deevaana banaa dena – seemab akbarabadi

Click on any she’r for word meanings and explanatory discussion.

1
aye be-Khabari¹ dil ko deevaana banaa dena
har saaNs ko hasti² se begaana³ banaa dena1.intoxication, trance (of love/devotion) 2.existence, being 3.stranger, unrelated
The poet is in a state of trance (with the love of the beloved/god) and wishes that this trance (be-Khabari) make/keep his heart mad (in love). He wishes that this trance make every breath (every moment of his life) unmindful of life/being/ego meaning that his being should be made one with that of the beloved (or god).

2
TooTa hua dil shama’-e but-Khaana banaa dena
jab raat Dhale saaqi, paimaana¹ banaa dena1.cup (of wine)
The poet/lover’s heart is broken – in the context of this she’r probably because it was too full of love. He wishes for it to be made into a lamp for the idol-house i.e. to light it up, bring cheer to it. The idol-house can be the house of idols/beloved or literally a temple. Later, he wants his heart to be used as a cup (of wine/love) in the maiKhaana. Thus, the poet is going beyond the masjid and reaching both the but-Khaana and the mai-Khaana (symbol of free/liberal thinking).

3
pur-shor¹ ghaTaauN ka mamnoon² na hone do
tum ko bhi to aata hai, deevaana banaa dena1.noisy, windy 2.obliged to
When rain clouds appear and winds blow, lovers go into a trance, longing for their beloved. The poet/lover would like not to be obliged to these winds, he would rather that his beloved herself, send him into a trance of love. One possible interpretation is that “tum” can be god. Thus, he is asking god to keep him in a trance of love and not force him to be beholden to others (such as clouds), for that would be “shirk” (adding something else to divine power, or having multiple beloveds).

4
dil saaz¹-e vafa² bhi hai, aur soz³-e navaa⁴ bhi hai
bun jaaye to naaqoos⁵-e but-Khaana⁶ banaa dena1.music of 2.faith, love 3.fire/passion of 4.voice, speech 5.conch shell 6.temple
My heart is the music of faith (Islam) and the fire/passion of sound (of the temple). If possible, use it as a conch shell in the temple. Thus, the poet is declaring one-ness of both faiths.

5
aisa na ho ye duniya phir hosh¹ meN le aaye
deevaane ki fitrat² ko deevaana banaa dena1.senses, awareness 2.nature, character
The mad passionate man (with universal love) is in a state of frenzy. The poet is afraid that the world will talk to him and “straighten him out”. So, he appeals to fate/god to make this state of frenzy a permanent state of madness, so that he may never be brought back to his senses.

6
is ghar se nikal kar but, aaKhir kahiN rahte bhi
ka’abe ki inaayat¹ hai, but-Khaana banaa dena1.grant, gift, blessing
This has reference to the removal of idols from the ka’aba when mohammed was victorious over Meccans and they all accepted Islam. After all, these idols had to go somewhere. They are a bounty granted from the ka’aba. Therefore, building a temple (to house these idols, which had to go somewhere) is blessed by the kaaba, after all these idols were granted to us by the kaaba. Again, he shows acceptance of both/all faiths.

7
vo noor¹-e chaman bun kar barsaat meN aaye haiN
manzoor² hai boondauN ko, parvaana banaa dena1.light, radiance 2.accepting, willing
The beloved has arrived manifest as the radiance/beauty of the garden. This could also be the manifestation of god as the beauty of the garden, “noor-e chaman” being colourful flowers. The beloved being “noor” needs “lovers/parvaane”. Rain drops are ready to become parvaana, swarm of moths.

8
kaam aayega aye saaqi, ye daaman¹-e tar² mera
chhoTa sa koii abr³-e maiKhaana⁴ banaa dena1.hem of robe 2.wet 3.cloud 4.tavern
The poet/lover has been shedding tears and his robe is wet. A rain cloud is a blessing. Thus, he wishes that his wet robe be used as a small raincloud over the tavern and shower blessings on it.

9
tamheed¹-e Kharaabi² ki takmeel³ Kharaabi hai
ek but ka banaana hai, but-Khaana banaa dena1.beginning 2.used here to mean devastation/going mad in aashiqi/(divine) love 3.completion
The intensity and pull of love is such that once it begins it takes you to complete madness/frenzy. Once you make one idol it is as if you have made a whole of house of idols, you are helplessly drawn.

10
allah re soz¹-e Gham², aatish-nafasi³ teri
jis saaz⁴ ko chhoo lena, parvaana banaa dena1.fire/passion 2.sorrow/love 3.fire breathing
In this she’r he is probably talking about his own fire/passion of love and of his fiery breath. Whatever music his passionate breath creates i.e. whatever she’r he recites, he creates admirers/lovers/paravaane. Said momin (of the beloved’s voice) –
us Ghairat-e naheed ki har taan hai deepak
sho’la sa chamak jaaye hai aavaz to dekho

11
aye husn¹, hai ek rahmat², ye teri junooN-kaari³
insaan banaana hai, deevaana banaa dena1.beauty, beloved 2.benevolence, kindness 3.passion-creation (in the hearts of lovers)
The beloved with her beauty (or god in his glory), creates passion in the hearts of lovers. This “passion-creation” is therefore a benevolence. Therefore, making man “human” (giving him the defining attribute of humanity i.e. universal love) is the same as creating a ‘deevaana’.

12
Khud qissa-e-Gham¹ apna kotaah² kiya maiN ne
duniya ne bahut chaaha, afsaana³ banaa dena1.sorrowful story 2.abbreviated, shortened 3.legend
I myself abbreviated my sorrowful story even though the world wanted to make it a legend.

13
seemab ye haijaan¹-e garmi-e-mohabbat² hai
insaaN ko hum-anjaam³-e parvaana⁴ banaa dena1.enthusiasm, eagerness 2.passion of love 3.same fate, same end 4.moth
The fate of the moth is to burn itself in its love of the lamp. O seemab it is the enthusiasm for the passion of (divine) love that makes man share the same fate as the moth.