Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. sher mohammad KhaaN ibn-e insha (1927-1978), poet, journalist, travelogue writer. A progressive with a wide ranging subjects – romance, politics, deep humanism and self deprecating humour. He has written with much feeling about the horrors of war and famine. This is a much more light-hearted romantic nazm/song with a tinge of using the beloved as simile for god.
1
kal chaudhviN ki raat thi shab bhar raha charcha tera
kuchh ne kaha ye chaNd hai kuchh ne kaha chehra tera   Yesternight was full moon. There was talk of you all night long. Some said, it was the moon, others thought it was your face.
2
ham bhi vahiN maujood¹ the ham se bhi sab poochha kiye
ham haNs diye ham chup rahe manzoor² tha parda³ tera   1.present 2.acceptable, intention 3.veil, secret
I was there too and I was asked. But I merely smiled and kept quiet. I had to keep your secret (so your reputation not be besmirched).
3
is shahr meN kis se mileN ham se to chhooTiiN mahfileN
har shaKhs¹ tera naam le har shaKhs divaana tera   1.person
Who can I meet/befriend/trust (to share my secret love of you) in this town. I eschew all gatherings, because everyone talks of you, everyone is crazy about you (and it is difficult for me to keep my secret).
4
kooche¹ ko tere chhoR kar jogi² hi ban jaa’eN magar
jaNgal tere parbat tere basti teri sahra tera   1.street 2.wandering mendicant
I might have left your street and become a wandering medicant. But where can I go, you are everywhere, in the forest, on the mountain, in settlements and in the desert. This could mean that wherever he goes he carries her thought, there is no escape. At a stretch, he might be talking about god.
5
ham aur rasm-e-bandagi¹ ashuftagi² uftadgi³
ehsan⁴ hai kya kya tera aye husn-e-be-parva⁵ tera   1.tradition of servitude/loyalty 2.madness 3.helplessness 4.gifts/favours 5.uncaring beauty/beloved
Me and this tradition of unquestioning loyalty, my madness, my helplessness – these are all your gifts, O, uncaring beloved.
6
do ashk¹ jaane kis liye palkoN pe aa kar Tik gaye
altaaf² ki baarish teri ikram³ ka dariya tera   1.teardrops 2.benevolence 3.kindness
Teardrops for some reason stop and linger on my eyelashes. Your benevolence pours down like rain, your kindness flows like a river. I am not sure if this is addressed to the beloved or god or both, or what the connection is between the first and second misra. Why did the tear drops linger. The second misra should explain that.
7
aye be-dareGh¹ o be-amaaN² ham ne kabhi ki hai fuGhaaN³
ham ko teri vahshat⁴ sahi ham ko sahi sauda tera    1.without hesitation 2.no refuge, unsparing 3.wail, cry 4.fear
The poet/lover complains, I have never let out a cry (always kept your secret – hidden my love, hidden your cruelties) and yet you are unhesitating in your cruelty, you do not give me any refuge. I may be in fear/terror of you, I would like a fair trade with you.
8
ham par ye saKhti¹ ki nazar ham haiN faqir-e-rahguzar²
rasta kabhi roka tera daaman kabhi thaama tera    1.hard, angry 2.mendicant of the path
The poet/lover continues his complaint. Why this angry look, I am only mendicant sitting in the path. Have I ever stopped you, have I ever held the hem of your skirt? The lover is supposed to keep his distance and the poet claims to have done that.
9
haaN haaN teri soorat hasiN lekin tu aisa bhi nahiN
ek shaKhs ke ash’aar se shohra¹ hua kya kya tera   1.fame
The poet/lover claims credit for her fame. Yes, you are beautiful, but not to such an extent. It is because of my verse that your fame has spread.
10
bedard¹ sun’ni ho to chal kahta hai kya achchhi Ghazal
aashiq tera rusva² tera shaa’er tera insha tera 1.cruel 2.shamed, insulted
O cruel one, if you want to hear it, come. He is reciting such a beautiful Ghazal – your lover, the you have insulted, your poet, your insha.