’e der hui
aaj vo Khaak-ba-sar¹ yaad aaya    1.dust on the head
This is probably composed on behalf of the beloved. She is remembering the dead lover. It has been a while since he died, was buried and turned into dust … miTTi meN mil gaya. Today she remembers that mad passionate one. The sign of his mad passion is that his hair is always coated with dust from his aimless, forlorn wandering.
8
phir huiiN taaza¹ rivaayaat²-e kohan³
saNg⁴ ko dekh ke sar yaad aaya    1.refreshed 2.traditions, legends 3.ancient 4.stones, rocks
Ancient legend here probably refers to the legend of laila-majnuN. majnuN was so distraught in his failure to earn the hand of laila that he wandered the streets in madness. Street urchins threw stones at him and he bled all over his body but particularly from the head. Thus, when the poet/lover looks at rocks, he remembers his head because the ancient legend is refreshed in his mind.
9
kyuN hu’e hashr¹ ke fitne² bedaar³
kis ke naaloN⁴ ka asar⁵ yaad aaya    1.doomsday 2.calamities, ordeals 3.awaken, refreshed 4.wailing 5.effect
It is natural to assume that ‘kis ke naale’ were the lover’s lamentations. In poetic traditions they are described as reaching the sky and creating great tumult/hovoc. This tumult/havoc is equal to ‘hashr ke fitne’-the ordeals of doomsday. Who is it who is remembering this lamentation and in their mind the ordeals of doomsday are refreshed. Most likely it is the beloved who is recalling the lamentation of her now dead lover.
10
dil meN rah-rah¹ ke Khalish² hoti hai
kaun yeh baar-e-digar³ yaad aaya    1.intermittently, repeatedly 2.pain, burning 3.once again
Burning pain arises in the heart repeatedly. Who do I remember once again. It is the poet’s heart that is experiencing this frequent pain as memories of the beloved rise in his mind once again.
11
tere andaaz¹-e bayaaN² se taalib³
miir⁴-o-Ghalib ka hunar⁵ yaad aaya    1.style, way 2.speaking, reciting poetry 3.pen-name 4.mir taqi mir 5.talent, genius
Because of the style of your poetry, O taalib, we remember the genius of mir and Ghalib.