Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. murli dhar shaad (~1910?-1950). His diivaan was published posthumously by his uncle, shaNkar lal shaNkar, who was himself a shaa’er and died soon afterwards (~1952). shaad’s father, founder of lyallpur mills and later DCM, established the ‘shaNkar-shaad Memorial Trust’ which organizes annual hind-pak mushaa’era (with political interruptions in 1965 and covid in 2020), aimed at promoting urdu and communal harmony. shaad also organized annual mushaa’era in lyallpur in the 1940s inviting shu’ara from all over India, for the employees of the textile mills. This Ghazal is in the zamin of Ghalib’s ‘koii ummeed bar nahiN aati’.
1
choT jab tak ubhar nahiN aati
laakh dekheN nazar¹ nahiN aati   1.seen, visible
Until and unless the wound swells up, becomes a bruise, you may search for it all you want, but it cannot be seen. This is a reference to the wounded heart, where the poet/lover tries to hide his love before others so as not to malign the reputation of the beloved.
2
un ko apne mareez¹ ki haalat²
kya Ghazab³ hai nazar⁴ nahiN aati   1.afflicted, sick 2.condition 3.used here to mean injustice 4.seen, visible
The poet/lover refers to himself as one who is afflicted with pain of unrequited love. His condition is pitiful. He feels that it is very unjust that she cannot even see it.
3
meri qismat ka faisla¹ m’aaloom
maut² bhi aaj agar nahiN aati   1.decision, judgement 2.death
The poet/lover has been pining in love. He knows the ‘faisla’ of the beloved. She is not going to come. But he wishes that his fate would at least allow Death to come and finish his suffering. So, if does not die today, then he will know what the decision is about his fate – continued suffering.
4
ab to ruk ruk ke saaNs aati hai
ab haNsi chaaragar¹ nahiN aati    1.healer
The poet/lover is on his death bed and even his breath is halting, gasping. O, healer, there is no way that I can laugh any more. Healer, here could be the beloved herself.
5
tu na rindoN¹ se bol aye vaa’ez²
baat karni agar nahiN aati   1.wine lovers, patrons of the tavern 2.preacher
The tavern is usually a safe spot for wine lovers/patrons of the tavern – this could well be the wine of love, mysticism that goes beyond the bounds of faith. Occasionally, the preacher shows up at the tavern and lectures/admonishes the patrons trying to pull them into conventional orthodoxy. The poet/reveler does not like this lecture. O, preacher do not talk to wine lovers, if you don’t know how to talk.
6
mar raha vo kahaaN Khuda jaane
dil ki koii Khabar¹ nahiN aati    1.news
The poet/lover has lost his heart and is cursing it – like I don’t know where the hell it is. I do not get any news of the heart. Alternatively, this could be about the qaasid/messenger who has taken his missive to the beloved and has not returned. The poet/lover is waiting to hear about his heart/love.
7
vo javaani ke sub karishme the
ab Khushi bhool kar nahiN aati
1.miracles, illusions    The poet/lover used to be happy in his youth, perhaps because of having newly fallen in love and still hopeful that the beloved would reciprocate. That was the miracle/illusion of youth, not any realism. Now that he is older, he realizes that happiness will evade him and never ‘come’, even by mistake.
8
shaad¹ subah-e qayaamat² aati hai
shaam³-e Gham⁴ ki sahar⁵ nahiN aati   1.pen-name of the poet 2.doomsday 3.night 4.pain, sorrow 5.dawn
For the poet/lover life is like a long night of pain and sorrow. It will end/dawn will arrive, only if the beloved comes. Of course, she will never come even until doomsday. Thus, O, shaad, doomsday may dawn but the end of the night of sorrow will never be.