Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed husain qamar jalaalavi (1887-1968), was born in jalaali, near aligaRh, moved to pakistan after partition/independence. He was popularly known as ‘ustad’, for his expertise in repairing bicycles, which is how he earned his living and lived in penury, in spite of his excellence as a poet. He wrote Ghazal is chaste classical style, many of which have been put to music. qamar jalalavi migrated to pakistan hoping to get patronage/income there. It did not come to pass. He lived and died under straitened circumstances. This Ghazal is full of allusions to loss of home and inability to find new refuge. Also see ‘kaaNToN pe bhi haq hamaara nahiN’.
1
yahaaN taNgi¹-e qafas² hai, vahaaN fikr³-e aashiyaana⁴
na yahaaN mera Thikaana⁵, na vahaaN mera Thikaana   1.confinement 2.prison 3.worry 4.nest/home 5.place/refuge
Here, it is as if I am confined in prison. There, I had worries about home/survival. I found refuge neither here nor there.
2
mujhe yaad hai abhi tak, tere jaur¹ ka fasaana²
maiN jo raaz³ faash⁴ kar duN, tujhe kya kahe zamaana⁵    1.cruelties 2.stories 3.secret 4.reveal 5.times, world, society
Traditionally the poet/lover suffers in silence for fear of maligning the beloved’s name. I still remember the stories of all your cruelties (to me). I have kept them secret. Were I to reveal them, your reputation in the society will suffer.
3
na vo phool haiN chaman meN, na vo shaaKh¹-e aashiyaana²
faqat³ ek barq⁴ chamki, ke badal gaya zamaana⁵    1.branch 2.nest/home 3.only 4.lightning 5.times, conditions
The poet/lover recalls the branch on which he had his nest. There are no blooms in the garden any more, the branch on which I had built my nest is also gone. Just one lightning strike and the whole world changed.
4
ye raqeeb¹ aur tum se, rah-o-rasm²-e dostaana
abhi jis hava meN tum ho, vo badal gaya zamaana    1.rival 2.ways and relationships
This rival, and friendly relationships with you! The conditions in which you (the ‘you’ here is probably the poet addressing himself) are now, shows that the world has changed.
5
mere saamne chaman ka na fasaana¹ chheR hamdam²
mujhe yaad aa na jaaye kahiN apna aashiyaana³     1.story 2.friend 3.nest/home
O friend, do not bring the story of the garden before me. I am afraid that I might remember/miss my home.
6
sar-e raah¹ kaise soojhi²,tujhe hajv³-e mai⁴ ki vaa’ez⁵
na yahaaN hai teri masjid, na mera sharaab-Khaana⁶    1.head of the pathway 2.think of, remember 3.criticism 4.wine 5.preacher 6.tavern
How come you thought of criticising wine in the middle of the road, O preacher. Neither is your masjid here nor is my tavern. Recall that “tavern” is symbolism for a place of refuge from narrow orthodoxy.
7
kisi sar niguN¹ si Daali, pe rakkheNge chaar tinke²
na baland³ shaaKh hogi, na jalega aashiyaana⁴    1.bowed down, low 2.straw 3.high 4.nest
Lightning strikes high branches. High branches are symbolic of high status. The poet is so despondent that he is looking for a lowly branch to place a few straws to make his nest. He hopes that lightning will not strike this low and he will be spared the burning of his modest nest.
8
na suna sake musalsil¹,Gham-e duuri-e vatan ko
kabhi ro liye ghaRi bhar, kabhi kah diya fasaana²    1.continuously, coherently 2.story
The pain of being far away from home is so intense that the poet/lover cannot relate that story in a coherent way. The story is broken up with sobs and then continues again.
9
mere rooTh jaane vaale, tujhe yuN mana raha huN
ke qaza¹ ke vaaste² bhi koii chaahiye bahaana³    1.death 2.for 3.excuse
The beloved is miffed at the poet/lover. He is trying to please her. And why? Because if she is not pleased with him then she will not be cruel to him (the mad lover seeks this cruelty). If she is cruel, then that will be the excuse that Death needs to end his life.
10
kahiN maikashauN¹ se saaqi, na nigaah² pher³ lena
ke inhiN ke dam se qaa’em⁴ hai tera sharaab-Khaana⁵    1.revelers/patrons of the tavern 2.eyes 3.turn away 4.based on 5.tavern
Do not turn your eyes away from revelers o saaqi. In sufi tradition, revelers are free-thinkers, devotees of universal love and saaqi is beloved/god. It is because of them that your tavern exists.
11
qamar apne daaGh¹-e dil ki, vo kahaani maiN ne chheRi
ke suna kiye sitaare, mera raat bhar fasaana²    1.scar, wound 2.story
The poet/lover has an interesting word play on his name – qamar is the name of the poet, his pen-name and also the moon. There is a scar in the heart of the moon, and he is relating the story of this scar – obviously acquired as a result of unrequited love. His story is so engrossing that stars listen to it eagerly all night long.