For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
گرمیِ بازار دیکھ کر ۔ رگھوبیر داس ساحرؔ سیالکوٹی
۱
دل بجھ گیا نگاہِ خریدار دیکھ کر
یعنی ہوس کی گرمیِ بازار دیکھ کر
۲
دیکھا نگاہِ قہر سے داور نے روز حشر
پھر ہنس پڑا وہ شکلِ گنہ گار دیکھ کر
۳
نازک سے ہاتھ نرم کلائی ذرا سا دل
ہنستا ہوں ان کے ہاتھوں میں تلوار دیکھ کر
۴
گردش پہ ہو گیا تھا بہت آسماں کو ناز
چکر میں آ گیا تری رفتار دیکھ کر
۵
روکی گئی نہ کاتبِ تقدیر سے ہنسی
تیری زباں پہ وصل کا اقرار دیکھ کر
۶
پیدا ہوئی ہے ترکِ محبت کی آرزو
ہر بوالہوس کو اُس کا خریدار دیکھ کر
۷
ہر روز زندگی نئی ملتی ہے عشق میں
مرتا ہوں ورنہ میں اُنہیں ہر بار دیکھ کر
۸
ساحرؔ بلند و پست سے تھی شاق رہروی
دل منفعل ہے راہ کو ہموار دیکھ کر
गर्मी-ए बाज़ार देख कर – रघुवीर दास साहेर सियालकोटी
१
दिल बुझ गया निगाह-ए ख़रीदार देख कर
या’नी हवस की गर्मी-ए बाज़ार देख कर
२
देखा निगाह-ए क़हर से दावर ने रोज़-ए हश्र
फिर हंस पढा वो शक्ल-ए गुनहगार देख कर
३
नाज़ुक से हाथ नर्म कलाई ज़रा सा दिल
हंसता हुं उन के हाथों में तलवार देख कर
४
गर्दिश पे हो गया था बहुत आसमाँ को नाज़
चक्कर में आ गया तेरी रफ़्तार देख कर
५
रोकी गई न कातिब-ए तक़्दीर से हँसी
तेरी ज़बाँ पे वस्ल का एक़्रार देख कर
६
पैदा हुई है तर्क-ए मोहब्बत की आर्ज़ू
हर बुल-हवस को उस का ख़रीदार देख कर
७
हर रोज़ ज़िंदगी नई मिलती है इश्क़ में
मरता हूँ वर्ना मैं उन्हें हर बार देख कर
८
साहेर बुलंद-ओ-पस्त से थी शाक़ रह-रवी
दिल मुन्फ़इल है राह को हमवार देख कर
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. raghubir das sahir sialkoTi (1906-1984). BA sanaatan dharm college lahore. Worked for milaap daily in lahore after graduation. During partition mayhem he lost all his work. Went to jalandhar, an urdu literary hub at the time. Attended mushaa’era regularly and probably worked for magazines. When he went to hoshiarpur for a mushaa’era to hoshiarpur, he ran into his college class mate – amarchand qais who happened to have saved some of sahir’s Ghazal. Sahir became shaagird of josh malsiani. His collection was published in 1959. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
dil bujh1 gaya nigaah2-e Kharidaar3 dekh kar
y’aani havas4 ki garmi5-e baazaar dekh kar 1.extinguished, put out, saddened 2.eyes 3.buyer, desiring 4.lust, greed 5.activity
The poet is the only sincere lover, Platonic, willing to lay down his life and absolutely devoid of lust. There is a long list of other admirers/lovers, but they are all driven by lust. He is in the gathering around the beloved and sees lust in the eyes of all the others who desire her, and his heart is put out/saddened.
2
dekha nigaah1-e qahr2 se daavar3 ne roz-e-hashr4
phir haNs paRa vo shakl5-e gunahgaar6 dekh kar 1.eye, glance 2.anger 3.lord 4.day of judgment 5.face, looks 6.sinner
It is the day of judgment and the poet is presented before god with an accouting of his good and bad deeds. The lord looks at him with angry eyes and seeing a repentant sinner, looking frightened, breaks into a smile.
3
naazuk1 se haath narm2 kalaaii3 zara sa dil
haNsta huN un ke haathoN meN talvaar dekh kar 1.delicate, frail 2.soft 3.wrist
The conventional image is of a beloved who is fierce, carries a sword and cuts lovers heads off left and right. Here the poet presents a very different picture. Her hands are weak, her wrist is soft, and she has a heart that connot bear to see pain. He laughs upon seeing a sword in her hand – how can she be capable of killing!
4
gardish1 pe ho gaya tha bahut aasmaaN ko naaz2
chakkar3 meN aa gaya teri raftaar4 dekh kar 1.rotation 2.proud 3.turning round and round, dizzy, puzzled 4.gait
The beauty of this she’r lies is the multiple implications of the word ‘chakkar’. Conventionally, the sky turns-rotates. ‘chakkar’ is another word for the same motion but it also means feeling dizzy and getting tricked or puzzled. The beloved is famous for her gentle gait. Thus, the sky was proud of its gentle motion but when it saw the beloved’s gait it felt dizzy, tricked that someone else had a more gentle gait than the sky, went round and round (which it was doing anyway, but this is word play).
5
roki gaii na kaatib1-e taqdir se haNsi
teri zabaaN pe vasl2 ka eqraar3 dekh kar 1.writer 2.union 3.agreement, commitment, promise
The beloved is famous for making promises and breaking them – especially the promise of union/meeting. When the writer of fate was writing down her fate (must have been writing all the details including her promise to meet the poet/lover) he could not help but break out laughing.
6
paida1 hui hai tark2-e mohabbat ki aarzu3
har bul-havas4 ko us ka Kharidaar5 dekh kar 1.born, formed 2.giving up, quitting 3.desire 4.lustful 5.desiring, wanting
This is similar to the opening she’r of this Ghazal. Everyone around is a bul-havas – a lustful man and is desirous of the beloved. When he sees this, the wish to quit love forms in his heart … this could be because he is disgusted by this non-ideal behaviour or because he sees them more successful than he is.
7
har roz zindagi naii milti hai ishq meN
marta huN varna1 maiN unheN har baar2 dekh kar 1.otherwise 2.every time
Every time he sees the beloved, he dies. He should have been long dead, but he lives only because in love, you get a new life every day. Beyond this word meaning I am at a loss.
8
saahir1 buland-o-past2 se thi shaaq3 rah-ravi4
dil munfa’il5 hai raah6 ko hamvaar7 dekh kar 1.pen-name of the poet 2.high and low 3.difficult, grievous 4.traversing the path 5.regretful, ashamed 6.path 7.smooth, even
The poet likes a challenge, likes to be put to trial. O saahir, traversing the path was difficult/challenging when it had ups and downs. I feel ashamed seeing this easy, smooth path.
raghubir das sahir sialkoTi (1906-1984). BA sanaatan dharm college lahore. Worked for milaap daily in lahore after graduation. During partition mayhem he lost all his work. Went to jalandhar, an urdu literary hub at the time. Attended mushaa’era regularly and probably worked for magazines. When he went to hoshiarpur for a mushaa’era to hoshiarpur, he ran into his college class mate – amarchand qais who happened to have saved some of sahir’s Ghazal. Sahir became shaagird of josh malsiani. His collection was published in 1959. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
dil bujh1 gaya nigaah2-e Kharidaar3 dekh kar
y’aani havas4 ki garmi5-e baazaar dekh kar
1.extinguished, put out, saddened 2.eyes 3.buyer, desiring 4.lust, greed 5.activity
The poet is the only sincere lover, Platonic, willing to lay down his life and absolutely devoid of lust. There is a long list of other admirers/lovers, but they are all driven by lust. He is in the gathering around the beloved and sees lust in the eyes of all the others who desire her, and his heart is put out/saddened.
2
dekha nigaah1-e qahr2 se daavar3 ne roz-e-hashr4
phir haNs paRa vo shakl5-e gunahgaar6 dekh kar
1.eye, glance 2.anger 3.lord 4.day of judgment 5.face, looks 6.sinner
It is the day of judgment and the poet is presented before god with an accouting of his good and bad deeds. The lord looks at him with angry eyes and seeing a repentant sinner, looking frightened, breaks into a smile.
3
naazuk1 se haath narm2 kalaaii3 zara sa dil
haNsta huN un ke haathoN meN talvaar dekh kar
1.delicate, frail 2.soft 3.wrist
The conventional image is of a beloved who is fierce, carries a sword and cuts lovers heads off left and right. Here the poet presents a very different picture. Her hands are weak, her wrist is soft, and she has a heart that connot bear to see pain. He laughs upon seeing a sword in her hand – how can she be capable of killing!
4
gardish1 pe ho gaya tha bahut aasmaaN ko naaz2
chakkar3 meN aa gaya teri raftaar4 dekh kar
1.rotation 2.proud 3.turning round and round, dizzy, puzzled 4.gait
The beauty of this she’r lies is the multiple implications of the word ‘chakkar’. Conventionally, the sky turns-rotates. ‘chakkar’ is another word for the same motion but it also means feeling dizzy and getting tricked or puzzled. The beloved is famous for her gentle gait. Thus, the sky was proud of its gentle motion but when it saw the beloved’s gait it felt dizzy, tricked that someone else had a more gentle gait than the sky, went round and round (which it was doing anyway, but this is word play).
5
roki gaii na kaatib1-e taqdir se haNsi
teri zabaaN pe vasl2 ka eqraar3 dekh kar
1.writer 2.union 3.agreement, commitment, promise
The beloved is famous for making promises and breaking them – especially the promise of union/meeting. When the writer of fate was writing down her fate (must have been writing all the details including her promise to meet the poet/lover) he could not help but break out laughing.
6
paida1 hui hai tark2-e mohabbat ki aarzu3
har bul-havas4 ko us ka Kharidaar5 dekh kar
1.born, formed 2.giving up, quitting 3.desire 4.lustful 5.desiring, wanting
This is similar to the opening she’r of this Ghazal. Everyone around is a bul-havas – a lustful man and is desirous of the beloved. When he sees this, the wish to quit love forms in his heart … this could be because he is disgusted by this non-ideal behaviour or because he sees them more successful than he is.
7
har roz zindagi naii milti hai ishq meN
marta huN varna1 maiN unheN har baar2 dekh kar
1.otherwise 2.every time
Every time he sees the beloved, he dies. He should have been long dead, but he lives only because in love, you get a new life every day. Beyond this word meaning I am at a loss.
8
saahir1 buland-o-past2 se thi shaaq3 rah-ravi4
dil munfa’il5 hai raah6 ko hamvaar7 dekh kar
1.pen-name of the poet 2.high and low 3.difficult, grievous 4.traversing the path 5.regretful, ashamed 6.path 7.smooth, even
The poet likes a challenge, likes to be put to trial. O saahir, traversing the path was difficult/challenging when it had ups and downs. I feel ashamed seeing this easy, smooth path.
