Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. Khwaaja haider ali aatish (1777-1847), born faizabad, sufi family, disciple of mus’hafi and wrote both in faarsi and urdu. aatish wrote more explicitly than most about the pleasures of flesh. Refused all patronage because he wanted to be independent. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib pesh-rau and also to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
baahir¹ na paa’eNche² se hoN us gul-badan³ ke paaNv
phere⁴ chhuri⁵ na panja⁶-e qassaab⁷ ban ke paaNv    1.outside 2.pajama leg 3.rose-bodied, beloved 4.run across 5.knife 6.palm, hand 7.butcher
If the rose-bodied beloved’s feet were to poke outside her pajama legs then the beauty of the feet would be so dazzling as to kill the beholder as if the butcher’s hand is running a knife across his throat.
2
hasti¹ se jaauuN be-sar-o-paa² jaanib³-e adam⁴
andar kafan⁵ ke sar ho na andar kafan ke paaNv    1.existence, life 2.without any possessions, empty handed 3.towards 4.non-existence, next world 5.burial shroud
This is a word play on be-sar-o-paa which literally means without head or feet but figuratively is used to mean without any possessions. It is common to say that however much you may acquire and hoard in this world, when you leave it you leave empty handed. That is what the first misra means. The second misra is a play on that … when I go there should be neither my head nor my feet inside the burial shroud.
3
ek-saalah¹ raah² se hai chali aai baaGh meN
shabnam³ dhulaa⁴ rahi hai bahaar⁵-e chaman ke paaNv    1.annual 2.path, journey 3.dew 4.washing 5.spring
Spring has arrived after its year-long journey. The imagery is that of a damsel arriving in the garden after a long journey with perhaps dusty, tired feet. Dew comes forward to wash her feet.
4
be-eKhtiyaar¹ zo’f²-e tap³-e hijr⁴ se huN maiN
kahne meN haath haiN na to mujh Khasta-tan⁵ ke paaNv    1.without will, powerless 2.weakness 3.fever 4.separation 5.broken/wounded body
The poet/lover is suffering from the sickness/fever of separation from the beloved. It has left him weak and powerless. It is like saying that he has neither feet nor hands. Here Khasta-tan is simply a description of the poet/lover.
5
koshish¹ se raah²-e ishq ki baaz³ aa’eNge na hum
harchand⁴ sooj-sooj⁵ ke hoN laakh man⁶ ke paaNv    1.effort 2.path 3.baaz aana means to refrain from, to give up 4.even though 5.swollen 6.old/obsolete measure of weight roughly eighty pounds, maund
The poet/lover is on the path of love and he is determined not to give up even if his feet swell up and become as heavy as a maund each.
6
josh¹-e junooN² meN phaT³ ke na rah jaata saath se
hot’e meri tarah⁴ jo mere pairahan⁵ ke paaNv    1.exuberance, zeal 2.passion, madness 3.torn 4.like, similar to 5.garment
The poet/lover has an exuberance/abundance of passion/madness. He wanders the path of love because of it and his feet get torn-blistered-bleeding. If his garments too had feet like him, just because of the influence of being with him, their feet too would have been torn like his.
7
saara¹ ye sho’bada² hai tera aye hinaa³-e yaar⁴
marjaaN⁵ ke haath haiN na aqeeq⁶-e yaman ke paaNv    1.all, total 2.trickery, miracle 3.henna 4.friend, beloved 5.coral 6.ruby
In the poet/lover’s telling the only redness that is red is the redness of the henna on the beloved’s hands and feet. All other redness is merely a reflection/illusion/trickery of the beloved’s henna. How else could the coral and the ruby of yaman be so red; they don’t have hands and feet. Thus, their redness is only a reflection of the beloved’s henna.
8
haasil¹ ho lutf²-e raqs³ bhi har chaukaRi⁴ ke saath
son’e⁵ ke ghuNghruoN ke haiN qaabil⁶ haran⁷ ke paaNv    1.available, benefit 2.pleasure 3.dance 4.leap with all four feet in the air 5.gold 6.capable of, deserving of 7.deer, gazelle
The gazelle is known for its graceful leap with all four feet in the air. The feet of the gazelle are deserving of golden ankle-bells. If we are able to put them on, then the full pleasure of its leap-chaukaRi would become available to us.
9
koii jo poochhta ho keh kya haal¹ hai tera
Khalvat² meN chaliye, poojiye³ uss anjuman⁴ ke paaNv     1.condition 2.privacy, seclusion 3.worship 4.meeting, one on one (with the beloved)
There is a strong implication that the ‘koii’ in the first misra is the beloved. It is very unusual for the beloved to ask about the condition of the lover. But if she were to ask, he would be overwhelmed and unable to reply in public. He would want to go to her private chamber Khalvat and worship her feet in gratitude just for asking.
10
sahraa¹ meN Khaak-chhaanta² phirta huN har taraf³
chhalni⁴ hue haiN Khaar⁵-e muGhailaaN⁶ se chhan⁷ ke paaNv    1.desert 2.an expression meaning wander aimlessly 3.every direction 4.sieve, pierced 5.thorns 6.acacia 7.filtered
The poet/lover is a mad/passionate lover and in the intensity of his passion he wanders the desert aimlessly. The desert is also full of acacia thorns known for their length and sharpness. The acacia thorns are spread all over the desert and walking over them is like passing through a sieve (perhaps a reverse sieve). As a result, the lover’s feet are themselves pierced like a sieve.
11
marja’¹ ko apne kis ki nahiN hoti baazgasht²
Ghurbat³ se jab phire⁴ to haiN andar vatan⁵ ke paaNv    1.refuge, sanctuary, home 2.return, echo 3.exile 4.returned 5.homeland
Who does not want to return to their place of refuge. After all feet do turn back towards home from exile in foreign lands.
12
phir¹ jaa’e suu²-e kaa’ba jo muNh iss gunaah³ par
kauNchoN⁴ se kaaTta hai vo but⁵ barahman ke paaNv    1.turn 2.towards 3.sin, transgression 4.sharp tool 5.idol, beloved
This is a play on the words but and barhaman. The brahmin is supposed to be a devotee of the idol/beloved. But if he were to commit the sin of turning towards the kaa’ba, then the but/idol/beloved would poke the feet of the brahmin/devotee/lover with a sharp/pointed tool, as punishment for this transgression.
13
duniya ko thookte¹ nahiN mardaan²-e raah³-e ishq
naamard⁴ rakkheN aaNkhoN⁵ pe uss piir-zan⁶ ke paaNv 1.spit on, reject, quit 2.brave 3.path 4.coward 5.aaNkhon pe paaNv rakhna is an expression meaning honour, welcome 6.old woman
The brave do not even deign to spit on this material world; they reject it completely. It is only the cowardly that welcome and honour this old woman (the world).
14
aatish¹, zamiin-e-she’r² ho harchand³ saNglaaKh⁴
laGhzish⁵ se aashna⁶ nahiN ahl-e-suKhan⁷ ke paaNv    1.pen-name 2.background/pattern of a she’r set by radeef, qaafiya and bahr harmony 3.even though 4.rocky, rough 5.stumble, unsteady 6.familiar 7.people of words, poets
It sounds like this Ghazal was composed specially for a mushaa’era in which this zamin/pattern was given for poets to compose on. It is tempting to think that this was the same mushaa’era as Ghalib who has a Ghazal in the same pattern, but haidar ali aatish was 20 years senior to Ghalib and never left lukhnau. Was the same zamin used in two different mushaa’era one in dehli and one in lukhnau? O aatish, even though the background/pattern of the she’r may be difficult/rocky, the feet of poets do not stumble.