Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mirza asadullah KhaaN Ghalib (1797-1869). I dare not write any introduction. On more than one occasion Ghalib has warned his readers that he needs no introduction or even a mailing address. I humbly comply. badri raina, retired professor of English, dehli University, poet, writer, columnist and a dear friend has translated several Ghalib Ghazal and published them as a book.
1
ishrat¹-e qatra hai darya meN fanaa² ho jaana
dard ka had se guzarna hai dava ho jaana 1.luxury, happiness 2.annihilation, non-being
The sufi concept of ‘fanaa’ passing into non-existence is merger/union with the beloved/god. This is the fate of a drop when it passes through many stages/much pain and finally merges with the ocean. The lover also passes through pain, pain beyond limit, so much pain that it results in death which is a, or perhaps the only cure for his pain.
2
tujh se qismat meN meri soorat¹-e qufl-e-abjad²
tha likha baat ke bante³ hi juda⁴ ho jaana 1.like, similar to 2.lock with alphabetic code 3.completed, done 4.separate
A lock with an alphabetic code snaps open (separates) as soon as the right code is set. Unfortunately, fate has done a similar thing with the poet/lover and the beloved. As soon as the right code is set i.e. as soon as things begin to work out between them, fate separates them.
3
dil hua kashmakash¹-e chaara²-e zahmat³ meN tamaam
miT gaya ghisne meN is uqde⁴ ka vaa⁵ ho jaana    1.struggle 2.remedy, cure 3.difficulties 4.knot, mystery 5.open/undo, solve
The heart is a knot/mystery/pain. The poet/lover has been trying to undo the knot – solve the mystery – cure the pain. In this constant struggle to undo the knot, the heart itself got erased. Thus, he died or became totally hopeless and the mystery remained unsolved. Solving the mysteries of the universe is a hopeless task!
4
ab jafa¹ se bhi haiN mahroom² hum allah allah
is qadar³ dushman-e arbaab-e-vafa⁴ ho jaana     1.cruelty 2.deprived of 3.so much 4.people of faith/fidelity i.e. true lovers
True lovers look forward to cruelty by the beloved. For them, that is a sign that she still cares. There is no expectation that she will reciprocate their love. Only that she will continue to be cruel (pay attention) to them. But now the poet/lover is deprived of even that. By god, how can you be the enemy of/be hateful so much of your lovers!
5
zau’f¹ se giriya² mubaddal³ ba dam-e-sard⁴ hua
baavar⁵ aaya hameN paani ka hava ho jaana     1.weakness, inebriation 2.weeping 3.changed 4.cold breath i.e. cold sigh 5.learnt
Either because of excess grief or because of excess drinking the poet/lover has grown weak. Because of this weakness his tearful grieving is changed into cold sighs. He now has learnt how water becomes air/vapour i.e. tears become cold sighs.
6
dil se miTna teri aNgusht¹-e hinaaii² ka Khayaal
ho gaya gosht se naaKhun ka juda³ ho jaana     1.fingers 2.decorated with henna 3.separate, remove
Removing/pulling out nails from fingers is considered an extremely painful process and the expression is used to denote extreme pain. The poet/lover remembers the beloved’s finger tips coloured in henna. How can that memory be erased from his heart! Erasing their memory would be like removing nails from my fingers, extremely painful. But also, in a pictorial sense, his fingers would be bloodied and still remind him of her hennaed fingers.
7
hai mujhe abr-e-bahaari¹ ka baras kar khulna
rote rote Gham-e furqat² meN fanaa ho jaana    1.spring clouds 2.separation
The poet/lover in intense grief at separation from the beloved is crying as if there is downpour. As a result of this crying/downpour he is annihilated/dies. But this death is a welcome change to him, just like the skies clear up after a spring cloudburst.
8
gar nahiN nik-hat¹-e gul ko tere kooche² ki havas³
kyuN hai gard-e rah-e jaulaan-e-saba⁴ ho jaana     1.fragrance 2.lane, street 3.intense desire, lust 4.run/flow/blowing of the breeze
The poet/lover is pathologically jealous of anything and everything that approaches the lane of the beloved. In this case he is jealous and suspicious of the fragrance of the rose. If it does not have a lust for your lane is a rhetorical question implying that it does have such an intense desire. If it did not it would not have been subservient to the breeze blowing towards your lane. It (the fragrance of the rose) has become like dust on the road (a very low status, begging favours from the blowing breeze) and is getting to your lane that way. In addition to jealousy, there is an accusation of foul play. It is just not fair for fragrance to do this.
9
taa-ke¹ tujh pe khule aijaaz²-e havaa-e-saiqal³
dekh barsaat meN sabz⁴ aaiine ka ho jaana    1.so that 2.miracle 3.desire for polish/shine 4.green
“havaa” also is used sometimes to mean desire. The “aaiina”-mirror is a metaphor for the poet/lover. The mirror has as intense desire to be polished and reflect the beauty of the beloved. The miracle of polishing will be such that the glory of the beloved will be fully reflected in the mirror. So in the rainy season, the mirror develops green spots of verdigris and calls for polishing. Is it too much of a stretch to think that the ‘beloved’ is ‘god’ and the mirror is the human being or the poet, with green spots of imperfection, desiring for god to polish him so that he may reflect the glory of god! I am willing to stretch the meaning there. Ghalib is known to be obscure.
10
baKhshe¹ hai jalva²-e gul zauq³-e tamaasha⁴ Ghalib
chashm⁵ ko chaahiye har raNg⁶ meN vaa⁷ ho jaana     1.grant, bestow 2.glory 3.taste, finesse 4.seeing, discerning 5.eye 6.colour/condition, mood 7.open
The glory/beauty of the rose grants us the desire/finesse to see/discover all the beauty around us. It is incumbent upon the eye to remain wide open (be receptive to this beauty) under all conditions. Is there an implication that the rose will not always be glorious. But there is still beauty all around us and it is incumbent upon the eye to remain receptive. The beauty of the rose is but just one invitation/granting of a boon.

fanaa ho jaana – mirza Ghalib – Raina’s Rendition
1
Consider how the trickle turns into the boundless deep;
So does our anguish culminate, and perish in a sleep.
2
Our luckless love could best compare a coded instrument;
The lines were snapped the moment when the numbers relent.
3
My heart has expended itself, fighting every groan;
Much like a bit of beaten rope, unwhirling on its own.
4
O god, that I should be deprived even of her contempt;
Such rooted hostility to love, who could have ever dreamt?
5
Now when my simmering grief is sighs has found a cold release,
I can believe that does evaporate into breeze!
6
As soon my I erase the writ of your love from my heart,
As seek to sever from the nail its fleshly counterpart.
7
Behold how the fleecy clouds in spring burst forth resplendent;
So shall my tears drain out entire, my glories yet unspent
8
If truly the flowers had no desire to scatter along your ways,
Then why is it that the fragrant breeze into your casement strays?
9
O look, at least, at the rusted green of your own looking-glass;
And behold how the summer rains sprout a riot of green en masse!
10
O Ghalib, where zest is yet alive, there are colours to perceive;
The eyes must melt in every shade, and every shade receive.