Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. baam dev sharma rishi paTialavi (1917-1999) originally from hoshiarpur in punjab. He was a disciple of nasim noormahli, who in turn was a disciple of daaGh dehlavi. He has written exquite Ghazal in chaste urdu and many progressive nazm in chaste urdu as well as in spoken hindi/urdu/hindustani. He was part of group of friends who organized joint celebration of one another’s religious festivities to promote communal harmony. This Ghazal is linked to others with the radeef ‘ki baat kareN’ on the Refrain Index page.
1
qais¹ ki baateN kareN mansoor² ki baateN kareN
ham ko’i moosa³ nahiN jo tuur⁴ ki baateN kareN    1.name of majnuN of laila-majnuN legend 2.mansoor-al-hallaaj, sufi scholar, rebel 3.Moses 4.mount tuur in sinaaii
Let us talk of the stories of qais and mansoor. qais is a legendary lover known for his passionate love for laila, while mansoor is renowned sufi scholar who rebelled against orthodoxy and was put to death. qais is symbolic of mad/passionate love and mansoor for his principled stand refusing to recant his teaching in the face of a death sentence. The poet holds up these two loves against the orthodox teaching of moosa/Moses brought down as the ten commandments from mount tuur – we are not moosa to talk about divinity, let us talk about the passion and courage of qais and mansoor.
2
izteraab¹-e shauq² meN ab dil Thahrta hi nahiN
dil kahiN Thahre to ham dastoor³ ki baateN kareN    1.restlessness 2.desire, love 3.traditions
The heart is always restless in the pursuit of its intense love. It has no time to stop. If it were ever to stop and rest, then we may discuss norms and traditions. Until then, the intensity of love pre-empts all other discussion.
3
kaun samjhe dil ki baateN kis ko itna hosh¹ hai
kya kisi se jazbah²-e mastoor³ ki baateN kareN    1.awareness, understanding 2.emotions 3.hidden, inner
Who can truly understand the feelings of the heart and who possesses the sensitivity to comprehend its hidden emotions. How can we talk about these emotions if we don’t understand them.
4
yeh bhi sahr¹-e ‘ishq ka adna² sa hai husn³-e kamaal⁴
Khaak ke putle⁵ bhi raNg o noor ki baateN kareN 1.magic, enchantment 2.ordinary 3.beauty 4.excellence, perfection 5.clay idol i.e., human being
The subject peforming the magic in this she’r is ‘ishq’. An ordinary magical trick of the beauty of the excellence of ishq is that even human beings talk of ‘raNg o noor’ i.e., they can conceive of raNg – colour/beauty/syles and noor – brilliance. It is ishq that gives them this ability.
5
yeh sukoot¹-e shab², mah³ o anjum⁴ ki yeh sargoshiyaaN⁵
jii⁶ meN hai is ‘aariz⁷-e pur-noor⁸ ki baateN kareN    1.silence, peace and quiet 2.night 3.moon 4.stores 5.whispers 6.heart 7.face, image 8.full of light, bright
The poet reflects on the quiet of the night and the whispers of the moon and stars. This is a moment conducive to contemplation of that ‘bright face’. This could be the bright face of the beloved or of the divine.
6
naarah¹-e mansoor² ko samjheN³ to ham samjheN unheN
kahne sun’ne ko to sab mansoor ki baateN kareN    1.cry, call 2.mansoor-al-hallaaj 3.understand
The cry of mansoor (for which he was charged and put to death) was ‘an-al-haq’ meaning ‘I am the Truth’ i.e., declaring his one-ness with the divine. Thus, if we understood the meaning of his cry then we will understand ‘them’. It is not entirely clear but I think that the ‘unheN-them’ of the first misra and the ‘sab-everyone’ of the second misra refer to the same group – everyone around the poet. They all talk about mansoor without really understanding the meaning of his cry/call.
7
duur hai hadd¹-e nazar² se jalvah³-e husn⁴-e tamaam⁵
duur ke jalvoN ko dekheN duur ki baateN kareN 1.limit, boundary 2.sight 3.manifestation 4.beauty 5.complete, perfect
The manifestation of ‘perfect beauty’ i.e., divine beauty, is far … far beyond the limits of sight. Thus, we cannot see it. But still, let us see/contemplate these far away manifestations and let us talk about them.
8
ham shikastah-paa¹ kahaaN, un ka dar²-e ‘aali³ kahaaN
aql⁴ ki baateN kareN, dastoor⁵ ki baateN kareN    1.broken legs, broken/defeated 2.door 3.hight, exalted 4.mind 5.traditions
We have limited capabilities. It is as if our legs are broken. Where are we – broken and defeated – compared to that exalted door. Never the less, let us engage in intellectual discourse and talk about traditions. It is not clear whether he is questioning/rejecting traditions or asking us to adopt them. I think the former.
9
jin ki aaNkhoN meN samaaya¹ hai rishi², un ka jamaal³
bhool kar bhi kyuN voh Khuld⁴ o hoor⁵ ki baateN kareN    1.contained, filled 2.pen-name of the poet 3.beauty, glory 4.heaven 5.angelic virgin
O rishi, those whose eyes are filled with the beauty of the beloved. Why would then even in a forgetful moment contemplate heaven or angels. They are quite happy to contemplate the beauty of the beloved.