Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. moin ehsan jazbi (1912-2005) born in aazamgaRh and educated, taught and lived in aligaRh. Member of the Progressive Writers’ Association. He worked as an assistant editor of ‘aajkal’ of which josh malihabadi was also the chief editor. I am not sure if they overlapped but he was close to majaz, faani, sardar jafri and sibt-e hasan. He did his MA from aligaRh and later joined the faculty teaching there until his retirement. He also completed his PhD while teaching and published several collections of poetry.
1
apni nigaah¹-e shauq² ko rusvaa³ kareNge hum
har dil ko be-qaraar⁴-e tamanaa⁵ kareNge hum   1.glance, eyes 2.desire 3.embarrass 4.restless 5.longing
The ‘hum’ here is shaa’er log as a group – perhaps even referring to the Progressive Writers’ Association. We will make every heart restless with desire. Desire for what? and how? Desire for social justice and by composing revolutionary verse. This may end up embarrassing their own ‘nigaah-e shauq’. This could be because they have given up writing about romantic themes and turning to social themes, or it could be because they fear that their call will not be answered, but they are prepared to take that risk.
2
haaN aap ko uThaanaa paRegi nigaah¹-e lutf²
kya muft³ apne raaz⁴ ko afshaa⁵ kareNge hum   1.glance, sight 2.kindness, favours 3.used here to mean uselessly 4.secret 5.reveal
The beloved avoids looking at the poet/lover but he insists that she is going to have to look up and look at him with a glance of favour. He is not prepared to reveal his story of love uselessly. Thus, the beloved could well be the socialist revolution. It will have to grant the movement some favours. They don’t want to reveal their secret to no effect.
3
Khalvat-kade¹ meN dil ke biThaa deNge husn² ko
aur apne jalve³ anjuman-aaraa⁴ kareNge hum   1.chamber of seclusion 2.beauty 3.images 4.embellishment of the gathering
We will keep Beauty esconced in the inner chambers of our hearts. We will then make images of her that we hold, the centre of attraction of gatherings. ‘Beauty’, could be the beloved but much more likely ‘social justice’.
4
aye husn¹ hum ko hijr² ki raatoN ka Khauf³ kya
tera Khayaal⁴ jaagega soya kareNge hum   1.beauty, beloved 2.separation 3.fear 4.thoughts
O beloved, why fear separation from you. We will keep your thoughts alive even as we sleep. The beloved here is social justice and he is expressing confidence that it will come about sooner or later. Such naïve optimism is common among progressive poets.
5
ye dil se kah ke aahoN¹ ke jhoNke² nikal gaye
un ko thapak thapak³ ke sulaayaa kareNge hum   1.sighs 2.waves, gusts 3.pat on the back
I am having difficulty interpreting this. Waves of sighs were restrained in the heart. But it got too much and they said ‘this’ to the heart and left i.e., the poet/rebel began to sigh openly. What is it that they said to the heart – we will pat ‘them’ gently on the back and get them to sleep. Who is the ‘them’ that needs to be comforted to sleep. Is it the beloved, the oppressed masses. It is not at all clear to me.