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’.
1
sayyaad¹ daam-e-zulf² se mujh ko rehaa³ kare
vo din tamaam umr⁴ na aa’e Khudaa kare    1.captor, hunter, beloved 2.web/trap of tresses/hair 3.free, release 4.life-long
The beloved has snared the poet/lover in the trap of her hair. He is quite happy being a captive and prays to god … O god, may it be that she never releases from this trap all my life. Is the beloved urdu language and the desire to compose?
2
le-de-ke¹ ra’h² gayaa hai yahi aek aasra³
aisaa kabhi na ho, keh voh tark⁴-e vafaa⁵ kare    1.after all the give and take, in the end 2.remaining 3.support, hope 4.quit, abandon 5.loyalty, faith
The key is the undefined pronoun, ‘voh’ in the second misra. A quick reading would say that represents the beloved. After everything is done, the only thing that remains is the support of the beloved’s loyalty. May it be that she never abandons this loyalty. If so, this she’r goes against all poetic convention. The beloved is never faithful, and the lover never believes that she is or will be faithful. Said Ghalib …
tere v’aade par jiyee ham, tu yeh jaan jhooT jaana
keh Khushi se mar na jaate agar e’tebaar hota
Thus, if the lover were ever to believe that the beloved would be faithful to him, then he would die of joy. Thus, ‘voh’ in the second misra may be referring to someone or something other than the beloved. Could it be referring to his own yearning to write/compose. If he loses his desire to write, then he is finished.
3
mujh be-navaa¹ ke naaz² uThaaye vo naazniiN³
sultaan⁴ aur kaavish⁵-e qurb⁶-e gadaa⁷ kare    1.voice-less, powerless, ignored 2.whims and fancies 3.delicate, coquettish, beloved 4.king, ruler 5.effort 6.nearness 7.beggar
To expect the beloved to tolerate/accept the whims and fancies of a voiceless/powerless person like me is like expecting the king to make an effort to get close to a beggar. Also see ‘apni maleka-e suKhan se’ in which josh expresses similar sentiments about urdu language.
4
daamaan¹-e buu²-e kaakul³-e shab-raNg⁴ choR de
yaa rab⁵ kabhi ye zulm⁶ na baad⁷-e sabaa⁸ kare    1.hem of the garment, expanse, spread 2.fragrance 3.hair, fore-locks 4.night coloured, dark 5.lord 6.injustice, oppression 7.breeze 8.morning
O lord, may it be that the morning breeze never commit such injustice as to not bring me the spreading of the fragrance of beloved’s dark hair.
5
jis ke maraz¹ pe sehat²-e aalam³ nisaar⁴ ho
kis tarah vo mariiz⁵ duaa-e shifaa⁶ kare    1.illness, affliction 2.health, well-being 3.world 4.sacrificial offering 5.afflicted, sick 6.recovery, cure
For something to be offered as a sacrifice it is figuratively something that can be given up for the sake of a higher end. The ‘maraz-affliction’ is the affliction of love. The poet/lover is afflicted with love. He would rather sacrifice the health and well-being of the whole world, than give up his affliction. Why then would he pray for recovery.
6
but¹ jis pe multafit² ho ba-hadd³-e supurdagi⁴
zindiiq⁵ hai agar⁶ voh Khudaa se duaa kare     1.idol, beloved 2.kind, favouring 3.to the limit of 4.surrender 5.heretic, non-believer 6.if
The second misra is clear … if ‘he’ prays to god, then he is a heretic. Here ‘he’ refers to the lover. Which lover – the one towards whom the beloved shows favours to the limits of surrender. This is such a great reward that praying for anything else from god is heretical.
7
umr-e-daraaz¹ o puKhtagi²-e fikr³-e nukta-sanj⁴
kahti hai Khaam-kaar⁵ mujhe, haaN kahaa kare     1.long life 2.maturity 3.thinking, reasoning 4.picking fine points, discerning 5.defective effort, immature, inexperienced
Throughout is long life, the poet has displayed maturity of thought/reasoning and discerning/refined understanding. In spite of that he is called immature. He doesn’t care … let them say what they want to.
8
uss ruu¹-e dil-nashiiN² pe nigaaheN³ jamii⁴ raheN
faryaad⁵ kar rahi hai basiirat⁶ keh kyaa kare    1.face 2.heart capturing 3.eyes 4.fixed 5.cry, lament, appeal 6.sight, insight
The lover’s eyes are fixated on the captivating face. He realizes that he should show some restraint and not stare at her. But his sight cries out/protests, ‘what else can I do, I am helpless in the face of this captivating beauty’.
9
ab daam¹-e husn² o ishq se nikluN na taa-ba-marg³
ghar jal rahaa hai aql⁴-e rasaa⁵ kaa, jalaa kare     1.trap 2.beauty 3.until death 4.intellect 5.far-reaching
This is a classical interplay between the head and the heart. The poet/lover is trapped in the web of beauty and love. But he is quite happy there and doesn’t want to try and get free of it even to his death. He realizes that the house of intelligence is on fire, but he doesn’t seem to care … let it burn, he says.
10
hikmat¹, namak-haraam² huN be-shak³ teraa magar⁴
jis par paRe⁵ ye vaqt⁶ voh bechaaraa⁷ kyaa kare    1.wisdom 2.ungrateful 3.doubtless 4.but 5.fall upon 6.time, fate 7.helpless one
The poet/lover realizes that without a doubt, he has been ungrateful to wisdom; that he has let intelligence down, by getting trapped in the web of love. But he begs for some understanding. If such a fate befalls someone, what can that helpless soul do.
11
yaa rab¹ hisaar²-e najd³ se ab uTh sake na josh⁴
yuunaan⁵ de rahaa hai duhaai⁶, diyaa kare    1.lord 2.boundaries 3.desert in which majnuN roamed 4.pen-name of the poet 5.Greece, philosophers, logic, intelligence 6.pray, appeal, complain
In the laila-majnuN legend, majnuN roamed the desert of najd which is used here as a symbol of passionate love. yuunaan/Greece has been used as a symbol of cold logic and intellegence. Thus, the competition between heart and mind is set up. O lord, josh will not be able to get up and go out of the boundaries of passionate love, even if intelligence and logic appeal to him. Let them, he says.