Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. panDit javaahar nath saaqi (1864-1916) was born into a kashmiiri panDit family with a long history of serving the emperor starting with akbar. It also had an equally long list of urdu shu’ara. He himself lived under straitened conditions, like a jogi/sufi. He had the good fortune to receive advice/correction for his compositions from three of Ghalib’s shaagird – hargopal tufta, mohammed zakariah zaki, and qurbaan ali saalik. This Ghazal, in the style of Ghalib’s ‘ibn-e mariam hua kare koii’, is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, and also to Ghalib aur kashmiri panDit.
1
jab tak shahiid¹ qalb² na apna kare koii
mumkin³ nahiN keh raabta⁴ paida kare koii 1.sacrifice 2.heart 3.possible 4.relationship
It is not possible to develop a lasting relationship unless one offers their heart unconditionally as a sacrifice.
2
mushtaaq¹-e jalva² mahv³-e nazar⁴ un ke ho gaye
vo dil kahaaN keh vaqf⁵-e tamanna⁶ kare koii    1.eager for 2.manifestation, appearance 3.engrossed in 4.seeing 5.dedicated to 6.desire, longing
The devotees who were eager to see the manifestation of the divine got caught up instead in gazing at the beloved. Here “un ke ho gaye” is probably a reference to the ‘beloved’ and the beloved is supposed to mean ‘the material world’. Thus, they wanted to see/experience the spiritual but got caught up in the material. Who has the heart/tenacity of dedicate themselves to true desire (to see the spiritual).
3
ek mahshar¹-e Khayaal² bana raNg³-e intezaar⁴
kya inbesaat⁵-e v’aada⁶-e farda⁷ kare koii   1.tumult 2.thought 3.style, nature 4.waiting, anticipation 5.joy, delight 6.promise 7.future
The beloved always promises to come in the ‘future’ but never keeps her promise. If the poet/lover were to believe her promise, then the nature of his anticipation/waiting for her will become like a tumultous thought/imagination. So he says, how can one be happy about such a hopeless promise of a future tryst. Said Ghalib …
tere v’aade par jiye hum tu ye jaan jhooT jaana
keh Khushi se mar na jaate agar e’tebaar hota
4
aye farsh-e-Khaak¹ manzar²-e hairat³ baland⁴ hai
parvaaz⁵ taa⁶ ba arsh-e-mu’alla⁷ kare koii    1.floor of the soil i.e., earth 2.scene 3.amazement 4.height 5.flight 6.until, as far as 7.seventh heaven
O dwellers of the earth, the scene of amazement is up high if only one can fly to the seventh heaven and see. Said Ghalib …
manzar ek balandi par, aur ham bana sakte
arsh se udhar hota, kaash ke makaaN apna
5
raNg¹-e fusuuN-Khayaali²-e ushshaaq³ dekhna
ye aarzu⁴ hai mahv⁵-e tamaasha⁶ kare koii    1.style, nature 2.enchanted thinking, unreal expections/thinking 3.lovers, devotees 4.desire 5.engrossed 6.display
This could be either a sarcasm or the exact opposite i.e., admiration of the daring nature of the unreal expectations of devotees/lovers. They are wishing that the beloved (divine beloved) would manifest itself and they will be engrossed in viewing/regarding it.
6
ham bhi dikhaa’eN jalva¹-e r’aanaai²-e Khayaal³
us shooKh⁴ rum-she’aar⁵ ko paida kare koii    1.image, beauty 2.grace, beauty 3.thought, imagination 4.playful, mischievous 5.graceful/playful gait by nature
The prancing of a deer or the graceful run of a herd – rum-e aahu – is an oft used imagery in urdu shaa’eri. Thus, “rum-she’aar” implies a graceful gait by nature, like that of a deer. Of course, the shaa’er shows the grace/beauty of his thought/imagination through his kalaam-composition. He seems to suggest that a beloved of a nature/style graceful enough to deserve the full beauty of imaginative composition does not exist. He can show the grace and beauty of his composition only if a deserving beauty is created for him to write in praise of.
7
sardaada-e-junooN¹ ka hai manzar² rum-e-nigaah³
lauh-e-Khayaal⁴ daaman-e-sahra⁵ kare koii    1.willing to give up head in a frenzy of passion 2.scene 3.fleeting glance 4.writing tablet of thought 5.floor/expanse of the desert
The imagery is of a frenzied lover who receives a fleeting glance from the beloved and is willing to give up his head. In his madness he uses the desert expanse as a writing tablet i.e., runs around the desert making footprints, like the frenzied majnuN.
8
saalik¹ nahiN hai muft²-e nazar³ jalva⁴-e butooN⁵
raushan⁶ zamiir⁷-e diida⁸-e biina⁹ kare koii    1.traveler, seeker (for truth) 2.free 3.sight 4.appearance, revelation 5.secret, mystery 6.enlighten, open 7.conscience, inner spirit 8.eye 9.discerning, seeing
O seeker, the revelation of mysteries (of the cosmos) does not come free of effort. One has to open up the inner spirit, the discerning eye.
9
piite nahiN haiN daam¹ ki mai² rind³-e hosh-mand⁴
kya kaif⁵ ho jo aa ke taqaaza⁶ kare koii    1.price, cost 2.wine 3.wine lovers 4.aware, knowledgable 5.pleasure 6.demand
The aware and knowledgeable wine lovers do not drink wine for which they pay. They get great pleasure when someone comes to demand payment. Here by “someone” is meant the “saaqi”, synonymous sometimes with the beloved.
10
arz¹-e niyaaz²-e saaqi³-e maiKhwaar⁴ hai yahi
ham ko rahiin⁵-e saaGhar⁶-e sahba⁷ kare koii    1.appeal, request, prayer 2.devotional, humble 3.pen-name of the poet 4.wine drinking 5.obliged to, indebted to 6.cup 7.wine
The prayer of saaqi, the wine drinking poet, is that someone make him indebted to (or for) a cup of wine i.e., he wants someone to give him a cup of wine ‘on loan’. Could this be a reference to Ghalib’s famous habit of borrowing money for wine. Does the poet aspire to be like Ghalib.