Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. amir minaaii (1829-1900) was contemporary of daaGh dehlavi and much like him received patronage in rampur and later in hyderabad, where he died and is buried. This is one of three Ghazal that amir minaaii composed in the style of Ghalib’s ‘saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN’. All three are linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’.
1
qaazi¹ bhi ab to aaye haiN bazm²-e sharaab meN
saaqi hazaar shukr Khuda ki janaab³ meN   1.preacher 2.gathering 3.court, threshold (but most often used as an honorific)
The preacher has come to the gathering of wine-drinkers. O saaqi, a thousand thanks in the honourable court of god. This is probably because the qazi will now no longer be able to pester the poet and other wine-drinkers with his moralizing injunctions.
2
jaa¹ paaii Khat² ne us ke ruKh³-e be-naqaab⁴ meN
sooraj-gahan⁵ paRa sharaf⁶-e aaftaab⁷ meN   1.place 2.line of fuzzy hair near the temples on the cheek 3.face 4.unveiled 5.solar eclipse 6.exaltation, nobility, glory 7.sun
It is common to refer to the brilliance of the beloved’s face as ‘the sun’. But there is an anamoly in this she’r that I am unable to resolve; young adolescent boys can also be referred to as the beloved; it is also common to write about the line of fuzzy hair near the temples and on the cheeks of young boys of pre-pubescent age; but this cannot be associated with ‘be-naqaab’ – so this has to refer to a female beloved; but that does not quite go with fuzzy growth on the cheeks. Hence, the anamoly. Thus, a line of fuzzy hair has found a place on the cheeks as can be seen on the beloved’s unveiled face. The sun-like brilliance of her beauty is marred by a solar eclipse.
3
daaman¹ bhara hua tha jo apna sharaab meN
mahshar² ke din biThaaye gaye aaftaab³ meN     1.hem of the robe 2.day of judgement 3.sun, sunlight
My understanding and interpretation is shaky. The poet/wine-lover has been drinking so much that the hem of his robe is wet with wine. When he appeared in this condition on the day of judgement he was made to sit in the sun. What does ‘sun’ signify here? Literally, is he made to sit in the sun to dry him out and absolve him of his sin? Or does the heat of the sun imply burning hell. In either case the interpretation becomes rather pedestrian.
4
rakkha hai tum ne paa¹-e hinaaii² rakaab³ meN
ya phool bhar diye tabaq⁴-e aaftaab⁵ meN    1.foot 2.hennaed 3.stirrup 4.disc, platter 5.sun, bright, silvery
I am not sure about this … I am interpreting ‘tabaq-e aaftaab’ to mean a silver platter and that it symbolizes the stirrup here. Thus, you (the beloved) have placed your hennaed foot in the stirrup. It appears as if a silver platter heaped with flowers is presented.
5
tiir¹-e dua² nishaane pe kyuNkar na baiThta
kuchh zor³ tha kamaaN se siva⁴ izteraab⁵ meN     1.arrow 2.prayer, supplication 3.power 4.beyond, more than 5.restlessness, eagerness
Why would the arrow of supplication not hit the mark/target. After all there is more power in the eagerness of desire than in a bow.
6
haajet¹ nahiN to daulat²-e duniya se kaam kya
phaNsta hai tishna³ daam⁴-e fareb⁵-e saraab⁶ meN     1.need, desire 2.wealth 3.thirst 4.web, trap 5.deception, illusion 6.mirage
The thirsty traveler in the desert, desiring water, gets caught in the illusory deception of the mirage. In much the same way, one who is thirsty of material wealth will get caught in the illusory deception of materialism. Thus, if you don’t have any (materialist) desires, then why would you need any worldly wealth. Only the thirsty get caught in the deceptive illusion of a mirage.
7
misl¹-e nafas² na aamad-o-shud³ se mila faraaGh⁴
jab tak rahi hayaat⁵ rahe izteraab⁶ meN   1.example, similar to, like 2.breath 3.coming and going 4.relief, freedom 5.life 6.restlessness
Just like there is no relief from the ‘coming and going’ of breath as long as there is life, there is also no relief from restlessness/pain. Said Ghalib …
qaid-e-hayaat-o-band-e-Gham asl meN donoN ek haiN
maut se pahle aadmii Gham se nijaat paae kyuN
8
dil ko jala tasavvur¹-e husn²-e maleeh³ se
hoti hai be-namak⁴ koi lazzat⁵ kabaab meN     1.imagination 2.beauty 3.salty 4.without salt 5.taste
Let your heart burn (and cooked into a kabaab) by imagining the salty beauty of the beloved. After all, is there any taste in kabaab without salt!
9
saaqi kuchh aajkal se nahiN baada-kash¹ haiN hum
is Khaak² ka Khamiir³ hua hai sharaab meN    1.‘killed by wine’, wine-lover 2.dust, clay 3.kneaded/fermented dough, composition, formula
O saaqi, it is not that I have recently become a wine-lover. I have been afflicted by this desire from birth. The clay out of which I was made was kneaded into dough in wine.
10
jab naama-bar¹ kiya hai kabuutar² ko aye amiir³
us ne kabaab bheje haiN Khat⁴ ke javaab⁵ meN   1.messenger 2.pigeon 3.pen-name of the poet 4.letter 5.answer
It is customary for the poet/lover to send messages/letters to the beloved through and messenger. The beloved gets annoyed with these messages takes her anger out on the messenger. Thus, O amiir, you should have known that this was going to happen. After you used a pigeon as your messenger, she has sent roasted pigeon kabaab in answer to your letters.