Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed taqi beg maa’el dehlavi (1850-1931). He moved to jaipur, rajasthan, in 1879 looking for patronage and found employment with the local rajah along with a number of cohorts. The extensive collection of his work was posthumously published in three volumes by the rajasthan urdu academy. The biographical note in this collection mentions that he met with Ghalib several times but did not receive any formal instruction. There may be a bit of confusion, because there were two maa’el dehlavi contemporaneously. This is one of four Ghazal that he composed in the zamin of Ghalib’s saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN; all four are linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
donoN hi ko hai ishq ne Daala azaab¹ meN
maiN izteraab² meN huN to vo pech-o-taab³ meN   1.tormented 2.impatient, restless 3.hesitation, uncertainty
Both the poet/lover and the beloved are being tortured by love; he with impatience (to be with her) and she with uncertainty/hesitation (perhaps because of what others might say).
2
shooKhi¹ ne tujh ko chain² diya kab hijaab³ meN
jalve⁴ ne tere qahr⁵ uThaaya naqaab⁶ meN    1.playfulness, mischief 2.peace of mind 3.hiding 4.manifestation, beauty, glory 5.calamity 6.veil
The beloved in mischievous teasing covers her face with a veil, but this does not give her any peace of mind. Her beauty filters through the veil and causes havoc.
3
dushman¹ se jo qaraar² hue haiN vo bhool kar
likh de Khuda kare mere Khat³ ke javaab⁴ meN    1.rival 2.agreements 3.letter 4.answer
The poet/lover has a fevered/jealous mind. He imagines that the beloved has made some agreements/promises with the rival. He has written her a letter and is expecting an answer. He goes on to pray … may god that she writes in answer to my letter all the agreements that she has made with the rival i.e., that he himself become the beneficiary of those agreements.
4
do roz meN hai aane ko mosam¹ bahaar² ka
kab tak bachegi tauba³ shab⁴-e maahtaab⁵ meN   1.season 2.spring 3.repentence 4.night of 5.full moon
The poet/wine lover has repented and resolved to stay away from wine. But it a few more days it will be spring. How long will my penitence be safe on a moonlit night, he wonders. Here is Fitzgerald’s translation of Khayyaam on the subject …
Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before
I swore but was I sober when I swore?
And then and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand
My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore.
5
hairat¹ meN Khud vo rah gaye aaiina dekh kar
maiN kis hisaab² meN huN adu³ kis hisaab meN     1.puzzled 2.count, matter, effective 3.enemy, rival
Both the poet/lover and the rival praise the beauty of the beloved constantly. She is used to it and is pleased but when she looks into the mirror and discovers how beautiful she is, she is stunned/amazed. How can what the poet or the rival says amount to much anymore.
6
bas itni baat t’aan¹ se kah kar chale gaye
kahna ab ek ek se aaye the Khwaab meN   1.sarcasm
The poet/lover dreams and beloved appears in his dream and just says this much sarcastically … now go and brag to everyone that she appeared in your dreams i.e., there is no real chance that she will ever come to him. It is enough for him to be able to brag that he dreamt of her.
7
dushman¹ ko vasl² meN na unheN naaz³ meN mile
jo lutf⁴ uThaaye ham ne savaal⁵ o javaab⁶ meN     1.rival 2.union 3.coquetry, flirting, teasing 3.pleasure 5.questions 6.answers
In past encounters the poet/lover has kept pestering the beloved with questions and she has answered curtly. Never the less he has derived great pleasure from it. Now he wants to preserve that pleasure exclusively for himself and says … may neither the rival get the same kind of pleasure as I did even if he achieves union with you, nor may you get the same pleasure in coquetry.
8
talKhi¹ tumhaare vaa’z² meN hai vaa’ezo³ magar
dekho to kis maze ki hai talKhi sharaab meN   1.bitterness 2.sermon 3.preacher
The preacher has been carrying on about the evils of wine and forbidding its use in bitter sermons. The poet/wine lover invites the preacher to take a taste of wine and experience how ‘bitter’ it is.
9
soojha¹ hai kya mujhe dil-e afsurda² ki ilaaj³
laaya huN chheR chheR ke us ko itaab⁴ meN   1.perceive, think about, devise 2.wilted, sorrowful 3.cure
What a wonderful plan I have devised to cure my broken heart. I annoy the beloved again and again to make her angry. Perhaps now instead of just ignoring him she shows her annoyance.
10
vo lutf¹ mere dil se na jaayega umr bhar²
gaali jo us ne dii thi bigaR³ kar itaab⁴ meN     1.pleasure 2.all life long 3.annoyed 4.anger
I will not forget as long as I live, the pleasure I received when the beloved heaped abuses at me in annoyance and anger.
11
Darta huN khul¹ na jaaye kahiiN raaz² ishq ka
dekha hai chaak-chaak³ garebaaN⁴ ko Khwaab meN    1.open, revealed 2.secret 3.shredded 4.collar
The classical picture of a distraught lover is that of majnuN with torn clothes, particularly a shredded collar. The poet/lover has seen himself in this shape in his dream and is apprehensive that the secret of his love might me revealed. This violates another tradition of love … the lover has to keep it a secret so as not to malign the reputation of the beloved.
12
tauba¹ ke TooTne ka hai maa’el² malaal³ kyuN
aisi to hoti rahti hai aksar⁴ shabaab⁵ meN    1.repentence 2.pen-name of the poet 3.sorrow, regret 4.often 5.youth
The poet/wine-lover has sworn off wine but then breaks his vow/penitence and regrets it. Thus, why do you regret the breaking of this vow O maa’el. This sort of thing happens often in youth.