Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. shahid aziz ravish siddiqui (1909-1971) was brought up in a religious atmosphere but in addition to arabi and faarsi, he learnt sanskrit and hindi and was well versed in vedantic literature. As a Ghazal writer he has leaned heavily on Ghalib with many Ghazal composed in his style. This is in the style of Ghalib’s ‘diida-e tar yaad aaya’ and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
haasil¹-e diida-e-tar² yaad aaya
Khaak³ meN mil ke gohar⁴ yaad aaya 1.yield, output, result 2.tearful eye 3.dust, clay, earth 4.gem, pearl
What is the net result, the yield of a tearful eye. Tear drops (which are like pearls) drop and get absorbed in the soil. Thus, all you get out of mourning is to have the symbols of your emotion buried into the ground. That is what comes to the mind of the poet.
2
kyuN Ghuroor¹-e gul-e-tar² yaad aaya
dil-e KhuuN-gashtah³ magar yaad aaya 1.pride 2.fresh rose 3.blood soaker, blood dripping
The poet wonders why he thinks of a fresh rose. That is because it reminds him of a blood dripping heart. The physical similarity of a dew soaked red rose and blood soaked red heart is clear. The juxtaposition of the vibrant pride of a fresh rose with the bleeding heart signifies the stark contrast between joy and suffering, emphasizing the intertwining of happiness and grief.
3
ab na jaadah¹ hai na manzil² koi
kya sar-e-raahguzar³ yaad aaya    1.pathway 2.destination 3.along the pathway
Perhaps there are two ways of looking at this. If the second misra is read as a rhetorical question … is this the way to remember the roadside, there is no vision of the destination and no defined path to get there. Then this becomes the poet admonishing himself or may be those around him. If the second misra is read as a question, asking someone (or himself) if he has remembered the side of the road (where the roadside represents a resting place) then the first misra gives an answer … there is no clear path, no defined destination and the only alternative is to rest by the side of the road. It is a chaotic, perhaps purposeless life that the poet presents.
4
shaam hi se dil-e-afsurda¹ ko
chehra²-e sham’a-e-sahar³ yaad aaya 1.despondent heart 2.face 3.candle at dawn
If the sham’a-e-sahar represents a burnt-out candle which has been burning all night long and at dawn it is all used up or about to be put out, then the face of such a candle would be forlorn. Thus, even from early evening the depondent heart of the sorrowful poet imagines the forlorn face of a used-up candle. If the sham’a-e sahar represents the light of hope at dawn (the rising sun), then the despondent heart of the poet begins to yearn for this hope from the early evening.
5
qismat¹-e vaada²-e fardaa³ maa’luum⁴
bhool jaaoge agar yaad aaya 1.fate 2.promise 3.future 4.known
The fate of tomorrow’s promise is known, i.e., it will never be fulfilled. In classical urdu poetry the beloved is notorious for breaking her promise, but this can apply to anyone. Even if you remember this promise (and perhaps remind the other party about it), you will soon forget if (perhaps because of repeated let-downs).
6
kisi jaanib¹ qadam² uThte hi nahiN
kaun ye vaqt-e-safar³ yaad aaya 1.direction 2.steps 3.time of departure
The poet may be addressing himself or an interlocuter. You take no step in any direction, who has come to mind at the time of departure, beginning of the journey? The poet expresses a sense of being lost or longing for something other than the journey, perhaps he remembers the beloved and is paralyzed.
7
ham ne muNh pher¹ liya manzil² se
husn³-e aaGhaaz⁴-e safar⁵ yaad aaya 1.turned away 2.destination 3.beauty 4.beginning 5.journey
Perhaps as a result of repeated disappointments the poet/seeker has turned away from/given up on the destination. He recalls with nostalgia the beauty of the beginning of the journey. If we think of this as the journey of love, then the initial euphoria was beautiful and gradually disillusionment set in.
8
rah gaye¹ dekh ke aaiine ko
kya koi ahl-e-nazar² yaad aaya 1.stopped, paused 2.person of discerning eye, or of insight
If the first misra is addressed to the beloved, she regards at herself in the mirror and stops, because she thinks of her admirer, the poet/lover – ‘here was a man who had good taste in beauty’, she might be saying to herself. If the first misra is read as addressed to himself, then the she’r becomes a bit mundane.
9
DhuunDne¹ kis ko chal’e haiN aaNsuu²
kaun aye diidah-e-tar³ yaad aaya 1.searching 2.tears 3.tearful eye
Whom are these tears searching for? Who did the tearful eye remember? Tears are personified as seekers of a lost person/relationship. Posed as a poignant question, it deepens the sense of longing and reflects on the emotional turmoil of remembrance.
10
marham¹-e zaKhm²-e jigar³ yaad aaya
phir vahi tiir-e-nazar⁴ yaad aaya 1.balm, ointment 2.wound 3.liver/heart 4.arrow of the glance
The beloved’s sidelong glance is like an arrow. It wounds the liver/heart of the poet/lover. Yet he considers it to be balm for the wound and wants more of it.
11
hum na aye daavar¹-e mahshar² hoNge
koocha³-e dost⁴ agar yaad aaya 1.judge, lord 2.day of judgment 3.street 4.beloved
I will not be present before you, O lord of judgment day, if the beloved’s street comes to mind. The poet/lover has completely surrendered himself to love. Answering the call of love is even more important than fear of divine accountability.
12
josh¹-e vahshat² meN bhi zaalim³ dil ko
usi be-dard⁴ ka ghar yaad aaya 1. frenzy 2.madness, passion 3.cruel 4.heartless
Even in the frenzy of mad passion, this cruel heart, remembered the house of that heartless one. Expresses the paradox that even in the throes of chaos, the heart holds on to memories of the very person who caused the anguish.
13
aaiina dekh ke muNh pher¹ liya
kaun barbaad²-e nazar³ yaad aaya 1.turned away 2.ruined 3.glance
The poet/lover is the one who has been ruined by the enchanting glance of the beloved. When he looks at himself in the mirror, he realises what has become of him and turns away from it. Perhaps the first misra is about the beloved. She regards herself in the mirror and remembers the lover ruined by her glance. She cannot bear the thought and turns away from the mirror.
14
thaa isi zabt¹ ka vaa’da² uss se
tujh ko aye didah-e-tar³ yaad aaya
1.self-restraint 2.promise 3.tearful eye
Following the conventions of love, the lover has promised the beloved that he would not show his distress in public. But his eyes cannot help but shed tears. He admonishes his tearful eye – is this the kind of self-restraint that had promised; O tearful eye, do you remember.
15
ban gayiiN naqsh-ba-diivaar¹ aaNkheN
jab tera parda²-e dar³ yaad aaya 1.naqsh-ba-diivaar is an expression meaning stunned, amazed, silent like a picture on the wall 2.veil, curtain 3.doorway
The memory of even the curtain on the beloved’s doorway invokes intense memories in the mind of the poet/lover so much so that he becomes dazed and stunned. Perhaps associated with the curtain is an occasional parting of the curtain and the beloved peeing out or even emerging into the open.
16
taNgi¹-e dahr² se ghabra³ ke ravish⁴
vohi ujRa⁵ hua ghar⁶ yaad aaya 1.narrowness, constraints 2.world 3.weary, fearful 5.ruined, desolate 6.home, shelter
The poet/lover is tired of the constraints that the world/society places on him. To get away from it, he thinks of the once-familiar house, even if it were ruined and desolate. It provides a sanctuary in stark contrast with the cruel world.