Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. panDit javaahar naath saaqi (1864-1916) was born into a kashmiiri panDit family with a long history of serving the emperor starting with akbar. It also had an equally long list of urdu shu’ara. He himself lived under straitened conditions, like a jogi/sufi. He had the good fortune to receive advice/correction for his compositions from three of Ghalib’s shaagird – hargopal tufta, mohammed zakariah zaki, and qurbaan ali saalik. This Ghazal, in the style of Ghalib’s ‘lab-e saaqi meN salaa mere baad’, is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, along with that of his ustaad, qurbaan ali saalik.
1
naaz¹ o andaaz² ka Ghamza³ na raha mere b’aad
baare⁴ aaraam se haiN ahl-e-jafa⁵ mere b’aad     1.coquetry 2.style 3.sidelong titillating glance, wink 4.at last 5.cruel people, beloved
After me, the coquetry and playful style is just not the same. It has lost its quality. Finally, the beloved can rest easy, she does not have to try to maintain a high quality of style and coquetry. Said Ghalib …
husn Ghamze ki kashaakash se chhuTa mere b’aad
baare aaraam se haiN ahl-e jafaa mere b’aad
2
marte marte bhi na nikla mere dil se ye Khayaal
kaun dekhega ye andaaz¹ o adaa² mere b’aad    1.(mischievouos) style, (dignified) bearing 2.coquetry, elegance, grace
Even to the last breath, I kept thinking/worrying – who will appreciate this elegant bearting, this titillating coquetry, after me.
3
vo but¹ allaah ka qaa’el² mere marne pe hua
ya’aani³ karta hai vo ab shukr⁴-e Khuda mere b’aad   1.idol, beloved 2.convinced, believing in 3.meaning 4.thankful
The beloved is convinced of the benevolence of god after my death. That means she offered her gratitude to god after me.
4
atr¹ meN Doobe hue nikleNge bahr²-e gulgasht³
roz baandheNge naii apni havaa⁴ mere b’aad    1.perfume 2.with the intention of 3.garden walk 4.airs, styles
Drenched in perfume, she will venture out for a walk in the garden. Every day she will put on new airs, after me.
5
sunbul¹-e zulf² ki mar kar bhi bhoola maiN yaad
ishq-pechaaN³ mere marqad⁴ pe uga mere b’aad    1.fragrant grass 2.hair 3.a vine bearing red flowers with hairlike petals 4.grave
‘ishq-pechaaN’ is used here both as a symbol of love and of beautiful, fragrant hair. Thus, even after death, I did not forget the fragrant hair of the beloved. Vines of ‘ishq-pechaaN’ grew on my grave in rememberance.
6
yaa vo aalam¹ tha kabhi baat bhi dil ki na khuli
yaa lage khulne tere band²-e qabaa³ mere b’aad    1.condition, attitude 2.ties 3.robe
While I lived, the beloved’s condition/attitude was that she did not open up even to speak her inner thoughts (of love). But now, after me, she even unties the binds of robe!
7
qais¹ o farhaad² ne harchand³ khapaaii⁴ jaaneN
mard-e-maidaaN⁵ koii saaqi⁶ na hua mere b’aad   1.another name of majnuN of laila-majnuN legend 2.of shiriiN-farhaad legend 3.even though 4.use up, give up 5.brave of the field (of love) 6.pen-name of the poet
Even though there are legendary figures like majnuN and farhaad who gave up their lives for love, O saaqi, there has been none as brave as you, in the field of love, after you.