Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. The Ghalib shataabdi naagarik samiti, jabalpur, Ghalib Centennial Citizens Committee, conducted mushaa’era over two years, each inviting Ghazal modeled after selected Ghazal of Ghalib. This is a collection of three short contributions modeled after Ghalib’s ‘dard minnat kash-e dava na hua’. Poet, murarilal jazb is listed as “Dresser, Railway Hospital”. The professions of anthony naadaan and daamodar prasad prakash are not listed but both are shown as college graduates. This series shows the range of occupations and backgrounds of muslim and non-muslim poets who were lovers of urdu even to 1969. Times have changed.
anthony naadaan jabalpuri
1
vo tavajjoh¹ kareNge kya mujh par
bandagi² meN agar gila³ na hua   1.attention 2.servitude, devotion 3.complaint
The poet/lover is completely devoted to the beloved but will she ever pay any attention to him, unless he complains.
2
taar¹ TooTe hazaar baar magar
saaz²-e dil hai ke be-suraa³ na hua   1.wire, string 2.musical instrument, harp
Strings broke a thousand times but the harp of heart never lost its tune i.e. the heart has suffered many setbacks, but it has never stopped loving.
daamodar parshaad chaturvedi parkaash
1
kaise taa’reef¹ ho farishte² ki
jab vo insaan se siva³ na hua    1.praise 2.angel, hoor 3.more, beyond
This probably refers to the beloved as an “insaan” and the angel is a hoor. How can I praise the beauty of the angel, unless it were more beautiful than the beloved.
2
tum salaamat¹ raho zamaane² meN
mera kya hai, hua hua na hua    1.prosper, live 2.times, world
May you live a long life and prosper in this world. Of what consequence am I, whether I live or not.
3
aa ke baaliiN¹ pe jab vo baiTh gaye
maut ka Dar mujhe zara na hua    1.near the head, face to face
The poet/lover is on his death bed and the beloved (as is customary) has come to pay a visit. When she arrived and sat near his head, he was so comforted that he was no longer afraid fo death.
4
bandagi umr bhar to kii parkaash
dil se sajda magar ada na hua    1.devotion, prayer 2.pen-name of the poet 3.prostration as in namaaz 4.pay, offer
All your life, you have been devoted, O, prakaash. But the obeisance you offered was not from the bottom of your heart i.e. not sincere. Is he talking about devotion to the beloved or to god. Maybe he is talking about devotion to god, saying that all this time he was offering ritual prayers to god, but was really devoted to the beloved.
muraarilal jazb
1
haal¹ mat poochhiye shab²-e Gham ka
kya hua haaye aur kya na hua   1.condition, story 2.night
Do not ask what happened during the night of sorrow i.e. the night of separation. Don’t ask what happened and what did not happen. This is probably a unique reference to the possibility that the rival got to spend that night with the beloved and the poet/lover was left out.
2
b’aad moosa¹ ke diid² ki shaa’ed³
phir kisi ko bhai hausla⁴ na hua 1.Moses 2.looking 3.perhaps 4.courage
This has reference to the qur’aanic/Biblical story of Moses. He went up mount tuur asking to see some manifestation of god. After some back and forth, the manifestation of god appeared as a lightning flash and Moses fainted. Thus, perhaps after moosa nobody has the courage to look … of course, there is a convention that the lover dare not look directly at the beloved because of her dazzling beauty.
3
khaa ke Thokar sanbhal gaya koii
ye bhi achchha hua bura na hua    1.stumble 2.balance
Somone stumbled and then recovered. It is good that it was thus, and nothing bad happened. The poet does not mention who it was that stumbled … perhaps the poet himself, or the beloved. The stumbling could be literal or figurative as in … the beloved stumbled and fell for the rival, but soon realized that the poet was a sincere lover and recovered from her mistake.