Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. John Robert Paul nadir shahjahaaNpuri (1890-1963) was born in a Christian missionary family. He chose to continue to live in India and composed extensively in urdu with a full-fledged divan of nearly 400 Ghazal to his name. Also see his hamd and n’aat-e maseehi posted on this site. He has several Ghazal composed in the zamin of Ghalib, this one in the zamin of ‘har ek se puuchhta huN keh jaauN kidhar ko maiN’.
1
kya ro’uN dil ko aur kya piiTuN jigar ko maiN
barbaad kar chuka huN bhare ghar ke ghar ko maiN    1.liver (used here to mean – bosom) 2.destroy
What is the use of beating my bosom, crying over my heart. I have already completely destroyed my once prosperous house.
2
aye sham’a¹ tere saath bujhooNga sahar ko maiN
dil-soz² ho gaya huN tera raat bhar ko maiN    1.candle 2.burnt heart
The poet has watched the candle burn all night long and feels great sympathy for it. In this sympathy, his own heart has been singed/burnt. So, he has decided that he is going to end is life along with that of the candle, when it is put out or burnt out at dawn.
3
uTh kar bhi is jahaaN se uThaauN na sar ko maiN
saNg¹-e haram² samajh luN tere saNg-e-dar³ ko maiN    1.stone 2.k’aaba 3.threshold
The cornerstone of the k’aaba is ritually kissed/touched by observant muslims. The poet bows his head at the threshold of the beloved. He resolves that even after death (jahaan se uTh jaana is an expression meaning – dying) he will not lift his head from the threshold of the beloved. He will consider it to be as holy as the cornerstone of the k’aaba.
4
aaNkhoN meN tujh ko rakh ke bhi mahroom¹-e diid² huN
jaise keh dekhta nahiN apni nazar³ ko maiN 1.deprived 2.glimpse, sighting 3.eye, line of sight
Even though I have ensconced you in my eyes, I am still deprived of a sight of you. It is as if I cannot see even my own line of sight.
5
is Dar se un se Khat-o-kitaabat¹ na ho saki
maktoob²-e shauq³ duN keh na duN naamabar⁴ ko maiN    1.correspondence 2.written word 3.desire 4.messenger
The poet/lover is suspicious of the messenger. After all Ghalib has warned all lovers …
zikr us parivash ka aur phir bayaaN apna
ban gaya raqiib aaKhir tha jo raazdaaN apna
He could not correspond with the beloved for fear of handing over a written letter of his desires/love to the messenger.
6
pahuNcha hai le ke aisi jagah¹ par junoon²-e ishq³
jis jaa⁴ taras⁵ raha huN Khud apni Khabar⁶ ko maiN    1.place, stage 2.passion 3.love 4.place, stage 5.thirsting for 6.awareness
The passion of love has made the poet/lover/sufi/devotee so mad that he is in a stage of trance, unaware even of himself. This is the stage that passion has brought me to. Of course this could be applied to the divine beloved.
7
itna to de ilaahi¹ keh kaafi² ho umr-bhar³
khaauNga kitne roz⁴ Gham-e muKhtasar⁵ ko maiN    1.lord 2.enough 3.life-long 4.days 5.brief, small quantity
There is a humorous word play here. Gham khaana literally translates as ‘eating sorrow’ and is used as a figure of speech for accepting/bearing sorrow/pain. He is conflating it with eating for sustenance. Thus, he prays god for at least so much sorrow that he can sustain himself for the rest of his life. In urdu poetic tradition sorrow/pain is valued highly.
8
parvaano¹ tum hi naala² karo, sham’a tuu hi ro
paauN kahaaN se bahr³-e ‘aza⁴ nauha-gar⁵ ko maiN   1.moth 2.cry, wail 3.for the sake of 4.mourning 5.professional mourner
Ghalib writes … “maqdoor ho to saath rakhuN nauha-gar ko maiN” – if I had the means, I would hire a professional mourner to mourn along with me (I have so much mourning to do that I cannot handle it all by myself). Here, the poet calls upon the moth and the candle to mourn because – where can I find a professional mourner for mourning.
9
jaati hai aajizi¹ se meri ahl-e-zar² ki aab³
deta huN maat⁴ Khaak⁵ se eksiir-gar⁶ ko maiN 1.helplessness 2.people of wealth 3.shine, respect, dignity 4.defeat 5.dust 6.elixir maker
The poet/lover is destitute and helpless. His penury is a reflection on the character of the wealthy, because they have not helped him. They have lost their respect because of it. With lowly dust he is able to defeat the maker of elixir i.e., he is at peace with his penury and he has put the wealthy to shame.
10
Ghurbat meN rahte rahte zamaana guzar gaya
ghar mera mujh ko bhool gaya aur ghar ko maiN   1.displaced, uprooted, exiled 2.long time
It has been a long time since I was uprooted/left home. My home has forgotten me and I have forgotten my home. Could this possibly reflect his loss of home in England.
11
qismat meN hi likhi hai judaaii jab aap se
kyuNkar miTaauN naqsh-e qaza-o-qadar ko maiN 1.separation 2.how 3.erase 4.marks, writing 5.pre-destined fate
When separation from you is written in my fate, how can I erase the marks of pre-destination.
12
uThti hai jis taraf¹ bhi nazar² tu hi ru-ba-ru³
tujh se nazar-bachaauN⁴ to dekhuN kidhar ko maiN    1.direction 2.eyes, sight 3.face to face 4.look away
Wherever I turn to look, I see you in front of me. If I try to look away, which way should I turn. This could well have been addressed to god.
13
maayuusi¹-e shifa² pe shifa ki ummeed³ hai
tashKhiis⁴ kya karuN maraz⁵-e chaaragar⁶ ko maiN 1.disappointment 2.cure, healing 3.hope 4.diagnosis 5.illness 6.healer
The most confusing part for me was how to interpret “maraz-e chaaragar”. Literally it means the illness of the healer. That leads to almost non-sensical interpretations of the she’r. I chose to interpret is as ‘the illness which the healer has diagnosed’. The poet/lover is sick with love. The chaaragar was called, diagnosed something and prescribed medication, but the sick poet/lover did not get well. He is disappointed with the cure but still clings on to hope. What can I do about the illness that the healer has diagnosed, he simply does not know anything about the illness of love.
14
dasht¹-e junooN² se lauT³ ke shaa’ed⁴ na aa sakuN
apne gale laga to luN diivaar-o-dar⁵ ko maiN   .wilderness, desert 2.passion 3.return 4.perhaps 5.walls and doors i.e., dwelling
The poet/lover in the madness of his passion is getting ready to leave home and wander the desert like the legendary majnuN. He is not sure whether he will ever be able to return and as a last gesture wants to hug his dwelling and bid goodbye.