Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. josh malihabadi (1898-1982) was a fiery, revolutionary, secular, nationalist poet, whose poems of protest against orthodoxy, would not have been well received in pakistan. He was a personal friend of nehru, who tried hard to persuade him to stay in India, when in 1952, he decided to migrate. jagan nath azad wrote ‘tark-e vatan’, a poignant nazm, in which he presciently wrote ‘vahaaN ki bhi fiza tujh ko na raas aaii to kya hoga’. This turned out to be very prescient as apparent from his nazm ‘Ghurbat’ already posted on urdushahkar. This one, ‘naala-e mohaajerat’ is also a poignant reflection of his regret.
1
rahiin¹-e jaur-haa²-e dostaaN huN
dua³-e mustajaab⁴-e dushmanaaN huN    1.mortgaged to, obliged to 2.cruelties, injustices 3.prayer 4.answered, fulfilled
Friends are cruel to me and I am supposed to be obliged to them for these cruelties. The enemy prays (heaping curses on me) and his prayers are answered.
2
kisi ujRe¹ hue ghar ki udaasi²
kisi jalte hue dil ka dhuaaN huN     1.desolate, destroyed 2.sorrow
I am the sorrow of a desolate home, the smoke rising from a burning heart.
3
vo mehmaaN¹ huN keh GhairoN² ka to kya zikr³
mizaaj⁴-e mezbaaN⁵ par bhi giraaN⁶ huN   1.guest 2.other, enemy 3.mention, narrate, talk about 4.mood, disposition 5.host 6.heavy, disagreeable
Why talk about the enemy, I am a guest who is disagreeable to the disposition of the host.
4
jahaaN¹ hai qahat² shaah³ o jauhari⁴ ka
vahaaN gauhar-farosh⁵ o dur-fashaaN⁶ huN    1.where 2.famine, scarcity 3.king, patron 4.jeweller 5.selling offering jewels 6.pearl scattering
Where there is a scarcity of patron and jewellers (who can assess the value of jewells on offer), there I offer jewells and scatter pearls. Of course, the jewels and pearls he offers are his ash’aar.
5
ba-diqqat¹ jo nazar² aa’e sar-e-shaam³
vo ek mub’him⁴ si gard-e-kaarvaaN⁵ huN     1.with great difficulty 2.seen 3.early evening 4.faint 5.caravan dust
I am the dust of the caravan that can be seen only faintly, with great effort, early in the evening i.e., I am way out there and my approach is barely noticed.
6
jise dekho vo deta hai ye aavaaz
vahiiN ruk ja keh maiN na-mehrbaaN¹ huN     1.unable to be generous
Whoever I see, cries out from afar, stop right there, I don’t have the ability to be generous.
7
jo baRhta huN to kahta hai ye har phool
na chhoo lena mujhe, nok¹-e sinaaN² huN   1.point 2.spear
As I approach, every flower cries out, ‘don’t touch me, I am sharp like the point of a spear’.
8
har ek darya¹ se aati hai ye aavaaz
idhar mat aaiiyo, kaf² dar-dahaaN³ huN    1.sea 2.foam 3.in/at the mouth
To be ‘foaming at the mouth’ is to be angry/furious. Thus, every sea calls out, ‘do not come here, I am furious with you’.
9
hilaal¹-e eid tak deta hai aavaaz
keh tere haq² meN teGh³-e be-amaaN⁴ huN    1.new moon 2.in your rightful share, for you 3.sword 4.without protection, unsparing
Normally the new moon, the harbinger of eid, is a joyous sight. But here it becomes (because of its shape) an unsparing sword. Thus, even the new moon of eid, cries out, for you, I am an unsparing sword.
10
har ek chehre¹ pe laahaasil² nigaaheN³
har ek jaade⁴ pe be-masraf⁵ davaa huN    1.face 2.blank, uncomprehending 3.eyes 4.path 5.useless, ineffective
I leave every face with a blank and perplexed look. I am like a useless remedy on the roadside.
11
udhar radd-karda¹-e naaqoosiyaaN² thaa
idhar maa’toob³-e arbaab⁴-e az’aaN⁵ huN   1.rejected 2.conch-blowers 3.object of anger 4.masters 5.muslim call for prayer
Over there I was rejected by the conch-blowing priests. Over here I cause anger in the masters of the az’aan. Editorial comment, the first misra is debatable.
12
sanam-Khaane¹ meN sayd²-e kaafiraaN³ thaa
haram⁴ meN paa’emaal⁵-e mominaaN⁶ huN     1.house of idols, temple 2.target, victim 3.non-believers 4.mosque 5.trodden underfoot 6.believers
In the temple, I am the target of non-believers. In mosque I get run over by the believers. Editorial comment, the first misra is debatable.
13
har ek maathe¹ pe ye likkha hua hai
keh maiN parvarda²-e chaNgez KhaaN huN     1.forehead 2.nurtured by, progeny of
chaNgez KhaaN is used here as symbolic of a cruel slaughterer. Thus, everyone believes that I am the progeny of chaNgez Khaan.
14
har ek sho’le¹ ka sar² ye kah raha hai
javaab³-e guNbad-e-naushiirvaaN⁴ huN     1.flame 2.tip 3.answer 4.the dome of naushiirvaan
naushiirvaan was an ancient Persian emperor. His dome is probably used here as a symbol of something so grand and high that flames would not able to reach it. Thus, the tip of every flame says, ‘I am the answer to the dome of naushirvaan’ i.e., I can rise and burn you up.
15
udhar fir’aun¹ haiN sab aur idhar maiN
yake-az² bandagaaN³-e Khasta-jaaN⁴ huN    1.Pharaoh, tyrant 2.by myself 3.slave 4.broken soul, weak
In this she’r ‘there’ and ‘here’ are used in a different sense than in she’r 11 above. It means opposing me and with me. Thus, confronting me are all tyrants and I am by myself, weak and broken, the only slave serving them.
16
udhar toofaaN¹ saraabi² jhalkiyoN³ ke
idhar maiN taalib⁴-e aab-e-ravaaN⁵ huN     1.storm 2.like a mirage 3.glimpses 4.seeker 5.flowing water
From over there, I can see rainstorms, but they are glimpses of a mirage. Here I am thirsty in a desert asking for flowing water. (He was made many promises to get him to agree to migrate, but they were like a distant mirage – never fulfilled).
17
kabhi the saarbaaN¹ mere gul-o-barg²
aur ab maiN Khaar-o-Khas³ ka saarbaaN¹ huN     1.camel driver, servant 2.roses and petals 3.thorns and straw
Over there roses and petals were in my service. Here I tend to thorns and straw.
18
andhera aur phir itna andhera
kidhar hun, kis faza¹ meN huN, kahaaN huN   1.atmosphere, conditions
Darkness and such darkness. I don’t know where I am, which way I am headed nor the conditions which I face.