Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. munshi naubat rai nazar lakhnavi (1864-1923), lukhnow. Well recognized poet with a published diivaan and the editor of several literary magazines including adeeb. He has several Ghazal modeled after Ghalib. This is one of two Ghazal that he composed in the style of ‘naqsh faryaadi hai kis ki shooKhi-e tahriir ka’. Both are linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
zikr¹-e ulfat² par nateeja³ ye hua taqriir⁴ ka
maiN bhi chup huN, vo bhi chup, aalam⁵ hai ek tasviir ka   1.mention, narration 2.love 3.result 4.conversation 5.condition
The poet/lover narrates his love to the beloved. The result of this conversation is that both fall silent, their condition like that of a picture-still and silent. Why? The poet/lover because he is fearfully waiting for her response and the beloved probably because she is offended.
2
aate aate ruk gaya hai dam¹ jo mujh dilgiir² ka
aah³ bhar kar muntazir⁴ huN aah³ ki taasiir⁵ ka   1.breath 2.heart-broken 3.sigh 4.waiting 5.effect
The poet/lover is heart-broken and sighs in sorrow. He suddenly stops breathing after a deep sigh. Why? Because he is anxiously waiting for his sigh to have an effect i.e., perhaps the beloved will have pity and show some love.
3
vahshiyoN¹ ko qaid² se chhooTe hue muddat³ hui
goonjta⁴ hai shor⁵ ab tak kaan meN zanjiir⁶ ka    1.wild, passionate, mad 2.prison 3.long time 4.echoes 5.noise, sound 6.chains
Mad/passionate lovers gone berserk, were chained and imprisoned. It has been a long time since their release, but the clanking sound of chains still echoes in their ears.
4
meri turbat¹ par na ro is tarah² o vaada-Khilaaf³
shauq⁴ ThanDa ho na meri Khaak⁵-e daaman-giir⁶ ka   1.grave 2.in this way 3.promise breaker 4.enthusiasm, passion 5.dust 6.holding on to the hem of the robe, pleading, begging
The beloved always breaks her promise. The poet/lover has died of the disappointment of broken promises, has been buried and turned into ashes (but he can still compose verse). The beloved visits his grave and his dust clings to the robe of the beloved as she weeps. He protests – do not weep like this O breaker of promises, lest the passion of my dust cool off (perhaps it can get washed away by her tears).
5
zulf¹-e laila²-e shab³-e Gham⁴ hoti jaati hai daraaz⁵
aur aye dil kya asar⁶ ho naala⁷-e shabgiir⁸ ka    1.hair 2.night, dark 3.night 4.sorrow 5.long 6.effect 7.wailing 8.all night long, night conquering
The dark hair of the night of sorrow keeps getting longer – i.e., the night of separation never seems to end. O my stricken heart, what else can be the result of wailing all night long.
6
toR kar pahlu¹ jo nikla hai KhadaNg²-e naaz³ yuN
dil nahiN ek doosra paikaaN⁴ hai goya⁵ tiir ka   1.side of the bosom 2.arrow 3.coquetry, coquettish glance 4.tip of the arrow 5.as if
The beloved shoots coquettish glances like arrows at the heart of the poet/lover. The arrow tears through the side of the bosom carrying the heart with it as if it is a new arrow-tip.
7
rote rote hijr¹ meN yaaN ho gaiiN aaNkheN safed²
aap ke nazdiik³ ek qissa⁴ hai juu⁵-e shiir⁶ ka     1.separation, away from home, exile 2.white – an expression meaning crying so much that the iris gets washed off and sight is lost 3.near, view, thought 4.story, legend 5.river 6.milk
This has reference to the story of shirin-farhaad in which farhaad is set the impossible task of carving a channel through a mountain and making a river of milk flow through it. The poet/lover in the sorrow of separation has been crying his eyes out so much so that the iris is washed off and he is blind. All this while the beloved is waiting with the expectation that he will make a river of milk flow like farhaad almost succeeded in doing. Thus, it is a matter of my life, and it is mere fun and games for you. Said kalb-e ahmed maani jaa’esi …
kya Ghazab hai kohkan ko hasrat-e shiriiN rahi
aur shiiriiN ko raha armaan juu-e shiir ka
8
saaf baatin¹ hai hamaara raaz²-e ulfat³ kya chhupe
dil meN aalam⁴ hai yahaaN aaiina-e tasviir ka    1.innermost feelings/thoughts 2.secret 3.love 4.condition
The feelings of my heart are clear/open for everyone to see; how can the secret of my love remain hidden. The condition of my heart is like a mirror reflecting the image of the beloved.
9
subah tak dekheN dil-e mahjoor¹ ka kya haal² ho
qasd³ hai phir aaj mashq⁴-e naala-e-shabgiir⁵ ka    1.exiled, rejected 2.condition 3.resolve, determined 4.practice, undertake 5.wailing that conquers the night i.e., lasts longer than the night
The poet/lover has resolved to wail and cry all night long. Let us see what the condition of my forlorn heart will be by the morning, he wonders.
10
sham’a¹ hai bazm-e-jahaaN² meN kya adab-aamoz³-e ishq
lab⁴ pe shikva⁵ tak nahiN be-rahmi⁶-e dilgiir⁷ ka   1.candle 2.gatherings of the world 3.lesson in polite traditions 4.lips, mouth 5.complaint 6.unkindness, cruelty 7.heart conqueror, beloved
Normally the candle is portrayed as the beloved and the moth as the suffering lover, sacrificing its life. But here it appears that the candle is the beloved, burning with love of an undefined lover. Its tongue i.e., the flame burns silently without speaking any word of the cruelty of the beloved. That is a lesson in the polite traditions of love.
11
maut¹ se kya saaz² kar rakkha hai us ne aye nazar³
muddateN⁴ guzriiN sabab⁵ khulta nahiN taaKhiir⁶ ka    1.death 2.secret agreement, conspiracy 3.pen-name of the poet 4.long time, ages 5.reason, basis 6.delay
The poet has been forlorn and waiting for death for a long time. He does not understand the reason for this delay and speculates that the beloved must have come to a secret agreement with death. She wants the poet to live because she wants to continue to torture him.