Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. anand mohan gulzar dehlavi (1926-2020), a kashmiri panDit, a scholar and lover of urdu and totally committed to communal harmony. Over his long and fruitful life has written with much love and admiration about many illustrious figures – political, religious and literary. This Ghazal, though not exactly of the same radeef is linked to others of the radeef ‘Ghazal hoti hai’ on the Refrain Index page.
1
apne maahaul¹ pe chhaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN
dard meN Duub ke aksar² maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.surroundings, ambience 2.often
What inspires a poet to compose/recite a Ghazal. Said Ghalib …
aate haiN Ghaib se ye mazaamiiN Khayaal meN
Ghalib sariir-e Khaama navaa-e sarosh hai
i.e., his Ghazal are divinely inspired. Thoughts of love, pain and sorrow, injustice and oppression are other inspirations for Ghazal. Here too the shaa’er composes Ghazal affected by immersion in his surroundings (maahaul) and to express the pain (dard) he feels. The Ghazal becomes a medium for him to channel his emotions and connect with the world.
2
naa’ra¹-e ishq lagaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN
ruuh²-e mansuur³ jagaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.cry, call, trumpeting 2.spirit 3.mansuur-al-hallaaj
mansuur al-hallaaj was a sufi scholar who declared (an-al-haq – I am the Truth) and was considered a rebellious/unorthodox teacher. He was offered the chance to recant on pain of death. He refused and was executed. He is used as a symbol of rebellion against orthodoxy. His call, (an-al-haq), is described as the cry of love (naʿra-e ishq) to awaken the spirit of sacrifice and resilience, symbolized by mansuur.
3
aadmi aadmi ke KhooN kaa pyaasaa jab ho
KhooN-e jazbaat¹ pilaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.emotions
When humanity becomes thirsty for the blood of its own kind, the poet offers to quench this thirst with the blood of emotions (khooN-e jazbaat), perhaps emotions of love. His Ghazal becomes a way to address violence and hatred in society.
4
vo banaaras¹ ho aligaRh¹ ho ki jamshed nagar¹
jaam² Ghairat³ ke lunDhaa⁴ kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.probably sites of communal riots of that time 2.wine cup 3.shame, sense of (loss of) honour 4.spill, turn over
The historical context might be that at that time communal riots took place on cities of baraaras, aligaRh and jamshedpur. The wine cup here serves as a symbol of a sense of shame or a sense of loss of honour. By spilling such a cup and creating a sense of profuse loss of honour and of resulting shame, the poet through his Ghazal hopes to bring people to their senses.
5
hind meN rah ke jo hoN naNg¹-e sharaafat² shaatir³
aaina unn ko dikhaa⁴ kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN     1.cause of shame 2.virtue, civility 3.clever, cunning 4.aaina dikhaana-show true selves
Those who are cunning and clever, live in India and bring shame to civility (naNg-e sharaafat) – the shaa’er’s Ghazal hold up a mirror (aaina) to their deceitful actions.
6
Khaak¹ aur KhooN se ubharti² hui aah³-e millat⁴
apni aahoN³ meN basaa⁵ kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.dust 2.emerge, rise 3.sigh 4.nation, homeland 5.inhabit, fill
The sighs (aah) of (the oppressed people of) the nation, rising from the dust and blood (Khaak aur khooN), inhabit/fill the poet’s Ghazal, giving voice to the collective pain and struggles of the people.
7
qasr¹-e jamhuuriyat²-e qaum³ jo mismaar⁴ kareN
unn ko suuli⁵ pe chaRhaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.palace 2.democracy 3.nation, homeland 4.destroy 5.gallows
Those who destroy the palace of democracy (qasr-e jamhuuriyat) of the nation, through his Ghazal, he metaphorically sentences them to the gallows (suuli).
8
gul¹ jo ho jaaeN zamaane² meN muhabbat ke chiraaGh
zaKhm³ siine⁴ pe sajaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.extinguished 2.times, world 3.wounds 4.chest, bosom, heart
Wounds of the heart are often described as shining lights or flowers. The poet would light up the wounds of his heart if the lamps of love are extinguished. Through his Ghazal he aims to keep the flame of love alive.
9
farsh¹-e duniyaa jo mazaalim² se paraaganda³ ho
farsh¹ se arsh⁴ pe jaa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.floor 2.cruelties, oppression 3.disturbed, disarranged 4.sky
The ‘floor of the world’ is the earth. When cruelty and oppression is scattered/spread all over the earth, the poet chooses to rise above it all to the sky and read his Ghazal as a means to bring order to the confusion.
10
aur chal jaa’e agar baad¹-e sabaa² kaa jhoNkaa³
unn ki zulfoN⁴ ko sajaa⁵ kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.breeze 2.morning 3.gust 4.hair, locks 5.arrange
The morning breeze blows and brings fragrance, wakes buds up and makes them bloom. But its gusts can also scatter and disarrange the beloved’s locks. The shaa’er through his Ghazal would re-arrange her hair i.e., he also writes Ghazal of love and beauty.
11
hosh¹ gulzaar² GhaniimoN³ ke bhi uR jaate haiN
jab kabhi hosh¹ meN aa kar maiN Ghazal kahta huN    1.senses 2.pen-name of the poet 3.enemy, adversary
hosh uR jaana is an expression meaning lose senses, lose courage, get confused. Thus, O gulzaar, even the enemy would lose his senses, if I were to write thoughtful/stirring/sensible Ghazal.