Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. raghubir saran divaakar raahi (1914-1968), rampur. Three Ghazal collections with hundreds of Ghazal in each. Born in amroha, learnt urdu and faarsi at school. BA, LLB from meeraTh. District Information Officer, UP. shaa’eri was in addition to his ‘day job’. Posted to and retired in rampur, 1954 and started law practice. Editor of hindi magazines. Very secular and makes much fun of the shaiKh and brahman.
1
sar jhuka¹ hai jo itaa’at² ke liye
uTh bhi sakta hai baGhaavat³ ke liye   1.bowed 2.obedience, prayer 3.rebellion
The head that is bowed in obedience and respect can also be raised in rebellion. This could be a warning to the powerful – heads that are bowed before you can rise in rebellion. It could also be an exhortation/encouragement to the oppressed who bow down before the oppressor – you don’t have to accept this, you can rebel. This could also be directed against the orthodoxy.
2
shohrat¹ o sarvat² na daulat³ ke liye
ham taraste⁴ haiN mohabbat ke liye   1.fame 2.plenty, excess, affluence 3.wealth 4.thirsty, yearn
Neither for wealth nor fame, but for love we yearn.
3
apni duniya ko tu dozaKh¹ mat bana
shaiKh! Khwaab²-e aish³-e jannat⁴ ke liye    1.hell 2.dreams 3.luxuries 4.heaven
O shaiKh, don’t make life on earth hellish, just for dreams of luxuries in heaven. Here ‘dreams’ implies that these are mere dreams, not real.
4
aadam-o-havva¹ ki beTi aaj bhi
jaan de deti hai ismat² ke liye   1.Adam and Eve 2.honour, virtue
To this day, the daughter of Adam and Eve is ready to give up her life to save her dignity. This is a double edged sword. It recognizes that oppression of women started with the story of Adam and Eve and continues to this day. I am sure that this is what the poet meant. But it also creates problems. ‘ismat’ in this context primarily has connotations of sexual exploitation. This puts a burden on women by putting them up on a pedestal. It also reinforces the thought/practice that a mark of victory over the other is to violate ‘their’ women.
5
zindagi barbaad¹ kar dete haiN log
chand² lamhoN³ ki masarrat⁴ ke liye   1.a few 2.destroy, waste 3.moments 4.pleasure
I am not sure how it fits in the flow of the rest of the Ghazal. It may just be a ‘filler’. Thus, for a few brief moments of pleasure, people destroy/waste lives (their own or other people’s).
6
Ghuncha-Ghuncha¹ sar-ba-kaf² hai baaGhbaaN³
apne gulshan⁴ ki hifaazat⁵ ke liye    1.every bud 2.head in hand, ready to die 3.gardener 4.garden 5.safeguard, protect
Very probably the word ‘baaGhbaaN’ is used to imply a double role – gardener and flower-picker. In urdu poetic tradition the flower-picker is a villain (in addition to the bird-catcher). In this she’r the primary role is that of flower-picker. Because he is picking off flowers, buds stand ready to give up their lives to protect the garden i.e., they protect the garden by protecting its beauty – by blooming into flowers to replace the ones that have been picked off. A blossomed flower is picked off or it sheds its petals signifying its death. Given the life-span of the poet this could well have political undertones about the freedom movement.
7
gaRh¹ liya karte haiN raahi² haq-shinaas³
chand⁴ afsaane⁵ haqiiqat⁶ ke liye   1.make up, concoct 2.pen-name of the poet 3.knowledgable of faith – used here in the sense of partisans of faith 4.a few 5.fables 6.truth
O raahi, the partisans of faith concoct a few fables to make it sound like truth.