Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. George Puech shor (1823-1894). aligaRh, meeraTh and dehli. French and German descent from both grandfathers. Received education in urdu and faarsi at the insistence of his father. Six collections of Ghazal and a diary describing the events of 1857. He was well known in poetic circles including Ghalib, daaGh and tufta. This Ghazal modeled after Ghalib’s saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
aaNsu¹ haiN jis qadar² mere chashm³-e pur-aab⁴ meN
utni haiN hasrateN⁵ dil-e Khaana-Kharaab⁶ meN 1.tears 2.as much, as many 3.eyes 4.water filled i.e., tear filled 5.longing, unfulfilled desires 6.ruined home, broken heart
There is an abundance of tears in the poet/lover’s tear-filled eyes. There are as many unfulfilled desires in his broken/ruined heart as there are tears in his eyes. Thus, the cause of his tears (sorrow) is the unfulfilled desires – probably the beloved’s indifference.
2
jab dam¹ laboN² pe aa’e hai uss dam³ voh aa’e hai
maiN bhi azaab⁴ meN huN ajal⁵ bhi azaab meN     1.breath, life 2.lips 3.moment 4.torment, suffering 5.death
It is customary for the beloved to visit the lover on his death bed. His life is ‘hanging on the lips’ i.e., he is about to die and yet she has not arrived. She arrives only at the last minute. All this while the lover is in agony waiting for her. Seeing his agony, death itself feels tormented or perhaps death is restless because it has to do its job and move on.
3
farmaao¹ aaj sharm² ke d’aave³ kahaaN gaye
jyuN⁴ buu⁵-e gul⁶ ho jaama⁷ se baahar itaab⁸ meN     1.speak, say 2.modesty, shyness 3.claims 4.like, similar to 5.fragrance 6.rose 7.garment, also jaama se baahir hona means to lose control of oneself 8.anger, rage
The background appears to be that the beloved always claims that her modesty prevents her from speaking and meeting. But now she has lost complete control of herself and is publicly and (perhaps) loudly abusing him. He reminds her of her claims of modesty … what happened to those, he asks and says that she has lost control of herself like the rose loses control of its fragrance. Perhaps the poet means to imply that even her rage and public expression of it is pleasant to the lover like fragrance.
4
hai aap ki jafaa¹ se zyada² meri vafaa³
kar lo hisaab⁴ farq⁵ nahiiN kuch hisaab⁴ meN 1.cruelty, betrayal 2.more 3.loyalty, fidelity 4.counting, reckoning 5.difference
The lover is always faithful to the beloved and she always teases and tortures him by playing around with other admirers. He claims that his fidelity is far more than her cruelty and invites her to count/reckon/measure it herself. She will not find any difference, he is confident.
5
dekho nigaah¹-e naaz² se marne ke hum nahiiN
aab-e-hayaat³ hai isi teGh⁴-e pur-aab⁵ meN     1.glance 2.coquetry 3.water of life, elixir of immortality, amrit 4.sword 5.shiny, sharp
There is a nice play of words with aab-e hayaat and pur-aab – aab can mean both water and luster/sharpness. The lover always desire to be killed at the hands of the beloved and she slays him with her sharp sword. Figuratively, her coquettish glance can be the sword with which she slays him. He declares he won’t die from a coquettish glance, instead, he finds immortality in the sharp and shiny sword of love.
6
ye voh hai daaGh¹-e dil ke qayaamat² ko ho pukaar
gar³ aks-zan⁴ ho aa’iina-e-aaftaab⁵ meN     1.scar 2.doomsday 3.if 4.reflection striking/falling on 5.mirror of the sun
The scar on the heart is so deep and dramatic that if it falls on the ‘mirror of the sun’, then it would cause such an eclipse that people would shout that doomsday is at hand.
7
tum bazm¹ meN hamaare to aao kabhi zara
voh hum dikhaa’eNge jo na dekha ho Khwaab meN 1.gathering
I am not sure who this invitation is to – the beloved or the preacher/moralizer. Perhaps to the latter who always preaches abstinence. He is invited to come to the gathering at that tavern at least once, even for a little while, and the wine-lovers will show him such a pleasant time as he has never even dreamt of.
8
harjaai-pan¹ ke taan’e² se bar³ aa’ii aarzu⁴
jhunjhla⁵ ke aap⁶ aa’e voh Khat ke javaab⁷ meN     1.habitual infidelity 2.sarcasm 3.fruitful 4.desire, longing 5.irritated 6.herself 7.reply
Lovers write letters of entreaties to the beloved and send them via messenger. Most of the time, letters go unanswered. This time, the lover wrote sarcastically accusing the beloved of being a harjaa’ii and that too habitually. This raised her temper and in extreme irritation she showed up herself to scold him. Of course, her arrival is an answer to his prayers, never mind that she is irritated. See the many delightful ways in which letters are answered …
vo hi Khat us ne bhej diya kyuN javaab meN – momin KhaaN momin
ham hi uTha kay likh deN koi Khat javaab meN – ajay paanDay sahaab
qaasid ki laash aa’ii hai Khat kay javaab meN – raghunath siNgh haajir dehlavi
jab naama-bar kiya hai kabuutar ko aye amiir
us ne kabaab bheje haiN Khat ke javaab meN – amiir minaa’ii
and many more
9
rulva¹ raha hai Khoon ke aaNsu² ye daur³-e jaam⁴
daur-e-falak⁵ hai gardish⁶-e jaam⁴-e sharaab meN     1.making someone cry 2.tears 3.circulation, passing around 4.cup 5.rotation of the sky, vicissitudes of time, trials and tribulations of life 6.movement
The passing around of the wine cup is making the lover cry tears of blood. It is as if the trials and tribulations of life, the calamities that befall the lover are reflected/embodied in the movement/circulation of the cup. Why this is so is not clear. Perhaps the saaqi/beloved is passing it around to the Ghair rival (perhaps more than one rival) and this is making the lover cry tears of blood. Any other suggestions?
10
bedardiyaaN¹ Ghazab² haiN jalaa kar voh dil mera
kaht’e haiN ye keh ra’h ga’ii Khaami³ kabaab meN     1.cruelties 2.a colloquial expression meaning ‘so much’ 3.defect
The beloved visits many kinds of cruelties on the lover and burns his heart (of jealousy). She ‘burns/roasts it into a kabaab’ and says there is a defect/shortcoming in it. Perhaps it is not cooked enough and she is getting ready for more cruelty.
11
likkhi hai lajavaab¹ Ghazal aap ne ye shor²
ek aur bhi ho is se sivaa³ inteKhaab⁴ meN     1.without example, unequaled 2.pen-name 3.beyond, more/better than 4.selection
I imagine that there is a tarahii mushaa’era in which a Ghazal of Ghalib is given as a tarah model (saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN) for all poets to compose for the evening. shor reads this Ghazal, praises it as beyond compare and invites himself to read another one even better than this. He then proceeds to read the second Ghazal (also posted on this site as iss ke javaab meN).