Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mirza asadullah KhaaN Ghalib (1797-1869). I dare not write any introduction. On more than one occasion Ghalib has warned his readers that he needs no introduction or even address. I humbly comply. kalidas gupta raza dates this Ghazal to 1854, when Ghalib was appointed ustad to bahadur shah zafar and was supposedly composing more straightforward Ghazal rather than his earlier style with farfetched analogies and tangled logic. But there are some difficult ash’aar in this Ghazal. There are two Ghazal of Ghalib as weel as several others of other shu’ara, in the same radeef/qaafiya and are linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
dar-Khur¹-e qahr-o-Ghazab² jab koii ham-saa na huaa
phir Ghalat kyaa hai kih ham-saa koii paidaa na huaa   1.deserving of 2.anger and torture/punishment
When there is no one as deserving of wrath and torture as the poet/lover, then is it surprising that there is no one else like him on earth. Is he “deserving” because only he is “capable” of bearing such torture? And is he not unique? And who is it that is torturing him? The beloved or critics of poetry? Surely only he can uniquely stand up to them. At a more sufiyaana level, he may be talking about all humanity. Human beings are the only creatures held to account for their actions i.e., they are the only ones deserving of wrath. Then, why is surprising that they are ‘ashraf-ul-maKhlooqaat’ – highest among all creatures.
2
bandagii¹ meN bhii vo aazaadah²-o-Khud-biiN³ haiN ke hum
ulTe phir aae⁴ dar-e-kaabah⁵ agar vaa⁶ na huaa 1.slavery, servitude (of god, or of the beloved?) 2.free 3.self-regarding, self-respecting 4.turned back 5.door of the Ka’aba 6.open
Even in servitude (either to god or the beloved) he is so self-respecting that he would turn back if the door did not open for him. The expression implies an act of opening … the door should open up, upon seeing him approach. He was the same in actual life … even when he was in dire financial circumstances when he got an opportunity to potentially teach at Dehli college, when he went there and the Principal/Head did not come out to receive him, he turned back.
3
sab ko maqbool¹ hai davaa² terii yaktaaii³ kaa
roo-ba-roo⁴ koii but⁵-e-aaina-siimaa⁶ na huaa 1.acceptable, accepted 2.claim, assertion 3.uniqueness, one-ness 4.face to face 5.idol/beloved/god 6.mirror like
This is a rather obscure she’r and has echoes of Sufi concepts of one-ness of god and all creation. We see ourselves as a ‘reflection of god’. The beloved’s beauty is such that he/she is supposed to have a mirror like forehead. If such a beautiful creature were to come face to face with god, then god’s reflection would be seen in the mirror like forehead. The fact that on one has yet come face to face is proof of the uniqueness of god, i.e., everyone one accepts god’s uniqueness. An alternative interpretation is that in the second misra god himself is described as ‘but-e aaiina siima’ – mirror faced idol. Thus, whoever comes face to face simply sees his/her own reflection. How unique, everyone can come face to face but no one can see the real being, only his own reflection.
4
kam nahiiN¹ naazish²-e hum-naamii³-e chashm-e-KhoobaaN⁴
teraa biimaar⁵ buraa kyaa hai⁶ gar achchhaa na huaa 1.It is not any less 2.pride 3.same name/reputation, compared to 4.eyes of the beloved 5.sick (with love), lover 6.what is wrong
In urdu poetry the eyes of the beloved are considered to be languid, drooping (perhaps because of modesty or pride or feigned indifference). They are called chashm-e biimaar. The poet/lover is quite pleased that he is also called biimaar because he is sick with love of her. In this case, why is it bad that he continues to remain sick and is not cured – his eyes get compared with the eyes of the beloved! To have the same reputation as the eyes of the beloved is not a small thing. It is good that I am not healed.
5
siine kaa daaGh¹ hai vo naalah² ke lab³ tak na gayaa
Khaak⁴ kaa rizq⁵ hai vo qatra⁶ ke daryaa⁷ na hua 1.scar of the bosom/heart 2.sigh, lament 3.lips 4.dust 5.food 6.drop 7.river, sea
The lament that does not rise to the lips becomes a scar in the bosom just like a drop that does not flow into the river becomes a scar/dent in the dust and becomes food for it. But there is an undertone … I would rather be a silent scar than lose my identity in the vast ocean, I would rather control myself than let laments escape my lips.
6
naam kaa mere¹ hai jo dukh ke kisii ko na milaa
kaam² meN mere hai jo fitna³ ke barpaa⁴ na hua 1.reserved in my name, destined for me 2.work, desire (in Farsi) 3.disruption, tumult, mischief 4.arise, happen
The sorrows/trials and tribulations that are written for me (in my name), that are my destiny, no one else has received them. There is such mischief/tumult in my work as has never happened before.
7
har bun-e muu¹ se dam-e zikr² na Tapke KhooN-naab³
hamzah⁴ kaa qissah⁵ huaa ishq⁶ kaa charchaa na hua   1.roots of hair 2.at the time of narration 3.pure blood 4.legendary story teller of royal wars and court life 5.story 6.love
The story of real love should be so moving that blood should drip from the roots/pores of every hair/follicle. If this does not happen, the story telling is more akin to the amusing tales of hamzah (fables, Arabian Nights), not real love.
8
qatre meN dajlah¹ dikhaaii na de aur juzv² meN kul³
khel laRkoN ka huaa diidah-e biinaa⁴ na hua 1.River Tigris, used for all/any river 2.part 3.whole 4.discerning eye
Once again a Sufi/mystic concept of seeing the whole in the part. If you are unable to see the ocean in the drop, or the whole in the part then it is mere child’s play (imagination, make-belief, not real), not a discerning eye.
9
thii Khabar¹ garm² ke Ghaalib ke uReNge purze³
dekhne ham bhii gaye the pa tamaashaa⁴ na hua 1.news/rumour 2.hot (as in hot news, juicy rumour) 3.smithereens 4.show
Rumour was rampant that Ghalib would be insulted (by the lover, by critics or other poets who considered themselves one better?). We also went to see but the show did not happen … was it because Ghalib turned tables on them?

vaa na hua – Raina’s Rendition
1
If I did bear with the wrongs, the tortures wrought by her
Then grant that I have truly been her only worshipper
2
So stern my regal disposition, so high my noble stock
Even Ka’aba, should its doors be barred, could scarcely make me knock
5
The sigh that froze within the heart, a festering wound became
Just as the speck no river reached took desert for its name
6
Unheard, unparalleled grief, my exclusive destiny
And my endeavours all accursed, all blighted miserably
8
To know the ocean within the drop, the whole within the part
What vision must one need possess, and what perceptive heart
9
Ghalib would be dismembered all, the rumour said, in a rout
I went in time to watch the show, but it did not come about