Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jigar muradabadi (1890-1961) has written very musical Ghazal often with sufiyaana implications couched in the language of romance. There are also many instances of rebellion against orthodoxy. Many of his Ghazal have been put to music. This Ghazal is a short ‘bahr’ is a lighthearted mixture of conventional themes of love, deprivation and the beloved’s cruelty.
1
koi ye kah de gulshan gulshan
laakh balaa’eN¹ ek nasheman²   1.calamities, curse 2.nest, home
In urdu poetic tradition lightning, storms and other calamities strike the ‘nasheman’ of the poet/lover. He calls on someone to make a proclamation/announcement in every garden that there are thousands of calamities all targeted at his nasheman.
2
kaamil¹ rahbar² qaatil rahzan³
dil sa dost na dil sa dushman   1.complete, perfect 2.guide 3.highwayman, robber
The heart is a strange thing – the best friend and perfect guide and at the same time the worst enemy and murdering highway robber. While this is the literal translation and the original is musical, I fail to get any depth of meaning.
3
phuul khile haiN gulshan gulshan
laikin apna apna daaman   Flowers bloom all over the garden (or in all gardens) but each gathers according their capability (the size of the hem of their skirt/robe).
4
ishq hai pyaare khel nahiN hai
ishq hai kaar¹-e shisha o aahan²   1.work/task 2.steel
This is love my friend, not play. Love requires the ability to deal both with the fragility/delicacy and the hardness of steel at the same time.
5
Khair¹ mizaaj²-e-husn ki yaa-rab³
tez bahut hai dil ki dhaRkan   1.well-being 2.mood, temper 3.O, my god
It is not immediately clear whose heart-beat is rapid … the poet/lover’s out of fear or the beloved’s because of her annoyance with him. In either case, he is alarmed about the temper of the beloved.
6
aa ke na jaane tujh bin kab se
rooh¹ hai laasha² jism hai madfan³        1.spirit/soul 2.corpse 3.grave
The poet/lover pleads for the beloved to come, for, with her, his soul is dead and his body is like the grave of the soul.
7
aaj na jaane raaz ye kya hai
hijr¹ ki raat aur itni raushan   1.separation
Usually it is the night of the union that appears bright and lit under a full moon. He wonders why it is so bright even though it is the night of separation.
8
umreN bitiN sadiyaaN¹ guzriN
hai vahi ab tak ishq ka bachpan   1.centuries
Ages/generations have passed over many centuries but the way of love/romance is still fresh and youthful.
9
tujh sa hasiN aur Khoon-e-mohabbat
vahm¹ hai shaayad² surKhi-e-daaman³    1.illusion 2.perhaps 3.redness of the hem of the skirt
Poetic tradition is that the beloved is cruel and kills the poet/lover. His blood stains the hem of her skirt. But in this case the poet/lover (who has already been killed and whose blood has stained her hem) wonders if the stain is just an illusion, for, how can such Beauty kill Love.
10
barq¹-e havaadis² allaah allaah
jhuum rahi hai shaaKh-e nasheman³     1.lightning 2.calamities 3.nest
In urdu poetic tradition lightning always strikes the nest/home/refuge of the poet. In this case it is a lightning of calamities and the tree branch is shaking making the poet exclaim in anguish.
11
tu ne sulajh kar gesoo¹-e jaanaaN
aur baRhaa di shauq ki uljhan²     1.hair 2.perplexity
This is addressed to the hair of the beloved, not to the beloved herself. The hair by getting straightened out (arranged) have increased the preplexity of the poet/lover. The interesting point is that the word “uljhan” also means “tangles”. So, the tangles of the hair have been removed but the poet’s love has gotten more tangled.
12
rahmat¹ hogi taalib²-e isyaaN³
rashk⁴ karegi paaki-e-daaman⁵     1.kindness, forgiveness 2.demanding 3.sinning, sinners 4.envy 5.purity/cleanliness of the hem
The expression “keeping the hem of the skirt/robe clean” means to stay virtuous … not commit any transgressions. But on judgement day god will be looking for sinners to be kind to them and fogive them. That is when pious people will be envious (because they did not get the same attention).
13
dil ke mujassam aaina-saamaaN
aur vo zaalim aaina-dushman   The word “aaina” is used here in the sense of “glass” with its fragility not in the sense of “mirror” with its reflection. Thus, the heart is fragile and the beloved (cruel) is the “enemy” of the aaiina i.e. she enjoys breaking his heart.
14
baiThe ham har bazm¹ meN laikin
jhaaR ke uTThe apnaa daaman²     1.gathering 2.hem of the skirt/robe
Similar to the expression above about “paaki-e daaman”, “daaman jhaaRna” – dusting off the hem is to keep it clean. It might not exactly mean staying on the virtuous side of the line. But it certainly means that even you cross the line, you are careful enough to dust things off and not acquire any discredit. So the poet has associated with all kinds of gatherings but has always made sure to come out clean.
15
hasti¹-e shaa’er allaah allaah
husn ki manzil ishq ka maskan²    1.life, existence 2.abode, residence
The goal of the life of the poet is beauty (beloved, god, nature, justice) and love resides in his heart.
16
raNgiN fitrat¹ saada tabi’at²
farsh-nashiN³ aur arsh-nasheman⁴      1. character 2.nature 3.sitting on the floor 4.nest in the skies
The poet has a colourful character but is at the same time of a simple nature. He is so simple that he sits on the floor but he has a vision that take him to the skies … he builds his nest there.
17
kaam adhooraa aur aazaadi
naam baRe aur thoRe darshan   Perhaps he is continuing to describe the character of the poet. He never completes is task and is a free spirit. All fame and name but not much if you look at him closely.
18
shama’ hai laikin dhuNdli dhuNdli
saayaa hai laikin raushan raushan   There is an interesting juxtaposition of opposites. The poet is like a candle but the light is diffused/faint or he is like a shadow but it is not exactly completely dark.
19
kaaNToN ka bhi haq hai kuchh aaKhir
kaun chhuRaaye apnaa daaman   Pulling the hem of the skirt/robe away from entanglements with thorns can either mean staying on the virtuous side, or not becoming involved. Here the poet is cognizant of the rights of the thorns. How long can you keep your hem from getting entangled … thorns have rights too.
20
chalti phirti chhaaNv hai pyaare
kis ka sahraa¹ kaisa gulshan   1.desert, scrub
Light and shade keep changing/moving. Also, that which is a garden today can dry up into scrub tomorrow. Such is life, my friend.