Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. shafaq-usha shroff (xxxx-xxxx). Her collection ‘aahaT’ was published in 1992. She dedicates it to her husband gautam shroff. She writes that urdu is not her native tongue and that she did not learn urdu during her schooling. She was poetically inclined and was married into a family that was culturally in tune with urdu and shaa’eri. She credits her husband (also an urdu lover) with encouraging her to write and worked towards getting her collection published. She acknowledges the help and encouragement of the head of anjuman-e taraqqi-e urdu, madras (now tamil naaDu), so I guess that she lived there. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
phir kabhi jal na saki sham‘-e-vafa¹ mere baad
aap karte hi raheN laakh dua mere baad 1.lamp of loyalty
The lamp of fidelity could never be lit again after me, even if you continue to pray a million times after me. The poet claims to the only and last exponent of true devotion/fidelity. The beloved may pray a million times for another faithful lover like the departed poet/lover, but his prayer will not be answered.
2
yeh mer’e ishq ki aahaT¹ hi ki laGhzish² hogi
ishq ka raaz³ agar faash⁴ hua mere baad 1.faint footfall, faint sound 2.misstep, faltering 3.secret 4.revealed
It must be the faint echo of my love’s misstep, if the secret of love is revealed after me. During her lifetime the poet/lover was true to the convention of love, and kept her love secret/hidden. If now, it gets revealed then it must be because of the faint sound of the misstep of her love – a very delicate revelation.
3
maiN ne har zulm¹ pe, har jurm² pe, parde Daale³
hoga is daur⁴ meN kya jaane, Khuda mere baad 1.oppression, cruelty 2.crime, violation 3.covered up, kept hidden 4.era, time
I concealed every oppression and crime; what will happen in this era, after me, only God knows. The poet/lover claims to be the last exponent of the demanding conventions of true love – silently bear all the oppression and cruelty of the beloved. Only god knows what will happen now, because there will be no one else like her.
4
ek-ek kar ke¹ teri bazm² se sab uThtay chale³
ab mujhe tuu hi bataa kaun raha mere baad 1.one by one 2.gathering 3.got up and left
One by one, everyone departed from your gathering; now, you tell me, who remained after me? The departed/dead poet/lover asks the beloved to be truthful and tell her who is left in the gathering of her admirers implying that the attraction of the gathering was because of her and her true love that others wanted to emulate. Now that she is dead and gone there is no example for them to follow. This is an implied assertion to the beloved … doesn’t it prove that I was the only true lover.
5
maiN ne socha bhi na tha aah ye meri hogi
mere sayyaad ka ghar jalne laga mere baad 1.captor, hunter
I never thought that this sigh would be mine, my captor’s home started to burn after me. In poetic convention the poet is often depicted as a bird captured and put in a cage by the ’sayyaad’/hunter/birdcatcher. The sighs of the lamenting poet/lover are fiery. Here, it seems that the sighs and their fire survived the passing of the poet and set fire to the house of the hunter. Sometimes the hunter/birdcatcher is the beloved himself/herself. But in this case, it must not be so, because it would go against every poetic convention to set fire to the house of the beloved.
6
ab tamaashaai¹ bhi qaatil² ko dua den’e lag’e
yak-ba-yak³ shor sa maqtal⁴ meN uTha mere baad 1.spectators 2.killer, executioner 3.all of a sudden 4.execution ground
Now, even the spectators began praying for the executioner. Suddenly, an uproar arose in the execution ground after me. The execution of the poet/lover was such a heinous act that the spectators sympathized with her, so much so, that they were convinced that the executioner would be called to account for this act. Hence, they all prayed for him.
7
tuu meri fikr¹ na kar mera Khuda haafiz² hai
jitna jii chaahe tera Khaak³ uRa mere baad 1.concern, worry 2.protector 3.dust, ashes
The poet/lover is dead and turned into dust/burnt to ashes. Scattering and kicking dust is a sign of continued cruelty and negligence – a continuation of what happened during the lover’s lifetime. She still reassures the beloved – don’t worry about me, god will protect me. Scatter as much dust/ashes as you want after me.
8
ek mer’e dam¹ se rahi bazm²-e suKhan³ ki raunaq⁴
fikr⁵ aur fun⁶ ka diya⁷ bujh hi gaya mere baad 1.life, presence, vitality 2.gathering 3.words, poetry 4.splendor 5.thought, reason 6.talent, art, skill 7.lamp
It was my presence that brought splendor to the poetic gatherings; the lamp of thought and art has extinguished after me. The poet expresses her irreplaceable contribution to art and intellect, lamenting the void left behind after her passing.
9
baad muddat¹ ke meri qabr² pe tum aa hi ga’e
naqsh-e-paa³ mera bana raahanuma⁴ mere baad 1.a long time 2.grave 3.footprints 4.guide
After a long time, you finally came to my grave, my footprints became your guide after me. Here ‘tum’ could be the beloved or the audience who finally recognized the worth of her poetry. But she has received belated recognition either for her steadfast love (from the beloved) or for her poetry (from her audience).
10
aaj itna to bataa deN ye shafaq¹ voh mujh ko
deNge ab aur bhi kis-kis² ko sazaa³ mere baad 1.poet’s pen name 2.how many others 3.punishment.
Today, just he should tell me this much, O shafaq; who else will you punish now after me? The implication is that the poet/lover was the only one who could bear all the cruelty/punishment that the lover visited upon her. Nobody else will patiently bear it. Thus, the poet/lover sarcastically questions the relentless cruelty of the lover while at the same time trumpeting her steadfast loyalty and resolve.