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 is one of several in which josh displays rebelliousness against established traditions.
1
Khud ko gum-karda¹ raah² kar ke chhoRa
havva³ ko bhi tabaah⁴ kar ke chhoRa
kya kya na kiye Khuda ne jannat meN jatan
aadam⁵ ne magar gunaah kar ke chhoRa 1.lost 2.pathway (of righteousness) 3.Eve 4.destroy 5.Adam
Adam committed a transgression in heaven and as a result god turned him and Eve out of there and sent them down to earth. God gave ample warning about not eating the forbidden fruit/grain but it did not help. Adam committed a sin anyway, implying that no matter what the religious establishment does, humans are going to be tempted.
2
mahtaab¹ ki zau² se gulistaan³ hai shiriN⁴
pahlu⁵ meN machal raha hai ek zohra-jabiN⁶
kursi⁷ se buraaq⁸ le ke aaya hai ye kaun
kah do ke palaT jaaye mujhe vaqt nahiN 1.full moon 2.brilliance 3.garden 4.sweet, pleasant 5.beside, in company 6.shining brow, beautiful 7.seat, throne (of god) 8.fabled, winged horse on which mohammed is reported to have ascended heaven during “me’raaj”
Much more than the literal interpretation of these words, the poet means to imply that he does not believe in fancy stories and makes this statement in a rather irreverant way. It is a marvel that such writing/recitation did not meet with a fatwa. The garden is pleasant in the brilliance of the full moon and the beloved is by my side. Who is this that has arrived from seventh heaven riding a winged horse. Ask him to leave, I am busy now.
3
aavara¹ ko aasuda-e-manzil² kar do
nadaan³ ko daanaauN⁴ meN shaamil⁵ kar do
dar⁶ pe aaya hai vahi⁷ le kar jibreel⁸
Khuddaam⁹, Khud us par vahi naazil¹⁰ kar do 1.wanderer, lost 2.comfortable at the destination 3.ignorant 4.wise 5.include, add to 6.door 7.revelation 8.Gabriel, angel 9.servant, attendant 10.bestow
josh implies that “sending of vahi/revelation” is purely a man-made concept. Gabriel on a mission to bring vahi from god to man, is the “avaara”, wandering, lost traveler who is to be guided to the comfort of his destination. Teach/tell him (Gabriel) so he may be included among the wise. Gabriel has come to my door bearing a revelation (from god). O attendant, bestow a revelation upon him (on my behalf).
4
ek kaavish¹-e buzdilaana² hai nazr³ o niyaaz⁴
ek garmi⁵-e a’ajizaana⁶ hai soz-o-gudaaz⁷
jo Khauf⁸ ke durre⁹ se hua hai paida¹⁰
mulla kahta hai us tashannuj¹¹ ko namaaz 1.trying, attempting 2.cowardly, fearful 3.prayer offering 4.ritual offering 5.enthusiasm for 6.humility, supplication 7.pain and pleasure 8.fear 9.whip 10.born, created 11.stiff awkward movement, epileptic seizures
Ritual prayer offerings are nothing but an attempt (at trying to get relief) out of fear. All the crying and/or celebrating is but humble supplication. That which the mulla calls prayer/namaaz is nothing but meaningless movements born out of fear.
5
go la’al¹ ki ye raat hai, pukhraj² ki raat
kuchh mere liye faKhr³ nahiN aaj ki raat
mujh se milne ko jab zamiN par aaya
haasil⁴ hui allah ko me’raaj⁵ ki raat 1.ruby 2.topaz 3.pride 4.obtain 5.ascension (to heaven)
me’raaj is usually used to refer to the story of mohammed’s ascension to heaven – shab-e me’raaj is the night of ascension. Here josh means to express (irreverently) the primacy of man over god, humanity over spirituality and turns tables on me’raaj. This night (equivalent to shab-e me’raaj) may be like rubies and topaz (highly sought after), but it is no special source of pride/joy for me. It is allah who has come to earth and obtained the status of “ascension”-me’raaj.
6
aandhi jaagi hai, shaaKhsaaro¹ hoshiyaar
zarraat² humak³ rahe haiN, taaro hoshiyaar
ek zalzala⁴-e vahm-shikan⁵ raah meN hai
aye dayr⁶ o kaleesa⁷ ke minaaro hoshiyaar 1.perches on branches of trees 2.dust particles 3.reach/jump up 4.quaking, shaking 5.superstition breaking 6.temple 7.church
josh was not quite a socialist or communist but was sympathetic to social justice and welcomed it. Here he is warning those sitting comfortably that a storm is coming and will blow them off their comfortable perches. Even lowly particles of dust have woken up and are rising, to rival the brilliance and heights of stars. A superstition-shaking earthquake is underway and will topple the towers/minarets of mosque and temple.
7
tasKheer¹-e maah² o mahr³ nahiN kaar-e-baland⁴
ye khel hai insaan ki tifli⁵ ko pasand
ab qasr⁶-e sifaat⁷ ko gira kar yaaro
phaiNko aivaan⁸-e zaat-e-mutlaq⁹ pe kamand¹⁰  1.conquest 2.moon 3.sun 4.high/exalted/difficult task 5.childlike 6.castle/fort 7.attributes (of god) 8.palace of 9.absolute/perfect being 10.noose
josh is bent upon overcoming what he considers superstitious beliefs in god. It is not a difficult task to conquer the moon and sun. It is but a game that children like. You should aim at destroying the castle/fort of the (concept of) attributes of god. Having broken it, you should throw a noose around the very concept of the existence of the absolute/perfect being. I think that this interpretation is consistent with the first two misra. Alternatively, by “throwing a noose” josh could mean not negate but fully understand/capture the concept of god, as in iqbal …
jibreel to adnaa sa, hai sayd-e junuuN mera
yazdaaN tah-e daam aae, aye himmat-e mardaana
8
har shaKhs¹ ko d’aava² hai ke huN la-saani³
ab tak na meri qadr⁴ kisi ne jaani
dekha jo ghaRa to jal ke chhalni ne kaha
andhauN ne bhara na hum meN paani 1.person 2.claim 3.without a second, unique 4.value
Every person claims that he/she is unique. No one has yet realized my real worth. When the sieve saw the pot, it said, ‘they are blind (they don’t know my capabilities), so they have not filled me with water’.
9
hota hai anaa¹-e Khaam² kis darja³ shadeed⁴
Khud ko gardaanta⁵ hai ek fard⁶ fareed⁷
shaayed⁸ ye samajh raha hai murGh-e-sahri⁹
meri lai¹⁰ se ubhar raha hai Khursheed¹²   1.ego 2.mistaken 3.how much 4.strong 5.keep repeating 6.individual 7.unique, peerless 8.perhaps 9.rooster at dawn 10.song 12.sun
Oh, how strongly held is mistaken ego. Everyone keeps saying that they are unique. Perhaps the rooster at dawn also thinks that the sun comes up because of his crowing/cackling.
10
pasti¹ jo qareeb² aaye ubhar³ jaa aye josh
dil⁴ hai to bigaRne meN saNvar jaa aye josh
kaunain⁵ teri raah⁶ meN haa’el⁷ haiN agar
kaunain ko Thukra ke guzar jaa aye josh 1.degradation, inferiority, defeat 2.near 3.rise 4.used in the sense of courage 5.both worlds, here and hereafter, material and spiritual 6.path towards the goal 7.obstruct
If you are faced with defeat, rise up O, josh. If you have the courage, arrange/embellish all disarray that you face. If both worlds, spiritual and material, stand in your way, then spurn them both, O, josh.