Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mirza asadullah KhaaN Ghalib (1797-1869). I dare not write any introduction. On more than one occasion Ghalib has warned his readers that he needs no introduction or even address. I humbly comply. This Ghazal is dated 1853 when Ghalib was appointed bahadur shah zafar’s ustaad. It is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’ along with others composed by later shu’ara in the same radeef/qaafiya. There is a bahadur shah zafar ham-radeef Ghazal too.
1
hazaaroN KhwaahisheN aisi keh har Khwaahish pe dam¹ nikle
bahut nikle mere armaan² lekin phir bhii kam nikle     1.breath/life 2.desires
Thousands of desires, each one worth dying for. Some are fulfilled, but never all because new desires keep coming up. There is a sufi/oriental undertone which says that it is better not to have any desires at all.
2
Dare` kyuN mera qaatil kya rahegaa us kii gardan¹ par
vo KhuN jo chashm-e tar² se umr bhar yuN dam-ba-dam³ nikle 1.gardan par aana–to be blamed for, held responsible for 2.wet/weeping eye 3.time and again, always
Why should she be afraid of being blamed for my death – she cannot be blamed, so should not hesitate in killing me. After all my blood has been constantly dripping away (tears of blood) all my life. She will not be blamed for ‘spilling my blood’.
3
nikalna Khuld¹ se aadam ka sunte aa’e haiN lekin
bahut² be-aabru³ ho kar tere kuuche⁴ se ham nikle 1.paradise 2.(even) more 3.disgracefully 4.street
Adam was expelled from paradise disgracefully for eating the forbidden fruit. But the lover has been disgraced even more because (a) he was expelled for no fault of his (he did not get to the forbidden fruit) and/or (b) his loss is greater because the beloved’s street is even better than paradise.
4
bharam¹ khul jaa’e zaalim tere qaamat² kii daraazii³ ka
agar us turrah⁴-e pur-pech-o-Kham⁵ kaa pech-o-Kham nikle 1.bharam khulna is – secret revealed, deception uncovered 2.stature, height 3.extent, length, “tallness” 4.plume, crest, hair 5.curls and knots, twists and turns 6.open up, get uncurled, straightened
Her long, knotted curls stand up like a plume and make her look taller than she is. Should their twists and turns be straightened out, then she would not appear as tall and her secret will be revealed.
5
magar likhvaa’e ko’ii us ko Khat to ham se likhvaa’e
hu’ii subh aur ghar se kaan par rakh kar qalam nikle    The poet/lover has taken up the profession of scribe for hire. He is so desperate that he sets out at the crack of dawn every morning with the pen stuck behind his ear. The whole thing is a sign of desperation and hopelessness … in the vain hope that rivals would hire him as a scribe and he would be able to assuage some of his jealousy – or is it a claim of excellence in letter writing … if anyone needs a professional scribe, they should come to me, because I am the best – I know what melts her heart!
6
hu’i is daur¹ meN mansuub² mujh se baadah-aashaami³
phir aayaa vo zamaana⁴ jo jahaaN meN jaam-e jam⁵ nikle 1.period, times, round (of drinks) 2.associated 3.wine drinking 4.era, age, times 5.goblet of Jamshed
The goblet of Jamshed is legendary. When it is filled with the wine it reflects the universe. It can serve as a ‘crystal ball’ to divine the future and/or reveal great/deep truths/philosophies. It is also associated with wine drinking. Thus, Ghalib is praising himself and justifying/is proud of his own wine-drinking. He writes his best asha’ar while drinking – thus revealing deep truths/mysteries. And this wine-drinking is associated with him in this age! So with his birth, in the present age, the cup of jamshed has returned!
7
hu’ii jin se tavaqqu¹ Khastagii² kii daad³ paane ki
vo ham se bhi ziyaada Khasta⁴-e teGh-e sitam⁵ nikle 1.expectation, hope 2.wound 3.appreciation, sympathy 4.wounded 5.sword of tyranny (of the beloved)
The poet/lover was hoping to get sympathy for his own wounds of love, but it turns out that the people he was expecting sympathy from were even more wounded by the sword of tyranny (of the same beloved)! But then, it may not be about the beloved at all, but the sword of tyranny of Fate! Everyone is afflicted with the same problems.
8
muhabbat meN nahiiN hai farq¹ jiine aur marne kaa
usi ko dekh kar jiite haiN jis kaafir² pe dam³ nikle 1.difference 2.unbeliever, infidel – beloved 3.breath, life
I live to get a glimpse of the same cruel beloved who I love so much that I would die of joy if I saw her (ke Khushi se mar na jaate agar e’tebaar hota).So (in such deep love) there is no difference between life and death.
9
kahaaN mai-Khaane¹ ka darvaaza Ghalib aur kahaaN vaa’ez²
par itna jaante haiN kal vo jaata tha keh ham nikle 1.tavern 2.preacher
The poet is surprised – two very opposite things the preacher and the tavern – but he knows this much, just yesterday the preacher was (openly or on the sly) patronizing the tavern – pointing out the hypocricy of the establishment.

har Khwaahish pe dam nikle – mirza Ghalib
Badri Raina’s Rendition
1
Countless dreams ambush the heart, each imperiously supreme
Countless dreams have been fulfilled, fulfillment still a dream
2
What keeps you from the slaughter pray, for no blood shall stain your head
Except the blood that I have shed through streaming tears instead
3
Indeed, I have heard of Aadam’s dismissal from Grace to ignominy
Yet, how more ignominious, my retreat from your alley
7
The people I had hoped would lend compassion to my grief
Turned out to be in greater need of compassionate relief
8
Love simultaneously prolongs and suffocates the breath
Her beloved face spells at once both survival and death
9
The tavern and the holy priest, — antiopodal quantities
Yet, even as I drunkenly emerged, I saw him, if you please