Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. Elizabeth Kurian ‘Mona’ (1949-living) is a poet in many languages – urdu, English, hindi, and her mother tongue malayalam, with published books in each. A true blue hyderabadi, she is a late comer to urdu, but apparently good at it as well as in love with it. She learnt urdu through a correspondence course offered by jaami’a-e millia islamia, dehli. She has written four urdu books of Ghazal/nazms. She took early retirement from a management position in Reserve Bank of India and now pursues her passion in poetry. This is composed in the same ‘zamin’ as Ghalib’s Ghazal – see naqsh-e qadam under raina’s Ghalib – https://urdushahkar.org/naqsh-e-qadam-rainas-ghalib/.
1
hamesha jo dayr¹ o haram² dekhte haiN
kahaaN doosrauN ka vo Gham dekhte haiN       1.temple 2.mosque
Those who always look towards temple and mosque i.e. narrow orthodoxy, do not look into the pain/needs of others.
2
lubhaaye¹ the kitne bharam² dekhte haiN
jo TooTi hui har qasam dekhte haiN    1.attracted, pulled in 2.deceptions, illusions
Those who look at (hold on to, continue to believe) broken promises, are really looking at the illusions/deceptions that had attracted them. Who is it that has broken promises – the beloved/lover, politicians, faith systems – the reader is left to make a choice.
3
sitaaroN ke aage Ghazab¹ ki vo duniya
‘na tum dekhte ho na hum dekhte haiN’   1.used here in the sense of ‘amazing’
That amazing world beyond the stars, neither you can see, nor I. Reminds me of iqbal’s ‘sitaaroN ke aage jahaaN aur bhi haiN’.
4
kareN nukta-chiini¹ jo auroN ki har dam²
vo apne garebaaN³ meN kam dekhte haiN     1.criticism 2.breath, moment 3.collar, garebaaN meN dekhna, literally, looking into the collar – a saying that means, looking at one’s own faults
Those who criticize others all the time do not look at their own faults enough.
5
jise hum ne puuja tah-e-dil¹ se barsoN
vo patthar ka nikla sanam² dekhte haiN   1.bottom of the heart 2.idol, beloved
The one we have worshipped from the bottom of our hearts for years has turned out to be “patthar ka sanam” i.e. hard hearted beloved, but could it possibly be interpreted to mean god!
6
laRakpan ki galiyoN se guzre¹ haiN jab jab
buzurgoN² ke naqsh-e-qadam³ dekhte haiN     1.passed through 2.elders 3.footprints
This lends itself to two scenarios. Either the child is growing up and passing through the lanes of childhood. He/she encounters the footsteps of elders to learn from and grows. Or, the grown person is looking back and recalling his/her time of growing up and now recognizing that there were footprints of elders. In this scenario, either he/she is regretting that they did not recognize it in time or acknowledging with gratitude that they learnt from it. Perhaps a combination of both.
7
kahiN draupadi¹ jaa rahi ha sataaii
kahiiN jaanki² par sitam³ dekhte haiN     1.character in mahabharat (see notes) 2.another name of sita 3.oppression
This is a beautiful and unique construction of instances of oppression of women in classical hindu texts and implying that it continues today. In mahabharat, ‘draupadi’ was the wife of the paanDav. She was used as a wager in a chess game which yudhisTir lost. The winners, the kaurav “acquired” her and tried to publicly disrobe draupadi. In the ramayan, there were rumours about sita/jaanki because she was kidnapped and kept captive by raavan. Acting on these rumours, raam baishes her to the jungle and without telling her, gets his brother to take her to the jungle and drop her off at a hermitage. These are the two oppressions that the poet refers to and implies that they continue on women today.
8
nahiN dekh paaye jo chaand aur suuraj
vo manzar¹ bhi ahl-e-qalam² dekhte haiN    1.scenes, conditions 2.people of the pen, writers, poets
Those scenes/conditions on earth that even the sun and moon were unable to see, the poet is able to see and write about. The implication of “sun and moon” can be heavens/god.
9
vo jug¹ ka hai maalik, haiN bande² hum us ke
jo hum par hai us ka karam³ dekhte haiN    1.world 2.slaves, devotees 3.benevolence
He/she is the lord of the world/universe and we are his/her devotees. We see his/her benevolence (all around us).
10
nahiN aaj be-laus¹ insaani rishte²
ke ab log suud³ o raqam⁴ dekhte haiN     1.pure, unselfish 2.relationships 3.profit 4.money
Human relationships are no longer unselfish, clean, without hidden agenda, because people now look for profit and money.
11
agar kaam aaye hai mona¹ kisi ke
saphal² hum to apna janam³ dekhte haiN    1.pen-name of poet 2.fruitful, successful 3.birth, lifetime
O, mona, if you have been useful to anyone, then consider your life fruitful/successful.