Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. krishn gopal baada maGhmum (1916-xxxx), aTak district (now in pakistan). His father was a scholar of urdu and faarsi and grandfather (tulsidas) was also an urdu shaa’er. Ill-treatment by his stepmother drove him to seclusion and reading. All the books at home including religious texts were in urdu. He read up all of them and learnt to write too. Interest in shaa’eri started from childhood. In college he was a class fellow of jagan nath azad and through him became a disciple of tilok chand mahroom. Continued education including for the Public Service Commission exam. Worked for the government of panjab and later haryana, retiring in 1974. There are at least 10 collections of his shaa’eri including Ghazal, rubaaii and nazm. This Ghazal, composed in the zamin of Ghalib’s, ‘jahaaN tera naqsh-e qadam dekhte haiN’ and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
sitam¹ besh², altaaf³ kam dekhte haiN
do-raNgi⁴-e aalam⁵ ko ham dekhte haiN   1.torture, oppression 2.more 3.favours, kindness 4.two colours/styles like the English phrase two-faced 5.world
I see more oppression and less kindness. I see the two-faced character of the world.
2
sitam¹ par sitam Gham pe Gham dekhte haiN
tamaasha² ye kya dam-ba-dam³ dekhte haiN  
1.torture, oppression 2.spectacle, scene 3.minute by minute, every minute
Torture upon torture, sorrow upon sorrow – what kind of a scene is this that we see every minute.
3
tere husn¹ ki jalva-saamaaniyoN² ko
bahut dekhne par bhi kam dekhte haiN   1.beauty 2.means of manifestation/appearance
This is probably addressed to god. Even if we see the means by which you manifest yourself many times, it is still not enough. We need to see more.
4
Khabar¹ kya keh phir dekh paa’eN na paa’eN
tera jalva² ham dam-ba-dam³ dekhte haiN    1.knowledge 2.manifestation, appearance 3.minute by minute, again and again
Who knows whether we will be able to see it again or not. That is why we see your manifestation every minute – every chance we get.
5
siva¹ hai teri taabish²-e husn³ un se
tere gesu⁴-e Kham-ba-Kham⁵ dekhte haiN   1.beyond, more 2.brilliance, splendour 3.beauty 4.hair 5.curl by curl
The curly hair of the beloved are beautiful. But if we get stuck on looking at the beauty of each curl, curl by curl, then we will miss the big picture. Applying this to the concept of god … the splendour of your beauty is far more than any one of them, but we keep looking at your signs/manifestations one by one.
6
vadii’at¹ hui hai hameN chashm-e-biina²
na dekhoge koi jo ham dekhte haiN   1.trust, grant 2.discerning eye
We (poets or even the poet himself) have received discerning sight as a trust. You will not be able to see what we see (and write).
7
ruKh¹-e aatishiiN² se haTa lo ye parda
keh ham apni aaNkhoN ka dam³ dekhte haiN   1.face 2.fiery, brilliant 3.power
It is commonly accepted that humans do not have the ability to bear the sight of the divine e.g., moosa/Moses fainted on mount tuur when the divine manifested itself as a brilliant flash of light. But here the poet insists that he might do better. Thus, remove the veil from you brilliant face. I want to test the power of my eyes.
8
tere aastaane¹ ki shaan² allaah-allaah
jabiin³-e haram⁴ ko bhi Kham⁵ dekhte haiN    1.threshold 2.glory 3.forehead 4.mosque 5.bowed down
The poet distinguishes between the universal divine spirit and conventional, orthodox houses of worship including the haram and the dair even though ‘dair’ is not written out probably because of rhyming requirements. Thus, by god, the glory of your threshold. See even the forehead of the mosque bows before it.
9
ek adna¹ karishma² hai ye maikade³ ka
keh har jaam⁴ meN shaan⁵-e jam⁶ dekhte haiN    1.low, ordinary 2.miracle 3.tavern 4.cup (of wine) 5.glory 6.short for jamshed
‘jamshed’ is a legendary acient Persian monarch, who is said to have a miraculous cup into which he could look and foretell the future. It is used as a metaphor for a very valuable object. The maikada/tavern is a metaphor for a liberal, secular place where everyone has equal rights and respect. Thus, it is an everyday, ordinary miracle of the tavern that we see the glory of the cup of jamshed in every wine cup.
10
nahiiN laala¹-o-gul² pe shabnam³ ke qatre⁴
ham aag⁵ aur paani baham⁶ dekhte haiN   1.tulip 2.rose 3.dew 4.drops 5.fire 6.together, side by side
The tulip and rose are considered to be deep red, much like fire is. Thus, these are not dew drops on rose and tulip. What we see is fire and water together. Said josh malihabadi …
kali pe bele ki kis ada se, paRa hai shabnam ka ek moti
nahiN! ye heere ki keel pahne, koi pari muskura rahi hai
11
mohabbat ka afsaana¹ bhooleN to kyuNkar²
ise apne dil par raqam³ dekhte haiN    1.legend, story 2.how 3.written, engraved
If we are asked for forget about love, how can we. We see it engraved on our hearts.
12
bas ek sub’h ishrat¹ ke shauq²-e talab³ meN
zamaane⁴ ki har shaam⁵-e Gham dekhte haiN   1.joy, pleasure 2.wish 3.demand, desire 4.world, society 5.night
In poetic tradition dawn is associated with brightness and joy and night is associated with darkness and sorrow. There are two levels at which this she’r can be interpreted. At the personal level … the poet wishes for the dawn of joy and because of the demands of this wish he continues to suffer the sorrow thrown at him every day by the world … the need to earn a livelihood. At a universial level, he sees the wish for happiness that everyone has and he experiences the pain of humanity when they don’t get dark night instead. Said amiir minaaii …
Khanjar chale kisi pe taRapte haiN ham amiir
saare jahaaN ka dard hamaare jigar meN hai
13
nazar¹ hai kuchh aisi hi maGhmum² apni
sitam³ meN bhi shaan⁴-e karam⁵ dekhte haiN   1.sight, discerning eye 2.pen-name of the poet 3.cruelty 4.glory, dignity 5.kindness, benevolence
At a conventional level, the beloved is always cruel to the poet/lover but he greatly values this cruelty because it is a sign that she is paying attention. Thus, O maGhmum, by discerning eye is such that I see the glory of benevolence even in the cruelty that the beloved inflicts on me. But equally, this might apply to the divine beloved – you accept the misfortune of fate as a trial.