Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. ram prakash saahir hoshiarpuri (1913-1972), did his MA in faarsi from lahore and joined the family business. He was the shaagird of labhuram josh malsiani and specialized in composing in a short bahr/meter. This Ghazal is modeled after Ghalib’s ‘ya ilaahi ye maajra kya hai’ and can be considered a tribute to the master. I date this at 1947 (150 years of Ghalib’s birth).
1
kya kaha aap ne vafa¹ kya hai
is tajaahul² ki inteha³ kya hai   1.faith, fidelity 2.feigned ignorance, pretence 3.extreme
The poet/suitor asks the beloved to be faithful to him and she asks ‘what is fidelity’. What an excess to her feigned ignorance.
2
koii duniya meN jab na hua apna
aise jiine ka phir maza kya hai    If I cannot make intimate relationship with anyone in the world, what pleasure is there in this life.
3
ibteda¹ poochhti hai ye mujh se
Gham-e-hasti² ki intehaa³ kya hai    1.beginning, origins 2.sorrow/pain/cruelty of life 3.end, excess
Life is cruel. Is there any excess/end to its cruelty – it is asking me where I come from i.e. I have to justify my existence, I am being asked why I exist.
4
Khaamushi hai zabaan¹-e ahl-e-vafa²
kaun samjhe ke muddua³ kya hai    1.language 2.people of faith, suitors, admirers 3.goal, objective, desire
The language of suitors is silence. They speak in gestures and deeds, not in words. How can anyone understand what their desire is.
5
mere hi shikve¹ har ghaRi² lab par
ye tamaasha³, ye maajra⁴ kya hai   1.complaints, blame 2.moment 3.display, joke 4.predicament, conditions
You blame me every moment. What kind of a display is this, what conditions I have been caught in.
6
is qadar¹ tuul²-e daastaaN³ sahir⁴
kuchh to kahiye ke muddua⁵ kya hai   1.much 2.long 3.story 4.pen-name of poet 5.wish
O sahir, why such a long tale, why don’t you directly say what you want.