Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed husain qamar jalaalavi (1887-1968), was born in jalaali, near aligaRh, moved to pakistan after partition/independence. He was popularly known as ‘ustad’, for his expertise in repairing bicycles, which is how he earned his living and lived in penury, in spite of his excellence as a poet. He wrote Ghazal is chaste classical style, many of which have been put to music. This is one of several thematic collections of his maqta in which he uses his taKhallus with great witticism.
1
jigar¹ ka daaGh² chhupaao qamar³ Khuda ke liye
sitaare TooTte haiN unke deeda⁴-e nam⁵ se    1.liver/heart 2.wound, scar 3.pen-name of the poet, full moon 4.eye 5.moist, tearful
‘jigar’ is traditionally the seat of forbearance in urdu poetry. It is often used to mean to heart also. chaand ka daaGh … the “wound/scar” on the moon is a much-used metaphor. qamar is the poet/lover, his hurt (the scar on the moon) is visible. But tradition has it, that the lover should not display his scar for fear of embarrassing the beloved. But the moon/poet/lover is displaying his daaGh and the beloved has moist eyes (is sad, is crying). So, the lover is being admonished to hide the scar/wound … except in this case the taKhallus of the poet and the full moon with its scar play very well. The metaphor of falling tears and shooting stars is simply beautiful. The juxtaposition of shooting stars as the catastrophic result of the sadness of the beloved is foretelling the coming of doom. The exaggerated sense is that the end of the world is near, the beloved is crying, O qamar, quickly hide your wound and save the world.
2
qamar apne daaGh-e dil ki vo kahaani maiN ne chheRi
keh suna kiye sitaare mera raat bhar fasana¹   1.story
The poet/lover/full moon relates the story of the scar/wound on his heart. The story is so gripping that all the stars were listening in rapt attention all night long.
3
qamar kisi se bhi dil ka ilaaj¹ ho na saka
hum apna daaGh dikhaate rahe zamaane² ko    1.cure 2.world
The moon/poet/lover constantly displayed the wound/scar of his heart to the whole world (begging for someone to cure it), but no one could cure it.
4
daaGh-e dil us ne na poochha haal¹-e shaam-e Gham ke saath
tum ko surat se vo shaa’ed aye qamar samjha nahiN   1.condition
The beloved is making small talk, not an intimate heart to heart conversation. She asks about the conditions of the desolate evening, but has not inquired about the scar on his heart. If she had asked about it, he would have got a chance to tell her the story of his love. The poet/lover consoles himself that she probably did not understand the significance of the scar/wound because of the brave/beautiful face (full moon) he put up.
5
aye qamar haal¹-e shab²-e furqat³ na hum se chhup saka
daaGh-e dil saare zamaane⁴ meN numaayaN⁵ kar chale    1.condition of 2.night of 3.separation 4.world 5.prominent
Poetic convention of romance is that the poet/lover keeps his love hidden from the world so as not to malign the beloved’s name/reputation. But ‘qamar’ – the moon has a scar that is prominently on display for the whole world to see. Thus, O qamar you could not hide the suffering of the night of separation. You had to display the scar of your heart to the wole world.
6
chaandni aisi khili¹ ho gaye zarre² raushan
daaGh seene ke qamar se na hua duur kabhi     1.blossomed, spread 2.particles, grains (of dust)
When ‘qamar’ is out, there is moonlight everywhere … lighting everything up, spreading happiness, so much so that even lowly particles of dust shine. But ‘qamar’ himself remains faithful to his love … the scar on his heart never goes away.
7
vo nahiN to aye qamar un ki nishaani hi sahi
daaGh-e furqat¹ ko lagaaye phir rahe haiN dil se hum    1.separation
The poet/lover remains faithful to her even if he cannot get her. He always carries the wound/scar of separation close to his heart wherever he goes.
8
naam to apna chhupa sakte haiN laikin kya kareN
aye qamar majboor¹ ho jaate haiN daaGh-e dil se hum    1.helpless
The poet/lover wants to remain unobtrusive/quiet/stoic, perhaps because he is mindful on not maligning the beloved’s reputation. So, he may hide his name, not tell anyone who he is … what can he do about the scar/wound on his heart. As soon as anyone sees it, they recognize him as ‘qamar’.
9
duniya pe qamar daaGh-e jigar¹ hai mera raushan²
laikin na kabhi naam liya chaaragari³ ka    1.literally liver but used here in the sense of heart 2.bright, seen clearly, openly manifest 3.cure
The moon/qamar has a wound/scar (of unrequited love) on his heart which the whole world can see. His pain is apparent to everyone … but, following the poetic/romantic tradition he treasures his pain and has never sought a cure for it.
10
chhupa ke daaGh-e jigar¹ ko maiN ne, fuzool² un se zideN³ baRhaa liiN
maiN kah raha huN qamar huN maiN hi, vo kah rahe haiN qamar nahiN hai    1.used here to mean heart 2.unnecessarily 3.differences
It is urdu poetic/romantic tradition for the poet/lover to hide his pain from the beloved so as not to cause her pain or embarrassment. So, he hid the scar on his heart from her. This unnecessarily increased the difference of opinion between them. He insists that he is qamar and she is observing, “qamar is not here” … because she knows that “qamar/moon” has a scar on its heart and because the poet/lover has hidden it, she cannot recognize him.
11
nateeja¹ hi kya haal²-e Gham gar³ na kahte, qamar dil ki haalat ba-har-haal⁴ khulti
ye maana ke daaGh un pe zaahir⁵ ha ho, sitaare⁶ hum aaNkhauN se kyuNkar⁷ chhupaate     1.result, used here to mean ‘what is the use’ 2.condition of 3.if 4.under any condition, invevitable 5.reveal 6.stars – shining tear drops 7.how
The poet/lover has followed tradition and has not told the beloved about the sorry condition of his heart. Of what use is it that I did not tell her, it was inevitable that she would find out. I agree that I should not reveal the scar/wound on my heart to her, but how can I hide all these stars (shooting stars) … tear drops.