Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. This Ghazal is taken from a small booklet published in 1969 by Ghalib shataabdi naagarik samiti, jabalpur. Ghalib Centennial Citizens Committee! pannalal srivastav noor BA LLB, ex-mayor of jabalpur, ex-chair of anjuman-e taraqqi-e urdu, jabalpur. The Ghazal is fairly conventional, but I pick it as representative of the wide following that urdu had even in 1969! How rapidly was the language murdered! This is one of several Ghazal modeled after “aaj Ghalib Ghazal-sara na hua”. The ‘samiti’ held several mushaa’era over a two year period using one Ghazal or the other of Ghalib’s as a model.
1
mere Gham ka asar¹ zara na hua
ye to patthar hua, Khuda na hua    1.effect
My sorrow/pain had little effect. This is a stone/stone hearted, not god. The sorrow/pain could be because of what the beloved is doing and the poet/lover is expecting god to intervene and help or it could be that his life is deprived and he has been praying and his prayers have had no effect.
2
dekh le aa ke bismil¹ ko
kaun jaane ye kal hua na hua    1.sacrificial animal
The animal’s throat has been slit and he is thrashing about to give up his life. This is the poet/lover is so much pain that he is writhing and ready to die. He calls upon the beloved to come and see him, who knows he will be alive tomorrow or not.
3
poochhte kya ho dil pe kya guzri
aaj poochho ke dil pe kya na hua    Why ask what sorrow/pain the heart experienced today. Better to ask what calamity did not happen. That will be a shorter story.
4
xxxxx ek tiir-e nazar ata¹ kar ke
phir vo aamaada²-e jafa³ na hua
1.grant 2.inclined towards, agree to 3.cruelty
‘tiir-e nazar’ is the arrow of a side-long glance. The poet/lover invites the ‘jafa’, cruelty visited upon him by the beloved. That is a source of pride for him, a sign that she still cares. But in this case, after that first side-long glance, she is not inclined to look at him again.
5
tirchhi¹ chitvan² utar gaii dil meN
tiir-e Gham tha magar Khata³ na hua    1.not straight i.e. sidelong 2.look, glance 3.shot through, pierce through
The arrow of her sidelong glanced pierced the poet/lover’s heart, but it was the the arrow of pain that did not pierce all the way through. It is therefore all the more painful. This has echoes of Ghalib’s …
koii mere dil se poochhe, tere tiir-e niim-kash ko
ye Khalish kahaaN se hoti jo jigar ke paar hota
6
jazba¹-e shauq² ho gaya dushman
mujh se izhaar³-e mudduaa⁴ na hua    1.sentiment, emotion 2.desire, passion 3.expression 4.desire
The poet/lover could not bring himself to express his desire/love for the beloved, for fear of maligning her reputation. That is why his own passion became his enemy. Or possibly, the way around … his passion became antagonistic towards him, that is why he could not express his desire/love.
7
ek tum se zamaana¹ hairaaN² hai
shukr hai tum sa doosra na hua    1.times, age, the world 2.amazed
The whole world is amazed at you (the beauty of the beloved, or possibly, the verse of Ghalib). I am grateful that there is not another like you, otherwise things would have gotten even more difficult with an excess of amazement. This is a reference to Ghalib’s claim that there is no one else like him.
8
aisa ma’moora¹-e baqa² hai noor³
miT ke sau baar bhi fana⁴ na hua    1.habitation, settlement, gathering 2.survival 3.pen-name of the poet 4.annihilation, in sufi terminology – becoming one with god.
‘noor’, the poet is a gathering of the desire to continue to live (survive). He is not a ‘true’ sufi yet. So, even though he was erased, died a hundred times, he could not achieve ‘fana’ union with the belove/god. This has echoes of Ghalib …
mujhe kya bura tha marna, agar ek baar hota