Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. syed ali haidar nazm tabaatabaai (1854-1933), scholar, critic, translator and poet. In 1883 he moved to hyderabad, Professor, Nizam College and Department of Translation, Osmania University with josh malihabadi. Wrote an explanatory discussion of Ghalib’s diivaan and published his own diivaan. This Ghazal in the zamin of Ghalib is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
Kham¹-e gesu² meN dil-e zaar³ ko ham dekhte haiN
kis shikanje⁴ meN gunahgaar⁵ ko ham dekhte haiN     1.curls 2.hair 3.sorrowful 4.vice, grip, trap 5.sinner – used here sympathetically towards the heart
The poet/lover’s heart is a gunahgaar because it has committed the ‘sin’ of falling in love with the beloved. Thus, we see the sorrowful heart tangled in the curly hair of the beloved. Oh, what a grip we see the poor sinner in.
2
dam¹ nikalne pe bhi aaNkheN jo khuli haiN apni
be-muravvat² tere eqraar³ ko ham dekhte haiN   1.breath, life 2.kindness, consideration 3.agreement, commitment
In the poetic world anything is possible. The poet is dead, his eyes are open and not only is he able to observe things around him, he is also able to write about them! He sees everything around him and says that even in death he has found the beloved’s commitment to him to be unfulfilled. We are left to fill in the blanks on what that agreement was. Was it that she had promised to come and did not even come to his funeral? Or worse, did she bring the rival to the funeral.
3
be piye sair jo karte haiN unheN lutf¹ hai Khaak²
saaqia sabza³ o gulzaar⁴ ko ham dekhte haiN   1.pleasure 2.nothing, very little 3.greenery 4.garden
Those who go out for a saunter without a drink of wine (the wine of mystic knowledge), get scant pleasure from their sightseeing. O saaqi, it is only people like me who have drunk the wine of mystic knowledge that can enjoy the garden and the greenery.
4
ghar baGhair¹ us ke jo sunsaan² nazar³ aata hai
kis nazar⁴ se dar⁵ o diivaar ko ham dekhte haiN     1.without 2.quiet, lonely, desolate 3.appears, seems 4.eyes 5.door
Without her the house looks so desolate. The poet/lover stares at the walls and looks at the door with longing (hoping that she would walk through).
5
haaye kya ho gaya mauqoof¹ falak² ka phirna³
ek muddat⁴ se shab⁵-e taar⁶ ko ham dekhte haiN    1.suspended, stopped 2.sky 3.turning, rotating 4.long time, ages 5.night 6.dark
Sadly, has the rotation of the sky been suspended. For ages now, all I see is a long dark night. Here the darkness of the night represents sorrow.
6
apne qaabu¹ meN jo aa jaaye dil-e zaar² apna
phir teri garmi³-e baazaar ko ham dekhte haiN   1.control, possession 2.sorrowful 3.activity
Here ‘garmi-e bazaar’ means activity in the trade. The ‘trade’ of the beloved is collecting hearts of lovers. The poet/lover has lost his and wishes to get it back. In an unusual expression of bitterness/anger he declares – then I will see what happens to your hobby of collecting hearts.
7
subah to sar ke paTakne¹ se na hogi laikin
aaj girte hue diivaar ko ham dekhte haiN     1.banging
The poet/lover has been banging his head against the wall all through his long night of sorrow. He recognizes that banging the head against the wall is not going to bring about dawn i.e., it is not going to achieve union with the beloved. But he sees the wall cracking and crumbling down.
8
nazm¹ ab tark²-e mohabbat ka zamaana hai qariib³
aur jaanib⁴ nigah⁵-e yaar⁶ ko ham dekhte haiN    1.pen-name of the poet 2.giving up 3.near 4.direction 5.glance 6.friend, beloved
O nazm, it is time that you gave up playing the game of love. Look, the beloved’s glance is pointed in another direction. This could mean ‘you are getting too old to play these games’.