Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. josh malihabadi (1898-1982) is called shaa’er-e inqelaab, poet of change/revolution. He is very secular and nationalistic in his writings and rebels against orthodoxy. His range of language and vocabulary is simply amazing. He has written extensively about the beauty of dawn. His collection of nazm/Ghazal and rubaaii can be accessed both under the poet’s name and from the Theme Index, ‘jalva-e sahr’. This nazm juxtaposes the vitality of life with the beauty of dawn.
1
uTh barbat¹ o suraahi² o miina³ liye hue
raNg⁴-e tulu⁵-e sub’h hai sahba⁶ liye hue     1.lute, musical instrument 2.flask 3.cup of wine 4.colour, style 5.emergence, rise 6.wine
Rise, carrying with you the lute, flask and a goblet because the colour of the rising of dawn is like that of red wine. At the most basic level this is a description of the beauty of dawn with its red hues at the horizon and an invitation to the reader to rise and celebrate this beauty. There are multiple layers of analogies … barbat, suraahi and miina can be a celebration of the vitality and energy of life. sub’h is personified as the saaqi, a beautiful damsel. The style of rising of the saaqi is that of flowing red wine where style, colour, redness, intoxication and merriment are layered in the imagery. It is an invitation to celebrate life.
2
har Khaar¹ o Khas² hai aaina-daar³-e uruus⁴-e gul⁵
har barg-e-gul⁶ hai ariz⁷-e salma⁸ liye hue    1.thorn 2.dried grass, twigs 3.mirror bearer, reflection 4.bride 5.rose 6.rose-petal 7.face, cheeks 8.beloved
‘Khaar o Khas’ symbolize discarded material considered to be of little value. But even such material holds up a mirror reflecting the beauty of the most valuable feature of the garden … the rose. Thus, all things of the garden (the world) reflect the beauty of life and its one-ness. Thus, every ‘Khaar o Khas’ reflects the epitome of the beauty of the garden and every rose petal reflects the beauty of the countenance of the beloved. Who the beloved might be, is left to us, but given the context of the Ghazal, the beloved could well be life itself.
3
Ghunche¹ haiN raNg²-e nargis³-e KhuubaaN⁴ se bahra-yaab⁵
jhoNke⁶ haiN buu-e kaakul⁷-e zeba⁸ liye hue     1.unopened buds 2.colour, style, shape 3.narcissus flower often used as symbolic of a beautiful eye 4.beauties, beloved 5.benefitted, blessed 6.gusts 7.fore-locks, hair 8.adorned, beautiful
Unopened buds symbolize budding life, or budding youth. These benefit from the style of the ‘nargis-e KhuubaaN’ – the ideal of a beautiful eye. Gentle gusts of breeze carry with them the fragrance of the adorned locks of the beloved. In poetic tradition, fragrant breeze of the morning wakes up sleeping buds and makes them bloom into flowers. This is symbolic of life flowering into its full glory.
4
shabnam¹ ka ras², nasiim³ ki Khunki⁴, kali ka raNg
aa’e haiN taa’eraan⁵-e dil-aara⁶ liye hue    1.dew drops 2.juice 3.fragrant breeze 4.coolness 5.birds 6.heart’s adornment, beloved
I interpret the beloved’s birds to be messengers and they have brought with them the cool comfort of fragrant breeze, the sweetness of dew and the style of buds. Who is the beloved – life itself or the emerging dawn with a message of the vigour of life.
5
kahte haiN jis ko ruu¹-e sanam² ki malaahateN³
voh shai⁴ hai apni chhaauN⁵ meN sahra⁶ liye hue    1.face 2.beloved 3.charms, salty/attractive 4.thing 5.shadow 6.desert, barrenness
That thing which is called the charm/beauty of the face of the beloved, carries with it (like the inevitable shadow) a barren desert. This is probably a message that beauty/glory/life itself is a fleeting time necessarity followed by death and by new life.
6
rusvaaiyoN¹ ka Khauf² hai kaif³-e shabina⁴ ko
aNgRaaiyoN⁵ ka josh⁶ hai dariya⁷ liye hue     1.embarrassment, humiliation, shame 2.fear 3.pleasure 4.night wine 5.yawning and stretching when waking up 6.fervour, passion 7.river
The word ‘josh’ carries over both to aNgRaaii and to dariya. This could well be life waking up, yawning and stretching at dawn. The fervour with which life wakes up carries a river/flood of passion with it. This causes a fear of being shamed because of the pleasure of intoxication of the night. The imagery is that of vitality and action upon waking up at dawn.
7
phooloN ke dil haiN shar’h¹-e mohabbat se chaak-chaak²
kaliyoN³ ke lab⁴ haiN harf⁵-e tamanna⁶ liye hue    1.opening, explanation 2.torn apart 3.buds 4.lips 5.words 6.desire, longing, love
‘phooloN ke dil chaak-chaak hona’ represents the blooming of flowers. Their hearts are opened up. This is an explanation/expression of their love. Unopened buds too carry words of longing/love on their lips i.e., they too will soon express their love and their hearts too will be opened/torn apart. Thus, the continuation of life-cycle is an expression of (universal) love.
8
shabnam¹ hai barg²-e taaza³ pe, shabnam¹ meN surKhiyaaN⁴
aa bostaaN⁵ meN diida⁶-e muusa⁷ liye hue     1.dew drops 2.leaf 3.fresh 4.redness 5.garden 6.eyes 7.Moses
This is an invitation to the reader to come to the garden (the world) with the eye of Moses/muusa. It is believed that muusa went up mount tuur asking to see god or some manifestation/proof of the existence of god. josh implies that there is such proof in the garden. What is this proof … the beauty of dew drops on fresh leaves reflecting the red light of the horizon at dawn. Says josh elsewhere ….
ham aise ahl-e nazar ko suboot-e haq ke liye
agar rasool na hotay to sub’h kaafi thii
9
aye chashm¹-e josh² muzshda³, keh laila⁴-e raNg-o-buu⁵
chuTki⁶ meN hai naqaab⁷ ka gosha⁸ liye hue     1.eye 2.pen-name of the poet 3.felicitations, good news 4.of laila-majnuN legend, beloved 5.colour and fragrance, senses 6.pinch 7.veil 8.corner
Life is like laila the beloved. This is a life of colour and fragrance i.e., senses for appreciating the beauty of life. It is dawn, day is about to break out, the vitality of life is about to begin … this beginning is described as the laila of life, holding the corner of her veil in a pinch between her fingers about to lift her veil. The lifting of the veil of night and emergence of the brilliance of the sun is nicely juxtaposed with unveiling of the vitality of life. This unveiling brings felicitations/greetings to the eye of the poet.