Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. gyaan siNgh shaatir (1936-xxxx) hoshiarpur, punjab. He was from a rural agricultural background with no tradition of formal education. His father was annoyed with his desire for schooling and after he graduated from high school with high honours, threw him out of the house at 17. He walked to dehli where he worked as a construction labourer and graduated from the polytechnic college as a civil engineer. Hired by the government on dam construction projects he was sent to Moscow for further training and appointed (1962) as Executive Engineer in hyderabad, where he settled and called home. He started composing in the mid 1960s. In addition to a collection of rubaaii and Ghazal, he published a novel too. ratan panDorvi was his ustaad.
1
ek umr¹ na kar paa’e jis kaam ko farzaane²
ek khel samajhte haiN uss ko tere divaane 1.lifetime 2.wise, learned
The task which the wise could not accomplish in a lifetime, your devoted lovers consider a mere game. What the task was is not specified. It is clear though that it is easy for love to do it while rataionalizing people would hesitate. This highlights the power of love and passion to make the seemingly impossible effortless. Said mohammed iqbal …
be-Khatar kood paRa aatish-e namrood meN ishq
aql hai mahv-e tamaasha-e lab-e baam abhi
2
thi teri nigaahoN¹ meN kya baat Khuda jaan’e
duniya ne banaa’e haiN jis baat ke afsaan’e²    1.eyes, gaze, glance 2.legends, tales, fables
What was it, so powerful and enchanting, in the beloved’s gaze that it has given rise to countless legends and tales throughout the world, a mystery that only god knows.
3
itna to karam¹ ho ab aye josh²-e junuuN³ tera
ek baar to vo kah de’N kya haal⁴ hai diivaane 1.grace, kindness, favour 2.passion 3.madness 4.condition, state
The poet/lover pleads with the intensity of his passion (which he credits with powers that shape his life); do at least one more favour, let the beloved ask, at least once, about the condition/state of her mad lover – if only to show a moment’s kindness.
4
jab husn¹-e sahar² jaaga³, jab daur⁴-e Khirad⁵ aaya
shahroN⁶ meN uTha laa’e sah’raaoN⁷ ko diivaane    1.beauty 2.dawn 3.awoke, was realized, appeared 4.era, age, times 5.wisdom, reason 6.city, urbanization 7.desert, wilderness
The appearance of the beauty/skill/excellence of fascination/creativity and the dawn of age of knowledge, the mad passionate ones brought the wilderness into urban settlements. I am not sure what the symbolism of diivaane and sahraa is here, but I am speculating that diivaane are poets and sahraa is symbolic of mad passionate love. I would welcome any thoughts on what this symbolizes/implies.
5
aye vaadi-e-gul¹ aaKhir taabiir² hai kya iss ki
kal Khwaab meN dekhe haiN viraane³ hi viraane 1.valley of flowers 2.interpretation of a dream 3.desolation, ruins
The poet has seen ruins and desolation in his dream last night. He addresses the valley of flowers, and asks for the interpretation of his dream – like he is talking to himself and wondering what this might mean. The implication is that he is afraid that this beautiful valley might turn into ruins. Could this be a reflection of his experience as a dam builder, when he saw whole villages submerged and destroyed, suggesting a sense of foreboding or loss, even amidst beauty.
6
th’e dair-o-haram¹ donoN sadiyoN² ki musaafat³ par
kya karte chal’e aa’e, nazdiik⁴ the maiKhaane⁵     1.temple and mosque-symbols of conservative narrow-mindedness and exclusion 2.centuries 3.journey, distance 4.taverns – symbol of a liberal welcoming place
The is about the poet/seekers spiritual journey. The temple and the mosque are both conservative places that exclude liberal thinking – they are out of reach, as if they are at a centuries long journey. The tavern on the other hand is nearby and a welcoming place. Thus, what else could the liberal thinkers do, but go to the tavern.
7
tafsiir¹ haiN basti² ki, taqdiir³ hai basti ki
tasviir meN basti ki ujRe⁴ hue viraane⁵    1.interpretation, explanation, meaning 2.settlement, neighbourhood 3.destiny 4.ruined 5.desolation, wilderness
The poet expresses a foreboding sense of ruination – the meaning of settlements, indeed the destiny of settlements is to turn into ruined wildernesses. Is he talking about the natural cycle to building and decay or man-made disasters.
8
milne ko mile un se sau baar magar shaatir¹
vo ham ko na pahchaane², ham un ko na pahchaane 1.pen-name, taKhallus 2.recognize, know, understand
Here the unn could be the beloved or more likely any other human being or urbanized people in general. We meet a hundred times for the sake of meeting but we seldom get to know each other – a theme of alienation and the inability to form a genuine, deep connection.