Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed husain qamar jalaalavi (1887-1968), was born in jalaali, near aligaRh, moved to pakistan after partition/independence. He was popularly known as ‘ustad’, for his expertise in repairing bicycles, which is how he earned his living and lived in penury, in spite of his excellence as a poet. He wrote Ghazal is chaste classical style, many of which have been put to music. This Ghazal is one of many composed by several poets in the style of Ghalib’s “saaqi ne kuchh mila na diyaa ho sharaab meN” and is linked to that icon under Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
banta nahiN hai husn¹-e sitamgar² shabaab³ meN
hote haiN ibteda⁴ hi se kaaNTe gulaab meN    1.beauty, excellence/finesse 2.torturer, beloved 3.youth 4.beginning
‘husn’ most often means beauty but it is also used to say excellence of skill as in ‘husn-e kamaal’. I think that that his how it is used here. The excellence of the beloved in the skill of torturing is not developed in youth, but right from the beginning just like there are thorns with the rose right from the start.
2
jalve¹ hue na jazb² ruKh³-e be-naqaab⁴ meN
kirneN simaT⁵ ke aa na sakiiN aaftaab⁶ meN    1.manifestation, sighting 2.absorbed 3.face 4.unveiled 5.gather, shrink 6.sun
The beauty/radiance of the beloved is unstoppable. Rays of the sun cannot shrink and gather back into it. Just like that the beloved’s radiance cannot be absorbed if her face is unveiled.
3
surme¹ ka til² bana ke ruKh³-e laa-javaab⁴ meN
nuqta⁵ baRha rahe ho Khuda ki kitaab meN    1.collyrium, dark eye-lining powder 2.beauty spot 3.face 4.unequaled (in beauty) 5.dot
By ‘Khuda ki kitaab’ is meant the qur’aan. There is a strong belief and a common expression that you are forbidden to add even a dot to the qur’aan – an emphatic form of forbidding any revisions/changes, because it is complete/perfect. Thus, the beloved’s beauty is also god given and is complete/perfect. Adding a beauty spot to it like making modifications to the qur’aan.
4
bachpan meN ye savaal¹, qayaamat² kab aayegi
banda-navaaz³, aap ke ahd⁴-e shabaab⁵ meN    1.question 2.tumult of doomsday 3.equivalent to – your ladyship 4.times, age 5.youth
The ‘beloved’ is still a child and is asking a child-like question, when is the tumult of doomsday going to begin? The poet/lover replies, “when the time of your youth begins”! I suggest that this not be interpreted as child abuse but more generously, and in comformity with the then sexist norms (which probably continue).
5
sayyaad¹ aaj mere nasheman² ki Khair³ ho
bijli⁴ qafas⁵ pe TooTti dekhi hai Khwaab meN     1.bird catcher 2.nest 3.protection 4.lightning 5.nest
The poet is a bird caught in the net of the bird catcher. He has put him in a cage. He is homesick and dreams of flying back. In a nightmare he sees lightning strike his cage. But immediately his mind goes back to the nest and he is fearful that the interpretation of the dream is that lightning has struck his nest. He has nothing to go back to. He thinks aloud, O birdcatcher, I hope my nest is safe, I dreamt that lightning struck my cage.
6
aaGhaaz¹-e shauq²-e diid³ meN itni Khata⁴ hui
anjaam⁵ par nigaah⁶ na kii izteraab⁷ meN    1.beginning 2.wish, desire 3.to see (the beloved) 4.mistake 5.result 6.look at 7.eagerness
The poet/lover caught a glimpse of the beloved and fell for her. This was the beginning of his yearning to see her again. In his eagerness he neglected to think of the result! He should have known that the beloved would never come to him but string him along.
7
ab chhup rahe ho saamne aa kar, Khabar¹ nahiN
tasviir khiNch gaii hai nigah²-e inteKhaab³ meN    1.awareness, knowledge 2.eye 3.selection
This is addressed to the beloved. Having once come before me, having once shown me your face, you now hide! Don’t you know that your image is now etched in my selecting/discriminating eyes.
8
kishti kisi Ghariib¹ ki Doobi zaruur² hai
aaNsu dikhaaii deta hai chashm³-e habaab⁴ meN     1.poor, helpless 2.for sure 3.eyes 4.bubble
The surface of the bubble is dome-like, similar to an eye. Inside the bubble, at the top a small drop of excess water can be seen. This is like a tear drop. Seeing these bubbles (eyes) and tear drops in these eyes, the poet concludes that surely the boat of a helpless voyager must have drowned in the whirlpool. The river is grieving.
9
mahshar¹ meN ek ashk²-e nadaamat³ ne dho diye
jitne gunaah the meri fard⁴-e hisaab⁵ meN    1.day of judgement 2.tear 3.regret, repentance 4.ledger 5.accounting
On the day of judgement, a single tear drop of repentence was enough to wash away all the sins accounted for in the ledger of his deeds.
10
us vaqt tak rahegi qayaamat¹ ruki hui
jab tak rahega aap ka chehra² naqaab³ meN    1.tumult like that of doomsday 2.face 3.veil
As long as your face is hidden behind a veil any tumult will be held at bay. But after that all hell will break loose.
11
aise meN vo hoN, baaGh ho, saaqi ho, aye qamar¹
lag jaa’eN chaar-chaand² shab-e-maahtaab³ meN    1.pen name of poet, also full moon 2.an expression meaning doubling/quadrupling of beauty 3.full moon night
The ‘vo’ is the beloved. If these four get together – the beloved, the garden, the saaqi and the poet/lover, then the already beautiful full-moon night will get quadrupled in its beauty. Of course there is a play of words with the pen-name of the poet – qamar, chaand and maahtaab.