Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jigar muradabadi (1890-1961) was a profilic poet of sufiyaana, romantic and musical Ghazal. Many of his compositions have been put to music and sung by great singers. This is one of his several Ghazal styled after Ghalib and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
phir dil hai qasd¹-e koocha²-e jaanaaN³ kiye hue
rug⁴ rug meN nesh⁵-e ishq ko pinhaaN⁶ kiye hue   1.determination, decision 2.street 3.beloved 4.vein, fibre 5.knife 6.hidden
Once again, the heart is determined to go to the street of the beloved. This implies that it had done it before and the consequences were not very pleasant. But the heart cannot give up and is determined to try again. Of course, the passion of love cuts every fibre of the poet/lover’s body like a knife. He hides these daggers as he proceeds towards the street of the beloved i.e., he controls/stoically bears his pain/sorrow.
2
phir uzlat¹-e Khayaal² se ghabra raha hai dil
har vus’at³-e Khayaal ko zindaaN⁴ kiye hue    1.seclusion, isolation 2.thought, imagination 3.expanse, vastness 4.prison
I have to take what might be liberties in interpreting this. ‘uzlat-e Khayaal’ is isolation of that one thought … thought of the beloved and ‘vus’at-e Khayaal ko zindaaN karna’ can mean shut out/imprison all the other vast range of thoughts – concentrating on the thought of the beloved. This could well be the divine beloved.
3
phir chashm¹-e shauq² der se labrez³-e shikva⁴ hai
qatroN⁵ ko mauj⁶, mauj ko toofaaN⁷ kiye hue   1.eyes 2.desire, love 3.brimming, overflowing 4.complaint 5.drops 6.wave 7.storm, flood
The eyes of the poet/lover are ‘chashm-e shauq’ and they are brimming with tears (because of the sorrow of unfulfilled desire). He weeps so much that his tear drops become waves and waves become a flood. Said Ghalib …
Ghaalib hameN na chheR, ke phir josh-e ashk se
baiThe haiN ham tahayya-e toofaaN kiye hue
4
phir jaan¹-e beqaraar² hai aamaada³-e fuGhaaN⁴
sau hashr⁵ ek sukoot⁶ meN pinhaaN⁷ kiye hue    1.life, heart 2.restless 3.inclined towards, ready for 4.wailing 5.tumult, commotion, frenzy 6.silence, tranquility 7.hiding, hidden
The restless heart is once again ready to start wailing with a hundred frenzies hidden behind its tranquil appearance i.e., the heart has been patient for a long time and is about to break into an outburst.
5
phir kaif¹-e beKhudi² meN baRha jaa raha huN maiN
sab kuchh nisaar³-e shauq⁴-e faraavaaN⁵ kiye hue    1.pleasure, ecstacy 2.trance 3.sacrifice 4.desire, love 5.abundant, plenty, overflowing
The poet/lover proceeds, unhindered by fear of consequences, because of the ecstacy of trance, sacrificing everything to his overflowing passion. Where is he proceeding … probably to the lane of the beloved to present his case.
6
phir suu¹-e Khuld²-e husn³ khiNcha⁴ jaa raha huN maiN
har jannat⁵-e nazaara⁶ ko viiraaN⁷ kiye hue    1.towards 2.heaven 3.beauty, beloved 4.pulled, attracted 5.heaven 6.sight, scenery 7.desolate, abandoned
There are many heavenly scenes all around. But the poet/lover abandons them and gets pulled towards the one which he considers to heavenly beauty – perhaps the lane of the beloved, more beautiful than heaven itself.
7
phir baRh chala hai josh¹-e talab² raah³-e dost⁴ meN
sau fatah⁵ har shikast⁶ pe qurbaaN⁷ kiye hue   1.fervour, exuberance 2.desire, passion 3.path 4.friend, beloved 5.victories 6.defeat 7.sacrifice
The poet/lover is on the path seeking the beloved. The fervour of his passion keeps increasing sacrificing a hundred victories for this one failure i.e., the poet/lover knows that he will not be successful in achieving union with the beloved and he has available to him a hundred other successes. But he turns away from these and proceeds on the path to the beloved even though he may not succeed. Here the ‘beloved’ could represent god or even the poet’s passion for poetry and ‘successes’ could represent worldly distractions or other temptations.
8
phir baRh chaliiN junoon¹-e tamanna² ki shorisheN³
barham⁴ nizaam⁵-e aalam⁶-e imkaaN⁷ kiye hue   1.passion 2.longing, desire 3.agitation, tumult 4.disordered, confused 5.order 6.world 7.possibilities
Once again, the poet/lover’s agitation for his passionate longing (for the beloved) is on the increase, so much so that it has caused the order of the world of possibilities to go into a confused state i.e., he is trying to achieve the impossible by sacrificing that which is possible.
9
phir hai nigaah¹-e shauq² ko diidaar³ ki havas⁴
muddat⁵ hui hai jur’at⁶-e isyaaN⁷ kiye hue    1.eyes 2.desire 3.sighting 4.intense passion 5.long time, ages 6.daring 7.transgression
Setting eyes on the beloved is a transgression. It has been ages since the poet/lover has pulled up enough courage to commit this sin. With this long delay his eyes (nigaah-e shauq) have an intense passion to see her.
10
phir le chali hai vahshat¹-e dil shahr²-e husn³ meN
jins⁴-e giraan⁵-e ishq ko arzaaN⁶ kiye hue    1.madness 2.city, domain 3.beauty, beloved 4.commodity 5.valuable 6.available, plenty
Once again, the madness/passion of the poet/lover’s heart takes him into the domain/street of the beloved making the valuable commodity of love freely available (to the beloved).
11
phir jii ye chaahta hai keh baiThe raheN jigar¹
un ki nazar² se bhi unheN pinhaaN³ kiye hue    1.pen-name of the poet 2.eyes 3.hidden
Once again, the heart desires, O jigar, to sit and wait (for the beloved) while making her totally invisible, hidden from all eyes including her own. He wants to do this out of envy, for fear of rivals. Out of similar excess of envy, Ghalib said …
chhoRaa na rashk ne ke tere ghar ka naam luN
har ek se poochhta huN ke jaauN kidhar ko maiN