Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. Khaliil-ur-rahmaan raaz (1946-xxxx), sahaaranpur, from where he got a ‘maulvi faazil’ qualification. MA, philosophy, aligaRh and a PhD in “iqbaaliyat” from umm-ul-qaraa university, makkah, arabia. He worked in doha, qatar. He has a collection of verse, a collection of urdu sonnet and a book on iqbaal. This is one of a series of Ghazal composed in the style of siraaj auraNgabadi’s “na to tu raha, na to maiN raha, jo rahi so be-Khabari rahi”.
1
na nazar¹ ki diida-vari² rahi na jigar³ ki be-jigarii⁴ rahi
magar ahl⁵-e daava-e shauq⁶ se teri barham⁷-e naaz⁸ bhari rahi   1.sight, eyes 2.clear-sightedness 3.liver-considered to be the seat of courage 4.fearlessness 5.people of 6.claim of love 7.annoyed 8.coquetry
This appears to be the age old habit of one generation putting down the next one. Neither clear-sightedness of eyes nor fearlessness remain (in the character of the next generation). They all make claims of love/passion for the beloved, but she is not deceived by their claims. Her coquettish favours remain withheld – she is annoyed with them. Of course it is ambiguous who the beloved is. The conventional beloved is annoyed because their claim of love is superficial. Or the beloved might be learning/knowledge which does not open its page to them because they don’t work hard and sincerely at acquiring knowledge.
2
kabhi jaag uTha kabhi so gaya kabhi khil¹ uTha kabhi kho gaya
dil-e mast²-e jaam³-e jamaal⁴ ko na Khabar⁵ na be-Khabari⁶ rahi     1.blossom 2.intoxicated 3.cup 4.beauty 5.awareness, worldly knowledge 6.trance of divine love, mystic knowledge
This is probably saying that the new generation is neither here nor there … it is neither an expert at worldly knowledge nor observant of spiritual traditions. Thus, sometimes it was awake, at other times asleep. Sometimes it blossomed, at other times it was lost. The heart that was drunk on (worldly) beauty, was neither aware (knowledgeable of the material world) nor in a trance (of mystic love).
3
ye ajab¹ havas² ka dayaar³ hai yahaaN aam⁴ anaa⁵ ka Khumaar⁶ hai
mujhe apne sahra⁷ se pyaar hai mujhe raas⁸ dar-ba-dari⁹ rahi     1.strange 2.greed, lust 3.regime, region 4.common 5.ego 6.intoxication 7.wilderness 8.suitable 9.wandering
The poet portrays himself (and perhaps his generation) as true/sincere lovers like majnuN who wandered the wilderness in search of his laila. The next genration was merely lustful. Thus, this is a regime of a strange lust. Here the intoxication with ego is common. I love my wilderness. Wandering suits me fine.
4
na dil-o-dimaaGh ko hai sukooN¹ na zamaaN² makaaN³ ko qaraar⁴ hai
maiN safar⁵ meN huuN keh hazar⁶ meN huuN meri zindagi safari rahi     1.tranquility, satisfaction 2.time 3.space 4.rest, stability 5.journey 6.at home, at rest
The shaa’er is neither satisfied nor does he take any rest. Neither time nor place stands still for him. Whether he is on a journey or at home, his life is always moving/changing i.e., he is always seeking/learning.
5
kahiiN chaand jugnu parinda¹ rut² kahiiN raNg dhuup dhanak³ nrit⁴
mere daur⁵ meN dil-e muztarib⁶ ye Ghazal ki shiishagari⁷ rahi     1.bird 2.season 3.rainbow 4.dance 5.times, age 6.restless, sorrowful 7.glass blower
Composing a Ghazal is like ‘shiishagari’ the art of glass blowing – creating delicate and fragile art. But in this age, O my sorrowful heart, this art seems to have been lost. The new shu’ara merely play with words sometimes calling the moon a firefly, at other times comapring a bird with the seasons or colour with the play of sun and rainbow. The implication is that there is deep thought content to their verse.
6
yahaaN makr¹ bhi hai jadal² bhi hai yahaaN bal³ ke saath meN chhal⁴ bhi hai
fan⁵-e tesha-gar⁶ ke kamaal⁷ se zan⁸-e hiila-gar⁹ hi khari¹⁰ rahi     1.lying 2.conflict 3.power 4.deception 5.skill 6.stone cutter (with pickaxe or chisel) 7.excellence 8.woman 9.excuse making 10.pure, genuine
I think that he is still talking about the Ghazal style of the new generation of poets. He also makes reference to the story to shirin-farhaad where farhaad was the stone-mason working hard at digging a channel to win the hand of shirin. Thus, (in the Ghazal of the new generation) there is lying, conflict, powerplay and deception. All that farhaad (in the new telling) does is to carve and an idol of the beloved (paint a word picture) in which the beloved makes excuses to put off the lover. Only such an image of the beloved is considered genuine.
7
ye tabassum¹-e sar²-e anjuman³ vo adaavatoN⁴ ke diloN meN phan⁵
naye daur⁶ meN na’ii nasl⁷ ki yahi shaan⁸-e diida-vari⁹ rahi     1.smile 2.head, open/main part 3.gathering 4.rivalry, jealousy 5.hood of a cobra, fangs 6.times, age 7.generation 8.dignity 9.clearsightedness
In this age, the new generation, smiles in the open gathering, but in their hearts they carry rivalry/jealousy like the fangs of a snake. This goes for the dignity of their clearsightedness.
8
jo Khuda-shanaas¹ nahiiN hua kabhi Khud-shanaas² na ho saka
vo jo munkiriin³-e Khuda hue unheN Khud se be-Khabari⁴ rahi     1.god knowing 2.self-aware 3.deniers 4.unaware, ignorant
Those who do not understand/acknowledge god cannot understand themselves. Those who deny god are ignorant of themselves (their own values/character). Editorial comment – I beg to differ. Those who seek to learn because they do not accept ‘received belief’ are very acutely aware of their own value system, because it is well thought out rather than blindly accepted.
9
mere fan¹ ke zauq²-e latiif³ ko sanad⁴ ahl-e-zauq⁵ ki chaahiye
magar aaj tak sar⁶-e anjuman⁷ ye talab⁸ dhari⁹ ki dhari rahi     1.skill 2.taste 3.subtle, refined 4.testimonial 5.people of taste, other poets, critics 6.head, prominent part 7.gathering 8.demand, need 9.kept in place untouched
The poet thinks that he has a subtle/refined taste of versification. He wants other shu’ara to acknowledge it. But from the most prominent part of the gathering (mushaa’era) his need has been left untouched. Nobody has acknowledged his refined taste. Editoria comment – I am not surprised!
10
jo the taalibaan¹-e ilaaj²-e Gham³ unheN gahri niiNd sulaa diya
na maraz⁴ rahaa na mariiz⁵ hi ye Ghazab⁶ ki chaaragari⁷ rahi     1.seekers, those who demand/need 2.cure 3.pain (of love) 4.ailment 5.stricken 6.disastrous 7.healing
There is someone here who is a fake healer who is practising disastrous healing. The stricken needed a cure for their ailment. Instead, the fake healer put them to deep sleep so that to all appearances there was neither anyone stricken with that ailment nor any such ailment existed. The ailment is the pain of genuine (let us say sufiyaana) love. The fake healer may be the system created by the new generation. They simply did away with the concept of this genuine pain and declared that there was no one stricken.