Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mufti sadruddin aazurda (1789-1868), dehli. Chief mufti/judge. He was a close friend of Ghalib. Ghalib was presented in his court on charges of gambling. He sentenced him and, on the side, paid his fine. After the 1857 war he was arrested, and all his property was confiscated. His compositions were probably never published during his lifetime as a diivaan. This Ghazal is linked to ‘saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN’ under the page, “Ghalib naqsh-e qadam”. But this and several others in the same zamin were probably composed for the same mushaa’era by Ghalib’s contemporaries. To recognize this, a category called “1800s hum asar” has been created and such Ghazal have been linked to it.
1
ye kah ke raKhne¹ Daaliye un ke hijaab² meN
achchhe bure ka haal³ khule⁴ kya naqaab⁵ meN   1.slits, openings 2.veil 3.condition, distinction/difference 4.open up, revealed 5.veil
The poet/lover wants to play a trick on the beloved in order to at least be able to see some of her face through slits in her veil. He suggests asking her to slit her veil to be able to see the difference between good and bad. How can you discern this difference through a veil, he asks. Implied is that he is good and the rival is not and she will be able to see it.
2
Khurshiid-zaar¹ hove zamiiN de jhaTak zaraa
sau aaftaab² haiN tere gard³-e naqaab⁴ meN     1.bright like the sun, beautiful 2.hundred suns 3.dust 4.veil
The earth will turn bright like the sun if the beloved dusts off her veil because behind her veil is the brilliance of a hundred suns.
3
be-etidaalyaaN¹ meri zarf²-e tunak³ se haiN
thaa naqs⁴ kuchh na jauhar⁵-e sahbaa⁶-e naab⁷ meN   1.disproportionate, inappropriate 2.capacity 3.small, limited 4.defect 5.qualities 6.wine 7.pure
The poet/wine lover went drinking, got drunk and behaved in a disproportionate/inappropriate way. He attributes this to his own limited capacity, rather than to any defect in the pure wine offered him.
4
uThne meN sub’h ke ye kahaaN sar-giraaniyaaN¹
zaahid² ne mai³ kaa jalva⁴ ye dekhaa hai Khwaab⁵ meN    1.displeasure, hesitancy 2.preacher 3.wine 4.image, manifestation 5.dream
Normally the preacher is prompt in getting up in the morning in time for prayers. This morning he is unusually reluctant. How can this be. It must be because he must have seen an image of wine in his dreams. That was enough to give him a hangover!
5
tahqiq¹ ho to jaanuN keh maiN kya huuN qais² kya
likkhaa huaa hai yuN to sabhi kuchh kitaab meN   1.investigation, search 2.the name of majnuN of laila-majnuN legend
The poet/lover claims that he is even more of a mad/passionate lover than the legendary majnuN. If you investigate it you will find the difference. Otherwise it is the same old story written in books.
6
maiN aur zauq¹-e baada-kashi²? le gaiiN mujhe
ye kam-nigaahiyaaN³ teri bazm⁴-e sharaab meN   1.taste, desire 2.wine-drinking 3.short-sightedness 4.gathering
The poet claims that he abjures wine. Me and a desire for wine! How can that be! It is short-sightedness that took me to your gathering/party of wine-drinking. This is probably addressed to the beloved/saaqi.
7
imdaad¹-e chashm² kyaa ho lagi dil ko aag jab
jalne ke b’aad KhuuN nahiN rahtaa kabaab meN   1.help 2.eyes
Normally eyes shed tears profusely. Enough to put out fires. But the poet/lover sheds tears of blood (his sorrow is so intense). But when his heart burnt (with passion or with jealousy) it became ‘kabaab’ … got roasted. So, there was no blood in his heart and he could not shed tears. So how can the eyes help in putting out the fire.
8
haiN donoN misl¹-e shisha² ye saamaan³-e sad-shikast⁴
jaisaa hai mere dil meN nahiN hai habaab⁵ meN     1.similar 2.glass 3.means 4.hundred cracks 5.bubble
Both the bubble and the poet/lover’s heart are similar to each other and to glass. They are fragile and break easily. But that is where the similarity ends. The means/ability to develop a hundred cracks are simply absent in the bubble. Thus, heart is even more fragile.
9
anvaar¹-e fikr² se na huaa kuchh bhi inkeshaaf³
jitnaa baRhe ham aur baRhi jaa⁴ hijaab⁵ meN   1.rays of light 2.reason 3.discovery 4.place, room 5.veil
This is probably about the divine being. Divinity is hidden behind a veil. It cannot be seen. If the poet/seeker were to try to understand it by shedding the light of reason on it he will not be able to discover anything. The more he shines a light, the greater the empty space behind the veil.
10
ye umr¹ aur ishq² hai aazurda³ jaa⁴-e sharm⁵
hazrat⁶ ye baateN phabti⁷ haiN ahd⁸-e shabaab⁹ meN   1.age 2.romance 3.penname of the poet 4.place, occasion 5.shame 6.sir 7.decoration, adornment 8.age, period 9.youth
O aazurda, this age and romance. This is shameful. Sir, such things are an adornment of youth.