Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. josh malihabadi is well known for his fiery nazm. He also wrote many romantic as well as cerebral nazm and Ghazal. His marsia are a celebration of dignified death rather than bowing to injustice even at the cost of life. He also wrote numerous rubaaii. This series is a collection of nearly 300 rubaaiyaat from various books organized by subject. This selection shows josh’s view of the beauty and power of his own verse/suKhan.
1
Kham1 deta huN har loch2 ko talwaarauN ka
zarrauN3 ko pilaata huN lahu4 taarauN ka
zahn-e-insaan5 ke Khaar-o-Khas6 ke haq7 meN
ek khaulta8 favvaara9 huN aNgaarauN ka 1.curve 2.suppleness (of speech/verse) 3.particles of dust 4.blood 5.human mind 6.thorns and hay, dry kindling 7.(used here as) meant for, for the use of 8.boiling 9.fountain
I give suppleness/gentleness to the curve/cutting edge of a sword. I endow (with my words) every dust particle with the brilliance of stars. I am like a boiling fountain of fire that sets ablaze the kindling (of thought) in the human mind.
2
ruKhsaara1-e een-o-aaN2 damak3 uThta hai
har Ghuncha4-e raNg-o-boo5 chiTak6 uThta hai
paRti hai jo mizraab7-e nigaah8-e fankaar9
aafaaq10 ka har taar khanak11 uThta hai 1.cheeks, face 2.this and that, all and sundry 3.lightens up 4.unopened bud 5.colour and fragrance 6.blooms 7.pluck used to play musical strings 8.sight 9.artist 10.horizons 11.reverberates
josh uses the imagery of musician and music to imply poet and verse and also uses analogies of brilliance, colour and fragrance, thus using all senses to implicitly praise poetic verse. Thus, when I write/recite verse the faces of all and sundry light up. Every fragrant and colourful bud blooms. When the pluck of the musician’s sight touches (the lute), all the strings of the sky reverberate with music.
3
qamoos1-e Khayalaat2 ke dhaare haiN hum
gardun3-e muhakaat4 ke taare haiN hum
dekhe jo hameN arsh5 to gir jaaye kulaah6
aivaan7-e suKhan8 ke vo minaare9 haiN hum 1.ocean, also encyclopedia 2.thought 3.sky 4.conversation, poetry 5.heaven 6.cap 7.palace 8.verse 9.towers
We (poets) are flowing currents of the ocean of thought. We are the stars in the sky of conversation/versification. The imagery is one of a country bumpkin whose cap/hat falls off when he looks up at a tall tower. Thus, when heavens (god, angels) look at us, their hat falls off because we are tall towers of the palace of verse.
4
har Khaar1 ko zar-baar2 bana dete haiN
har Khas3 ko chaman-zaar4 bana dete haiN
har zarra5-e jaada6 ko ba-faiz7-e raftaar8
hum misr9 ka bazaar banaa dete haiN 1.thorn, dry brush 2.laden with gold 3.straw 4.garden 5.dust particle 6.pathway 7.by the benevolence of 8.speed, gait 9.Egypt
We make dry brush yield golden fruit. We turn straw into a blooming garden. With the benevolence of our gait (versification) we turn every particle of dust on the pathway into the bazar of Egypt. The bazar of Egypt was where yusuf/Joseph was sold into slavery. His good looks are legendary and are used often in urdu poetry as a metaphor for beauty.
5
farda1 ki zamin par makaaN hai mera
imroz2 ek asr3-e be-zabaaN4 hai mera
boya5 hi nahiN gaya hai ab tak jo shajar6
us ki choTi7 par aashiyaaN8 hai mera 1.tomorrow, future 2.today 3.era, times 4.quiet, unspoken 5.sown, planted 6.tree 7.peak, top 8.nest
My station is on the grounds of the future (I talk of the vision for tomorrow). Today is an unspoken/silent time for me. My nest is at the top of the tree that has not been planted yet. Consider this gem from mirza Ghalib …
huN garmi-e nishaat-e tasavvur se naGhma sanj
maiN andaleeb-e gulshan-e na-aafrida huN
I sing because of the enthusiasm of the pleasure of imagination
I am the bulbul of a garden that has not been created yet
6
lillah1 ab is hijaab2-e manzil3 se nikal
taabaani4-e haq5, zulmat6-e baatil7 se nikal
haazir8 hai pa-e-sujood9 qais-e-eemaaN10
aye laili11-e kufr12-e josh, mahmil13 se nikal 1.for god’s sake 2.curtain 3.destination 4.brilliance, light 5.truth 6.darkness 7.falsehood 8.present 9.for the purpose of obeisance 10.qais/majnun of faith 11.laila (of laila-majnun legend) 12.denial, rebellion 13.curtained carriage
josh uses the laila-majnuN legend to make his point. Laila – the much sought after beauty is “kufr-e josh” rebellious denial of faith by josh. The mad lover ‘majnuN’ is likened to faith ‘qais-e eemaaN’. majnuN is ready to offer obeisance to laila i.e. faith is ready to bow down to the rebelliousness of josh. By god, come out of the curtain behind which you are hiding. O, brilliance of truth, come out of the darkness of falsehood. majnun (metaphor for faith) is ready to bow down to you, O laila (metaphor for rebelliousness of josh), come out of the mahmil.
7
ash’aar1 ko zar-taar2 qaba3 deta huN
aflaak4 ko aahaNg5 bana deta huN
alfaaz6 ko baKhashta7 huN roo-e-asnaam8
aavaaz ko aaNkhauN se dikha deta huN 1.couplets, verse 2.woven of gold thread 3.robe 4.horizons, skies 5.rhythm 6.words 7.grant, bestow upon 8.face/beauty of idols
I grant a robe of gold to verse. I give musical reverberations upon the skies. I bestow the beauty of the beloved to words. My description is so good that you can see sound with your eyes.
8
talwaar ko lachkaauN1 to marham2 Tapke
mar-mar3 ko fishaar4 duN to zam-zam5 Tapke
baKhsha6 hai taKhayyul7 ne vo ejaaz8 mujhe
shole ko nichoR duN to shabnam Tapke 1.supple waves 2.ointment, salve 3.marble 4.press, squeeze 5.spring, water 6.granted, bestowed upon 7.imagination 8.miracle
Imagination has granted me miraculous powers. If I wave a sword about, it drips healing salve instead of blood. I can extract a spring of water out of rock. If were to squeeze a flame, it would drip dew drops.
9
hum ahl-e-suKhan1 haiN ek jins-e-nayaab2
lab3-e soz-e-nihaaN4 se Khushk5 lahje6 shadaab7
manDi meN Khareedte haiN aah-o-shaivan8
bazaar meN bechte haiN taa’oos-o-rabaab9 1.people of verse, poets 2.rare variety/species 3.lips 4.hidden pain 5.dry 6.accents 7.slaked, verdant, watered 8.sighs and laments 9.peacock and lute i.e. dance and music
We, poets are a rare breed. With lips of hidden pain our dry accent can quench thirst. We find sighs and laments in the world and turn around and offer music and dance.
10
lahreN1 leta hai noor2 mere dil meN
jalta hai chiraaGh-e-tuur3 mere dil meN
Khait-e-abyaz4 ko jhanjhana kar jis vaqt
gaata hai mera sha’oor5 mere dil meN 1.waves 2.light 3.lamp of tuur/Mt. Sinai 4.white line 5.awareness/senses
Moses is reputed to have gone to the top of Mt. Sinai (tuur) asking to see god. He saw a manifestation of god in the form of a lightning strike – thus the lamp of tuur is “divine light”. Khait-e abyaz is the white line of predawn on the horizon. josh was known to take early morning walks and has claimed that he gets inspiration to write in the early morning hours. (In the hours of dawn) divine light (inspiration) sloshes in my heart. I pluck the “white line”, like a musical string and my awareness/senses sing (write verse) in my heart.
11
hum abr1-e guhar-baar2 haiN subhaan-allah3
Khallaaq4-e fusuN-kaar5 haiN subhaan-allah
lab6 eid ke chaand haiN, zahe7 taab-e-jamaal8
dil misr9 ke bazaar haiN subhaan-allah 1.cloud 2.pearl raining 3.praise be god 3.praise be to god 4.creator 5.enchantment making 6.lips 7.blessed 8.grandeur of beauty (of the beloved/god) 9.Egypt
We poets, are like clouds that rain down pearls. We create echantment. Our lips are like “eid ka chaand”, blessed be the grandeur of the beauty of the beloved. Eid ka chaand is not only beautiful, but its sight is much sought after. Thus, the lips of the poet (words that come of the lips), also physically likened to a new moon, are much sought after, praise be to the beauty of the beloved (his words are much sought after because the poet writes praising her beauty). Our hearts offer great beauty (as was done in the legendary bazar of Egypt).