For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
ہوا چاک گریباں اپنا ۔ اِمام بخش ناسخؔ
۱
جوشِ سودا ہے سوادِ شبِ ہجراں اپنا
نہ ہوی صبح ہوا چاک گریباں اپنا
۲
نہیں ممکن کہ کوئی خارِ تعلق چبھ جائے
اپنے دامن کو سمیٹے ہے بیاباں اپنا
۳
ذکر کل کا تو ہے کیا انجمن آرائے ازل
کہ نہ اُلجھا کبھی کانٹے سے بھی داماں اپنا
۴
آگ پردے کو لگا دے نہ کہیں نالۂ دِل
اے پری رُو نہ چھپا چہرۂ تاباں اپنا
۵
ایسے لاغر جو نہ ہوتے تو سُناتے کیوںکر
تنگ ہے خانۂ زنجیر سے زنداں اپنا
۶
چوندھیا کر ابھی گِرتے ہیں زمیں پر تارے
کیوں بدن زیرِ فلک کرتے ہو عریاں اپنا
۷
کچھ جوانی ہی میں ہم مستِ مئے عشق نہیں
کہ خمستاں کے سوا تھا نہ دبستاں اپنا
۸
نعرہ زن میں نہیں محفل میں تو کہتا ہے وہ گل
آج بے بلبلِ نالاں ہے گلستاں اپنا
۹
ہر ورق بالِ پری سے ہے مشابہ ناسخؔ
کہ پری زادوں کے ہے وصف میں دیواں اپنا
हुआ चाक गरेबां अपना – इमाम बख़्श नासख़
१
जोश-ए सौदा है सवाद-ए शब-ए हिज्रां अपना
न हुई सुबह हुआ चाक गरेबां अपना
२
नहीं मुम्किन के कोई ख़ार-ए ता’लुक़ चुभ जाए
अपने दामन को समेटे है बियाबां अपना
३
ज़िक्र कल का तो है क्या अंजुमन आरा-ए अज़ल
के न उल्झा कभी कांटे से भी दामां अपना
४
आग पर्दे को लगा दे न कहीं नाला-ए दिल
अए परी-रू न छुपा चेहरा-ए ताबां अपना
५
ऐसे लाग़र जो न होते तो सुनाते क्यूंकर
तंग है ख़ाना-ए ज़ंजीर से ज़िंदां अपना
६
चौंघिया कर अभी गिर्ते हैं ज़मीं पर तारे
क्यूं बदन ज़ेर-ए फ़लक करते हो उर्यां अपना
७
कुछ जवानी हि में हम मस्त-ए मै-ए इश्क़ नहीं
के ख़ुमिस्तां के सिवा था न दबिस्तां अपना
८
नारा-ज़न मैं नहीं महफ़िल में तो कहता है वो गुल
आज बे-बुलबुल-ए नालां है गुलिस्तां अपना
९
हर वरक़ बाल-ए परी से है मुशाबह नासख़
के परी-ज़ादौं के है वस्फ़ में दीवां अपना
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. shaiKh imaam baKhsh naasiKh (1772-1838) faizabad and lakhnau. Educated in arabi and faarsi. Refined linguistic skill, keen poetic sensibility and sound training. Although he had many disciples among the nobility, he refused to be associated with any court and remained of independent thought. Left lakhnau for allahabad because of political bickering. Was highly regarded in dehli circles for his language skills and enjoyed a reputation like that of dard, sauda and mir. A senior contemporary of Ghalib, this Ghazal in the same style as Ghalib’s ‘zikr us parivash ka aur phir bayaaN apna’ is linked to ‘Ghalib peshrau ham-asr’ along with several others.
1
josh1-e sauda2 hai savaad3-e shab4-e hijraaN5 apna
na hui sub’h hua chaak6 garebaaN7 apna 1.passion 2.trade, procure 3.blackness 4.night 5.separation 6.tear, shred 7.collar
The mad, passionate lover yearns for union with the beloved but equally values the pain of the night of separation. So the darkness of the night is nothing but a manifestation of his passion for the pain of ‘hijr-separation’. And dawn is but when he tears his collar and his passionate heart shines bright.
2
nahiN mumkin1 keh koii Khaar2-e ta’aluq3 chubh4 jaaye
apne daaman5 ko sameTe6 hai biyabaaN7 apna 1.possible 2.thorn 3.relationship, assocation 4.pierce, entangle 5.hem of the robe 6.gathered, pulled 7.wilderness
The classical image is that of majnuN, the mad passionate lover who wanders through the desert, his clothes get tangled in thorns and are torn. Also, daaman sameTna, literally pulling up the hem of the robe to avoid getting it soiled also means ‘not getting involved/associated’. Thus, this she’r may have reference to naasiKh’s independence of court intrigues and politics – that is a wilderness of thorns through which he passes gathering up the hem of his robe. It is not possible that any thorn of association would pierce/entangle his robe.
3
zikr1 kal ka to hai kya anjuman-aaraa2-e azal3
keh na uljha4 kabhi kaaNTe se bhi daamaaN5 apna 1.narrative, story 2.organizer/designer of the gathering/world 3.eternity 4.tangled 5.hem of the robe
This is addressed to the organizer of the eternal world i.e., god. Why talk just about yesterday, I have never let my robe get tangled even in thorns. The use of ‘even’ implies that he has not collected roses in his robe either – neither intrigues nor rewards.
4
aag1 parde2 ko laga de na kahiN naala3-e dil
aye pari-ruu4 na chhupa chehra5-e taabaaN6 apna 1.fire 2.veil 3.lament 4.fairy faced 5.face 6.shining, glowing
The poet/lover in pain and passion laments intensely and his breath is hot because of the intensity of his passion. He is fearful that it is so hot that it might set fire to the veil of the fairy faced beloved. Thus, he advises her not to veil herself, a rather novel way of getting the beloved to reveal her face.
5
aise laaGhar1 jo na hote to sunaate kyuNkar2
taNg3 hai Khaana4-e zanjiir5 se zindaaN6 apna 1.emaciated, thin, weak 2.why 3.narrow, confined 4.home – in this case hole in the link of the chain 5.chain 6.prison cell
The mad lover has been chained, confined, starved and has become so thin that he is forced to complain. Why else, would I say this, my prison cell is even more confining than the links of my chain.
6
chaundhiya1 kar abhi girte haiN zamiiN par taare
kyuN badan2 zer3-e falak4 karte ho uriyaaN5 apna 1.brilliant flash 2.body 3.under 4.sky 5.naked, disrobed
This is all the jealous lover’s imagination. He does not himself have any view of the beloved. He is fearful that rivals might see her. The moon may have set and the night may otherwise be dark, but there are still flashes of light because of falling stars. Why do you disrobe yourself under the sky at such a time, he says.
7
kuchh javaani hi meN ham mast1-e mai-e-ishq2 nahiN
keh KhumistaaN3 ke siva4 tha na dabistaaN5 apna 1.intoxicated 2.wine of love 3.tavern 4.except for 5.house of learning, school
It is not that I was intoxicated with the wine of love only in my youth (I still am) because I had no schooling except for what I received in the tavern (which is a liberal place and symbolizes universal love and love of the divine).
8
naara-zan1 maiN nahiN mahfil2 meN to kahta hai vo gul3
aaj be-bulbul4-e naalaaN5 hai gulistaaN6 apna 1.raising cries/wails 2.gathering 3.rose 4.without the nightingale 5.wailing, crying 6.garden
The beloved is the ‘gul-rose’, the poet/lover is the ‘bulbul-nightingale’, the ‘gulistaaN-garden’ is her court. He comes every day to her court and sings in praise of/in love of her. Either the poet/lover was not there or he was not crying as usual. The beloved missed it and remarked that without the wailing nightingale the garden is just not the same.
9
har varaq1 baal2-e pari se hai mushaabah3 naasiKh4
keh parii-zaadoN5 ke hai vasf6 meN diivaaN7 apna 1.page 2.feathers, wings 3.looking alike, reflection of 4.pen-name of the poet 5.children of fairies, beloved 6.praise 7.book/treatise of verse
Every page of my book of verse looks like the wing of a fairy, O naasiKh, because the whole collection of my verse is in praise of the beauty of the beloved.
shaiKh imaam baKhsh naasiKh (1772-1838) faizabad and lakhnau. Educated in arabi and faarsi. Refined linguistic skill, keen poetic sensibility and sound training. Although he had many disciples among the nobility, he refused to be associated with any court and remained of independent thought. Left lakhnau for allahabad because of political bickering. Was highly regarded in dehli circles for his language skills and enjoyed a reputation like that of dard, sauda and mir. A senior contemporary of Ghalib, this Ghazal in the same style as Ghalib’s ‘zikr us parivash ka aur phir bayaaN apna’ is linked to ‘Ghalib peshrau ham-asr’ along with several others.
1
josh1-e sauda2 hai savaad3-e shab4-e hijraaN5 apna
na hui sub’h hua chaak6 garebaaN7 apna
1.passion 2.trade, procure 3.blackness 4.night 5.separation 6.tear, shred 7.collar
The mad, passionate lover yearns for union with the beloved but equally values the pain of the night of separation. So the darkness of the night is nothing but a manifestation of his passion for the pain of ‘hijr-separation’. And dawn is but when he tears his collar and his passionate heart shines bright.
2
nahiN mumkin1 keh koii Khaar2-e ta’aluq3 chubh4 jaaye
apne daaman5 ko sameTe6 hai biyabaaN7 apna
1.possible 2.thorn 3.relationship, assocation 4.pierce, entangle 5.hem of the robe 6.gathered, pulled 7.wilderness
The classical image is that of majnuN, the mad passionate lover who wanders through the desert, his clothes get tangled in thorns and are torn. Also, daaman sameTna, literally pulling up the hem of the robe to avoid getting it soiled also means ‘not getting involved/associated’. Thus, this she’r may have reference to naasiKh’s independence of court intrigues and politics – that is a wilderness of thorns through which he passes gathering up the hem of his robe. It is not possible that any thorn of association would pierce/entangle his robe.
3
zikr1 kal ka to hai kya anjuman-aaraa2-e azal3
keh na uljha4 kabhi kaaNTe se bhi daamaaN5 apna
1.narrative, story 2.organizer/designer of the gathering/world 3.eternity 4.tangled 5.hem of the robe
This is addressed to the organizer of the eternal world i.e., god. Why talk just about yesterday, I have never let my robe get tangled even in thorns. The use of ‘even’ implies that he has not collected roses in his robe either – neither intrigues nor rewards.
4
aag1 parde2 ko laga de na kahiN naala3-e dil
aye pari-ruu4 na chhupa chehra5-e taabaaN6 apna
1.fire 2.veil 3.lament 4.fairy faced 5.face 6.shining, glowing
The poet/lover in pain and passion laments intensely and his breath is hot because of the intensity of his passion. He is fearful that it is so hot that it might set fire to the veil of the fairy faced beloved. Thus, he advises her not to veil herself, a rather novel way of getting the beloved to reveal her face.
5
aise laaGhar1 jo na hote to sunaate kyuNkar2
taNg3 hai Khaana4-e zanjiir5 se zindaaN6 apna
1.emaciated, thin, weak 2.why 3.narrow, confined 4.home – in this case hole in the link of the chain 5.chain 6.prison cell
The mad lover has been chained, confined, starved and has become so thin that he is forced to complain. Why else, would I say this, my prison cell is even more confining than the links of my chain.
6
chaundhiya1 kar abhi girte haiN zamiiN par taare
kyuN badan2 zer3-e falak4 karte ho uriyaaN5 apna
1.brilliant flash 2.body 3.under 4.sky 5.naked, disrobed
This is all the jealous lover’s imagination. He does not himself have any view of the beloved. He is fearful that rivals might see her. The moon may have set and the night may otherwise be dark, but there are still flashes of light because of falling stars. Why do you disrobe yourself under the sky at such a time, he says.
7
kuchh javaani hi meN ham mast1-e mai-e-ishq2 nahiN
keh KhumistaaN3 ke siva4 tha na dabistaaN5 apna
1.intoxicated 2.wine of love 3.tavern 4.except for 5.house of learning, school
It is not that I was intoxicated with the wine of love only in my youth (I still am) because I had no schooling except for what I received in the tavern (which is a liberal place and symbolizes universal love and love of the divine).
8naara-zan1 maiN nahiN mahfil2 meN to kahta hai vo gul3
aaj be-bulbul4-e naalaaN5 hai gulistaaN6 apna
1.raising cries/wails 2.gathering 3.rose 4.without the nightingale 5.wailing, crying 6.garden
The beloved is the ‘gul-rose’, the poet/lover is the ‘bulbul-nightingale’, the ‘gulistaaN-garden’ is her court. He comes every day to her court and sings in praise of/in love of her. Either the poet/lover was not there or he was not crying as usual. The beloved missed it and remarked that without the wailing nightingale the garden is just not the same.
9
har varaq1 baal2-e pari se hai mushaabah3 naasiKh4
keh parii-zaadoN5 ke hai vasf6 meN diivaaN7 apna
1.page 2.feathers, wings 3.looking alike, reflection of 4.pen-name of the poet 5.children of fairies, beloved 6.praise 7.book/treatise of verse
Every page of my book of verse looks like the wing of a fairy, O naasiKh, because the whole collection of my verse is in praise of the beauty of the beloved.
