Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. lala naanak chand khatri naanak (1893-xxxx). lukhnau. His father was a retail cloth merchant, and he started working in the shop and at the age of 16 started his own retail chikan clothing business. No formal schooling after that. Fellow cloth merchants around his shop were deep into urdu shaa’eri and some were poets. They used to have lively conversations during slack business times. naanak fell in love with urdu and started composing Ghazal. He has full diivaan. He could not write or even read urdu script. Wrote in muRhia mahajani script. Not sure how he started composing marsia but publicly read his first marsia in 1918. Was invited to read in majaalis all around lukhnau and also as far away as hyderbad (1926). This Ghazal is linked to ‘saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN’, Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, Theme Index page.
1
kaamil¹ huaa jo ishq-e risaalat-ma’aab² meN
maqbuul³ ho gayaa vo Khudaa ki janaab⁴ meN    1.perfect, complete 2.exalted prophet, mohammed 3.accepted 4.presence
The one who perfects/immerses themselves in the love of the exalted prophet becomes accepted in the divine court.
2
hotaa agar na vo ruKh¹-e raushan² naqaab³ meN
baRh jaati Khiiragi⁴ nigah⁵-e aaftaab⁶ meN 1.face 2.shining, dazzling 3.veil 4.dazzlement, blindness 5.gaze 6.sun
The poet imagines that if the radiant face of the beloved weren’t veiled, he would be even more dazzeld as if he were gazing at the sun.
3
tirchhi nigaah¹ rahti hai har dam² naqaab³ meN
madd-e-nazar⁴ hai qatl⁵ hamaara hijaab⁶ meN 1.sidelong glance 2.every moment 3.veil 4.objective/aim in sight 5.slaying 6.hidden, secretly
The beloved is a sly killer; though she is veiled, the sidelong glances remain deadly. The poet sees the veil not as concealment but as a stage where the game of love and destruction continues. It suggests intentional allure. The hijaab throws a veil over the killing, so that the beloved doesn’t get accused of the death of the lover.
4
tasviir-e husn¹ aa’ina-e dil pe khiiNch luuN
bhuule² se bhi agar vo kahiiN aa’eN Khwaab meN 1.beauty 2.even in forgetfulness
The poet/lover does not have high hopes of the beloved appearing before him, not even in his dreams. But if she were to ever, in forgetfulness, appear in his dreams, then he would etch the beloved’s image on his heart’s mirror.
5
afsos¹ vasl²-e dost³ kaa armaan⁴ rah gayaa
baa’d⁵-e fanaa⁶ bhi iss dil-e Khaana-Kharaab⁷ meN 1.alas 2.union 3.friend, beloved 4.longing, unfulfilled desire 5.after 6.annihilation, death 7.ruined/derelict heart
The regret of not attaining union with the beloved lingers even after metaphorical or literal death. The heart remains desolate, suggesting an eternal, unfulfilled longing.
6
dekheN keh tuul khiNche¹ shab²-e hijr³ kis qadar⁴
dekhe haiN ham ne gesuu⁵-e dildaar⁶ Khwaab meN 1.tuul khiiNchna-to stretch something longer 2.night of 3.separation 4.how much 5.hair, tresses 6.beloved
The beloved’s hair are supposed to be dark and long. The poet/lover is setting up an imaginary competition between the night of separation and the beloved’s hair. He appears to be challenging the night of separation … let us see how long you can make it; I have seen the beloved’s hair in my dream – perhaps he is walking along the length of her hair and thinks that his dream-walk/length of the beloved’s hair will last longer than the night.
7
tum bhi lagaa do baRh ke janaaze¹ meN mere haath
manzuur² hai shariik³ jo honaa savaab⁴ meN 1.funeral bier 2.acceptable 3.join, participate 4.blessing, reward
Not too long ago (even in my lifetime) it was not unusual for even strangers to consider it a courtesy/act of piety to walk at a funeral procession, at least for a few steps, if they came across one. They might even lend a shoulder. If strangers can do this, why not the beloved. The poet invites the beloved to join his funeral procession so she might gain spiritual reward. It’s a layered request-perhaps sarcastic or deeply emotional-asking for recognition in death if not in life.
8
sabr¹ o qaraar² hijr³ meN hamraah⁴-e dil ga’e
dard⁵ o alam⁶ ne saath diyaa izteraab⁷ meN 1.patience 2.peace, tranquility 3.together with 5.pain 6.sorrow 7.restlessness
The poet suggests that pain and sorrow are his true, dependable friends. They remained with him during his time of restlessness but the patience and tranquility, together with his heart, left him during the time of separation from the beloved.
9
paikaaN¹ huzuur² aap ke naavak³ kaa rah gayaa
armaan⁴ ki tarah⁵ dil-e Khaana-Kharaab⁶ meN 1.tip of the arrow 2.honourific-applied here to the beloved 3.arrow 4.longing, unfulfilled desire 6.ruined
It is not unusual for a hunter to pull out the arrow after shooting his prey. The beloved has shot an arrow (a sidelong glance), wounded the lover and pulled out the arrow (looked away). But the tip of the arrow (a lingering wound) remains in the heart. It is just like his unfulfilled desires that remain in his ruined heart. The arrow doesn’t quite go through, doesn’t kill the lover. Said Ghalib …
tere tiir-e niim-kash ko koii mer’e dil se puuchhe
yeh Khalish kahaaN se hoti jo jigar ke paar hota
10
karvaT¹ badal-badal² ke kaTi³ hai tamaam⁴ raat
kii hai taRap-taRap⁵ ke sahar⁶ izteraab⁷ meN 1.side on which you lie down 2.changing (changing sides-tossing and turning) 3.passed 4.all, whole 5.writhing in pain 6.dawn 7.restlessness
The entire night is passed in anguish, tossing and turning, twisting with pain, leading into a dawn born of torment. It’s a classic image of sleepless, tortured lovers, heightened by helpless anticipation.
11
aye jaaN¹ shab²-e firaaq³ meN (ne?) taRpaa⁴ diyaa mujhe
uTh-uTh⁵ ke dard⁶ ne dil-e pur-izteraab⁷ meN 1.life, beloved 2.night of 3.separation 4.tortured 5.rising/increasing again and again 6.pain 7.full of restlessness
The poet is tortured throughout the night by recurring waves of pain, his heart fully consumed by restlessness. It’s a continuation of the emotional thread from the previous couplet, reinforcing helpless love. I am not sure if there is a typo … IF it is read aye jaaN shab-e firaaq ne taRpa diya mujhe, the the she’r makes a lot more sense. O my life, the night of separation has tortured my. I spend the whole night tossing and turning.
12
naanak¹ hazaar haif² laRakpan³ guzar⁴ gayaa
ham ko phaNsaa⁵ ke panja⁶-e ahd⁷-e shabaab⁸ meN 1.pen-name 2.alas, sorrows 3.childhood 4.passed 5.caught 6.clutch, grip 7.age, period 8.youth
The poet laments the loss of innocent childhood and his entrapment in the complexities of youth, likely hinting at love, desire, and emotional entanglement or perhaps the need to earn a living. The sorrow is not just of lost time, but of lost simplicity.