Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. panDit amarnath sahir dehlavi (1863-1962) was deeply affected by the cultural degeneration following the 1857 war. He turned to themes of mysticism in his poetry. He was a scholar of sanskrit, arabi and faarsi. This is one of a series of Ghazal styled after Ghalib’s, ‘Khaak meN kya soorateN hoNgi keh pinhaaN ho gaiiN’ and is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’ as well as to ‘Ghalib-kashmiri panDit’.
1
mahv¹-e diidaar²-e jamaal³-e ruu⁴-e jaanaaN⁵ ho gaiiN
jalva⁶-e mu’aani⁷ se aaNkheN ain⁸-e irfaaN⁹ ho gaiiN   1.engrossed 2.sight, gazing upon 3.glory 4.face, form 5.(divine) beloved 6.beauty 7.(true) meaning 8.eyes 9.mysticism
When sight was engrossed in gazing upon the glory of the divine form, the beauty of its meaning became visible and the poet/sufi’s eyes became the eyes of a mystic i.e., he saw the divine through the eyes of a mystic.
2
thaa hariif¹-e husn²-e aalam-soz³, ishq⁴-e Khaana-soz⁵
chashmakeN⁶ aapas⁷ ki barq⁸-e Khirman⁹-e jaaN¹⁰ ho gaiiN   1.equal to, matching 2.beauty 3.setting the world on fire 4.love 5.setting the heart on fire 6.winks, mischief 7.mutual 8.lightning 9.harvest 10.life
Beauty (divine or that of the earthly beloved) sets the world on fire. The heart (of the lover or of the devotee) has a fire that matches it. But the mischief and play between the two strikes the harvest of the soul like lightning.
3
dekh kar aiman¹ ka jalva² ho gaiiN mushtaaq³-e diid⁴
tuur⁵ par aaNkhoN ne kya dekha keh hairaaN⁶ ho gaiiN    1.valley to the side of mount tuur, used here to mean Garden of Eden, heaven 2.beauty 3.eager, desirous 4.seeing, sight 5.mountain on which Moses went asking to see god 6.amazed
It appears that the subject is the poet himself. He is depicting himself as having gone on top of mount tuur and seen the valley of aiman which looks like heaven. He becomes eager to get a glimpse (of the divine) and wonders (rhetorically) what his eyes must have seen that they were so amazed.
4
jal uThiiN dekhi jo vo shaan¹-e tajalli² be-naqaab³
aisi pathraaiiN⁴ keh aaNkheN tuur-saamaaN⁵ ho gaiiN   1.grand, splendid 2.brilliance 3.unveiled 4.turned to stone 5.material/components for tuur
Here again, it is not clear but it appears the the subject is the poet/devotee himself and he is talking about his own eyes. His eyes saw the splendour of unveileed divine brilliance and turned to stone. In the case of Moses, lightning struck mount tuur and it was turned to ashes. Here the eyes of the poet, becoming stone, are the building block for the mountain.
5
izteraab¹-e dil se jam’iiyyat² ki suurat-bandiyaaN³
inteKhaab⁴-e nusKha⁵-e Khwaab-e-pareshaaN⁶ ho gaiiN    1.restlessness 2.gathering, assembly 3.imagining forms/images take shape 4.selection 5.prescription, formula 6.nightmare
He became restless/anxious because he was imagining forms take shape and become crowds. This imagination became the formula of his nightmares – hence his restlessness. We are left to figure out what these forms are and why does this give him nightmares … are these forms of rivals gathering around the beloved or simply apparitions that frighten him. We have to fill in the blanks.
6
parda-daari¹ husn² ki aur ishq³ ki parda-dari⁴
zauq⁵-e mastoori⁶ o masti⁷ meN numaayaaN⁸ ho gaiiN   1.veiling, hiding 2.beauty, beloved, divine beloved 3.lover, devotee 4.lifting veil 5.taste, desire 6.concealment, withdrawal 7.intoxication 8.visible, prominent
The divine spirit is concealed from eyes and the devotee wants to lift the veil and see/experience the divine. This becomes evident in the struggle between the desire for concealment and the desire to get intoxicated with the wine of love/devotion.
7
un ki duzdiida¹ nigaaheN² be-sabab³ dil meN na thiiN
mahram⁴-e raaz⁵-e mohabbat-haa⁶-e pinhaaN⁷ ho gaiiN    1.stolen 2.glances 3.without reason/purpose 4.familiar with 5.secret 6.loves (plural) i.e., reasons for love 7.hidden
The poet/lover has many reasons to love the beloved and has those reasons and his love hidden secretly in his heart. But her sidelong long glances penetrate his heart and not for no reason. They go deep in the heart to discover and become familiar with all the secrets of his love.
8
lantaraani¹ ki sada² se hosh³ ki Khud-daariyaaN⁴
ziinat⁵-e guldasta-haa⁶-e taaq⁷-e nisyaaN⁸ ho gaiiN    1.you will not be able to see me (see notes) 2.sound 3.awareness, senses 4.self-respect, self-reliance 5.embellishment, decoration 6.bouquets (plural) 7.cupboard, alcove 8.forgetfulness
This has reference to the qur’aanic/Biblical story of Moses going up mount tuur asking to see god. He heard a sound that said ‘you will not be able to see me’. He insisted on seeing some sign. There was a lightning flash and Moses fainted. Several poets have used this story to imply that Moses was weak and that they are better equipped to encounter the divine. Ghalib …
girni thi ham pe barq-e tajalli na tuur par
dete haiN baada zarf-e qadah-Khwaar dekh kar
Here the poet says that Moses’ self-reliance could not hold up to the sound of ‘lantaraani’. His self reliance was forgotten and became a decoration for the alcove of lost memories.
9
dii nasiim¹-e kuu²-e jaanaaN³ ne naviid⁴-e vasl⁵-e yaar⁶
sub’h-e naurozi⁷ meri shab-haa⁸-e hijraaN⁹ ho gaiiN   1.fragrant breeze 2.street 3.beloved 4.good news, tidings 5.union, meeting 6.friend, beloved 7.new year, festivities 8.nights (plural) 9.separation, exile
The fragrant breeze of the beloved’s street brought tidings that she was coming. His long nights of exile changed into the morning of festivities.
10
hai chaman-zaar¹-e haqiiqat² ka nazaara³ shah-jehat⁴
aarzu-haa⁵-e tamaasha⁶ gul-badaamaaN⁷ ho gaiiN   1.blossoming garden 2.reality, spirituality 3.scenes 4.six directions 5.yearnings 6.to see 7.heaping roses in the lap, rewarding generously
All around us are scenes of the reality of the divine spirit. The desire to see has been generously rewarded.
11
aatish¹-e namrood² gulzaar³-e Khaliilullah⁴ hai
mushkileN⁵ allaah ke pyaaroN ki aasaaN⁶ ho gaiiN    1.fire 2.Nimrod 3.rose garden 4.another name of ibrahim 5.difficulties 6.easy, solved
This uses a Biblical/qur’aanic story of ibrahim. ibrahim declared monotheism at a time when the king of the time, Nimrod, declared his own divinity. He built a roaring fire and challenged ibrahim to jump into the fire if he had faith that his god would save him. ibrahim did, and the fire miraculously changed into a garden. Thus, the poet says, the fire of Nimrod is the rose garden of ibrahim. The difficulties of those whom allah loves become easy. A more rational, scientific and rebellious view offered by shahed …
namrood ki jo aag meN kooda bila-Khatar
naadaan raakh ho gaya us iltehaab meN
… or …
mo’jizoN ki daastaaneN, mantaq jo ulTi kar gaiiN
hum ne ye samjha keh vaj’h-e tark-e iimaaN ho gaiiN
12
dekh kar saahir¹ jamaal²-e yaar³ aalam⁴ meN ayaaN⁵
aarzu’eN⁶ diid⁷ ki sau jaaN se qurbaaN⁸ ho gaiiN   1.pen-name of the poet 2.glory 3.friend, (divine) beloved 4.world 5.evident 6.yearning 7.sight, to be able to see 8.sacrificial/devotional offering
The poet/devotee had yearnings to see the divine. But when he saw the signs of glory of the divine evident in the world, his yearnings of wanting to see the divine became a sacrificial offering i.e., he no longer needed to directly see the divine, he could see it in all its manifestations in the world.