Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. hakim aGha jaan aish dehlavi (1779-1874). Famous for a qita he composed criticizing the difficult style of Ghalib – ‘aap samjhe ya Khuda samjhe’, Ghazal included on the site. But Ghalib had a sharp repartee and they remained very good friends. There are many Ghazal in the same zamin as Ghalib, probably composed in the same mushaa’era. He was a third generation hakim by profession and was personal physician to one of bahadur shah zafar’s sons. He fled dehli in the aftermath of 1857 and years later crawled his way back a decent means of living based on his healing practice. This Ghazal is in the style of Ghalib’s ‘lab-e saaqi pe sada mere baad’ and is linked to the poet, Ghalib peshrau-ham asr and Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
mujh sa hoga na koi be-sar-o-paa¹ mere baad
jaa-nashiiN² naam hi hovega mera mere baad    1.without head or feet i.e., without any means 2.taking my place, successor
There will not anyone more deprived than me, afer I am gone. The only thing I will leave behind for those who follow me will be my name, after me.
2
dil isi Gham se hai KhuuN, pa ke vahaaN sharf¹-e qubool²
dekhiye laayegi kya raNg hina³ mere baad    1.honour, respect 2.acceptance 3.henna, mehndi
The convention is that the beloved applies henna to her feet, but normal henna does not give the deep red colour she likes. She mixes it with blood from the lover’s heart to get the right colour. Having secured the honour of acceptance of his offer of blood, the poet/lover is now worried about what colour the henna will give after he is gone. munavvar KhaaN Ghaafil (in Ghalib peshrau hamasr) writes …
ab to haNs haNs ke lagaata hai vo mehNdi laikin
KhuuN rulaa dega use raNg-e hina mere b’aad
3
Khwaab meN rooh¹ karegi meri mujra² tum ko
DhoonD laaoge agar mujh sa bura mere baad   1.spirit, soul 2.mujra karna means to settle accounts, demand a settlement of accounts
My soul will haunt you in your dreams and demand a reckoning of what was due to me if you find another one like me after I am gone. The poet/lover will continue to be insanely jealous even after his death.
4
Khaar¹ sahra² ke ye phir chheR kareNge kis se
mujh sa kaun aayega yahaaN aabla-paa³ mere baad   1.thorns 2.desert 3.blistered feet
Convention is that mad, passionate lover walks through wilderness and desert looking for his beloved – ala majnuN of laila-majnuN legend. His feet develop blisters and when he steps on thorns in the desert he ‘waters’ them. After he is dead there will no mad/passionate lover like him to wander the desert with blistered feet. Who will the thorns of the desert tease then! Said taqi KhaaN havas (Ghalib peshrau-hamasr) …
tez rakhiyo sar-e har-Khaar ko aye dasht-e junooN
shaa’ed aa jaaye koii aabla-paa mere b’aad
and bahadur shah zafar …
Khaar-e sahra-e junooN yuN hi agar tez rahe
koii aayega nahiN aabla-paa mere b’aad
5
gar yahi zulm¹ haiN tere to ye bas yaad rahe
naam lene² ka nahiN koii tera mere baad    1.cruelty 2.naam lena is an expression meaning ask about, seek out
If you continue your cruelties, remember this – no one is going to seek you out after me.
Said bahadur shah zafar …
qadr aye ishq rahegi teri kya mere b’aad
keh tujhe koii nahiN poochhne ka mere b’aad
6
laakh baandhe koi is gulshan-e duniya meN magar
nahiN bandhne ki kisi ki bhi hava¹ mere baad     1.hava baandhna is an expression meaning assert pride of status/ability
However much anyone tries in the garden of this world but none will be able to assert pride of accomplishment (in shaa’eri) after me.
7
aish¹, vo mashq-e-sitam² karte to haiN mujh pe magar
is ka m’aaloom unheN hoga maza³ mere baad   1.pen-name of the poet 2.exercise of oppression/cruelty 3.taste
O aish, she continues to exercise her habit of cruelty over me but, she will taste the results of this after I am gone i.e., there will be no one left who will bear bear her cruelties. Said amiir miinaaii …
kaun uThaayega tumhaari ye jafa mere baad
yaad aayegi bahut meri vafa mere baad