Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mirza asadullah KhaaN Ghalib (1797-1869). I dare not write any introduction. On more than one occasion Ghalib has warned his readers that he needs no introduction or even address. I humbly comply. Also see the many Ghazal composed in this bahr/zamin by well known and not so well known poets over the years. kalidas gupta raza dates this Ghazal to 1816, when Ghalib was 19 years old! Also of note is that during this time he predominantly used the taKhallus asad.
1
phir kuchh ek dil ko be-qaraari¹ hai
siina juuyaa²-e zaKhm-e-kaari³ hai     1.restlessness 2.seeking, searching 3.fatal blow, wound that will be kaargar/effective
The poet/lover is once again strangely restless. It must be because his bosom seeks that fatal blow from the beloved that will achieve the result.
2
phir jigar¹ khodne lagaa naaKhun
aamad²-e fasl³-e laala-kaari⁴ hai    1.liver, heart 2.arrival 3.season 4.tulip-making
In urdu poetic tradition ‘jigar’ is the seat of life/determination/strength. Shooting it with an arrow would be straightforward and would kill quickly. But digging the fingernail into it will be a slow and painful. Thus, the poet is undergoing excruciating and prolonged pain. It is the arrival of the season of making tulips. The coming of spring and growing of tulips increases passions and the beloved might be digging with her nails. Or, ‘laala-kaari’ may be that art of composing verse and that is painful for the poet.
3
qibla¹-e maqsad²-e nigaah³-e niyaaz⁴
phir vahi parda-e amaari⁵ hai    1.focus, direction 2.purpose, goal 3.gaze, sight 4.offering, homage 5.seat and canopy for riding on a camel
The imagery is of the beloved, laila, riding in an amaari on a camel, behind a curtain. The poet/lover, majnuN has been wandering the desert looking for laila. The focus of his gaze is the curtain of the amaari because that is all he gets to see IF he comes across the camel in his wanderings.
4
chashm¹ dallaal²-e jins³-e rusvaaii⁴
dil Kharidaar-e zauq⁵-e Khwaari⁶ hai   1.eye, glance 2.broker, seller 3.commodity, goods 4.disrepute 5.taste, desire 6.disgrace, denigration, blame
The eye is the seller and the heart is the buyer. What the eye has to sell is a commodity of disgrace, and that which the heart wants/desires to buy is disgrace/blame. Most interpretations that I have seen suggest that the commodity for sale is tears because that is what the eyes have to offer. These tears announce to the world the condition of the lover, which invites blame. Therefore, unrequited love in the heart, which wants to buy this commodity, must have a desire for blame. I think that there is another possibility. The commodity that the eye has to offer can be a bold glance – looking/gazing at the beloved. This also invites blame for its boldness.
5
vahi sad-raNg¹ naala-farsaaii²
vahi sad-guuna³ ashk-baari⁴ hai    1.hundred colours/styles 2.tear-shedding 3.hundred times, hunderd fold 4.raining tears
The life of the poet/lover is going to waste without having any effect. His style of shedding tears in a hundred different colours/ways and hundred fold increase in the intensity of crying all has been to no avail.
6
dil havaa¹-e Khiraam²-e naaz³ se phir
mahsharistaan⁴-e be-qaraari⁵ hai   1.breeze, atmosphere, desire 2.gait, style of leisurely walking 3.coquetry 4.place of congregating for the final day of judgement (punishment) 5.restlessness
It is implied that ‘judgement’ for the poet/lover is not reward but punishment/torture. In spite of this the heart again has a craving to see her coquettish gait/walk. It is like walking into this place where torture will be meted out, and it seems like the place will be crowded – all the other admirers/lovers will be there too.
7
jalva¹ phir arz²-e naaz³ kartaa hai
roz-e baazaar-e jaaN-sipaari⁴ hai   1.face, beauty, beloved 2.speaking, displaying 3.coquetry 4.offering of life
Again, the beloved is displaying her coquetry. It is the day when the market opens, and is busy with her many admirers/lovers offering their lives.
8
phir usi bevafaa¹ pe marte haiN
phir vahi zindagi hamaari hai   1.unfaithful
Again I/we die for (favours of) the beloved. It is the same old story of our life.
9
phir khulaa hai dar¹-e adaalat²-e naaz³
garm⁴ baazaar-e faujdaari⁵ hai    1.door 2.justice, court 3.coquetry, beloved 4.hot, busy 5.criminal court
The doors of the courthouse of coquetry are open again. The activity of criminal justice is fully underway. This could be that the beloved herself is holding court and her many admirers/lovers are being tried for the crimes they committed. What kinds of crimes … surely they did not neglect her or go to another beloved! They might have not been discrete enough in expressing their love for her. On the other hand, this could be court where coquetry/the beloved is under trial for having killed so many of her admirers.
10
ho rahaa hai jahaan meN andher
zulf¹ ki phir sarishta-daari² hai   1.hair, curls 2.record keeping, lining up cases and evidence, writing down judgements
There is an interesting double meaning – “andher” can be darkness as well as injustice. The dark, curly hair of the beloved are in a position to influence the outcome. Spreading dark hair is poetically imagined as spreading of darkness. But it also means that in the court of law there is no chance for the apellant (admirer/lover) to make any headway, because it is the beloved who is in-charge.
11
phir diyaa paara¹-e jigar² ne savaal³
ek fariyaad⁴ o aah⁵ o zaari⁶ hai     1.piece, fragment 2.liver, heart 3.question, demand for justice 4.appeal 5.sigh 6.crying
The liver/heart has been fragmented – either broken because of unrequited love or perhaps even pierced and cut by the glance of the beloved. One of the fragments has raised a demand for justice. But then “savaal uThaana” can also mean raise a cry of pain, asking for kindness. The first meaning carries over from the imagery of the criminal court. But the second meaning becomes more appropriate when we realize that appeals, sigh and crying is going on.
12
phir hue haiN gavaah¹-e ishq² talab³
ashk-baari⁴ kaa hukm⁵ jaari⁶ hai     1.witness 2.love, admirer, lover 3.demand, summon 4.shedding tears 5.orders 6.issued, continuing.
The beloved is holding court. The lover/admirer is under trial. Witnesses have been summoned – probably to testify against the accused. Orders of the court have been issued or maybe this is a continuation of existing orders – that the lover keep crying.
13
dil o mizshgaaN¹ kaa jo muqdama² thaa
aaj phir us ki ruu-bakaari³ hai     1.eye-lashes 2.court case 3.face forward for action, brought to hearing
This is a dispute between the heart (of the poet/lover) and the eyelashes (of the beloved). Traditionally, eyelashes are like daggers and they pierce the heart, which has resulted in a court case and it being brought forward today – again. The “again” gives the story away. The case has been heard before and the judgement was not in favour of the victim. It is likely to go against the heart again.
14
be-Khudi¹ be-sabab² nahiN Ghaalib
kuchh to hai jis ki parda-daari³ hai     1.ignoring, indifference, trance, ecstacy 2.without reason 3.veiling, hiding behind a veil/cover
Who is “be-Khud”. If it is the beloved, then there is a reason for her indifference O, Ghalib. She must be hiding something i.e. her inclinations towards the rival. It the admirer/lover is “be-Khud”, then he is in a trance of ecstacy. There must be a reason for it. In such a case, there is a strong likelihood that the beloved is mystical divinity. The hidden reason for the ecstacy of the lover is the magnificance of this divine beloved.