Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. sardar ahmad KhaaN bahzaad lakhnavi (1900-1974) wrote sufiyaana and aashiqaana Ghazal as well folk songs and lyrics. He was a devout, observant muslim and wrote geet/bhajan to ram and krishn as well. This Ghazal composed in the zamin of Ghalib’s ‘ye bhi mere dil meN hai’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1

noor-aagiini¹-e raNg²-e ishq har manzil³ meN hai
dil to jis mushkil meN tha ab bhi usi mushkil meN hai 1.filled with light/brilliance 2.nature, character 3.stage of the journey
Every stage of journey of life is brimming with brilliance but the difficulties that had beset the heart are still the same i.e., along the journey of life the mysteries of love remain unsolved even if (divine) love shines in full brilliance all along the way.

2
aaNkh meN shauq¹-e nazaara² zauq³-e ulfat⁴ dil meN hai
dekhne vaale meri duniya baRi mushkil⁵ meN hai   1.wish, desire 2.sight, looking 3.taste, desire 4.love 5.difficulty
The poet has left us to guess who the ‘dekhne vaala’ is. Is it the beloved or the poet/lover himself. Either one is possible. Whoever is looking has a wish to see and a desire to love. This has put the life of the poet in great difficulty. This can happen in both cases – if the beloved is the ‘dekhne vaala’, then the poet dies of joy and if he himself is the ‘dekhne vaala’ then he has a problem restraining himself. ‘dekhne vaala’ could even be a third person, who is being addressed.
3
ab na koii aarzu¹ hai aur na hasrat² dil meN hai
ab meri duniya ba-andaaz³-e digar⁴ mushkil meN hai   1.desire 2.longing 3.in the style of, in a way 4.different
I no longer have any desire nor any longing in my heart. My world/life is in difficulty in a different way. Different from what … earlier he used to have desires and longing in his heart. That made life difficult. But now without desires and longing there is a different kind of difficulty. In either case, his life is in difficulty.
4
markaz¹-e chashm²-e jahaaN³ hai vo nigaah⁴-e naazniiN⁵
allah allah, jaazebiyyat⁶ ye ruKh⁷-e qaatil⁸ meN hai   1.centre 2.eyes 3.world 4.glance 5.damsel 6.attraction 7.face 8.killer, beloved
The focus of the eyes of world is on the beloved and on her glances (perhaps to see who the lucky one on whom she casts her eye). By god, such is the attraction of her beautiful face.
5
aap ne kyuN mujh ko roka apni bazm¹-e naaz² se
dekh liije naa keh parvaana³ har ek mahfil⁴ meN hai     1.gathering 2.coquetry, revelry 3.moth 4.gathering
The beloved holds gatherings in which she is centre of attention exercising her coquetry and torturing all admirers around her. She has forbidden the poet/lover from her gatherings. He protests. Look around and see all other such gatherings have a parvaana. The implication is that her gathering is the only one without a parvaana because all the other admirers around her are lustful, not true lovers. He is the only one willing to circle the candle even at the cost of being burnt to ashes.
6
meri ek roodaad¹ meN andaaz²-e sad³ roodaad¹ hai
laakh armaanoN⁴ ka majma⁵ taNgnaa⁶-e dil meN hai    1.story 2.style 3.hundred 4.desires 5.crowd 6.narrowness
In my one story is layered the style of a hundred stories. There is a crowd of a million desires in the small space of my heart i.e., his heart is not large enough to hold the millions of desires he has.
7
ThanDi ThanDi ye hava ye nikhri¹ nikhri chaandni
tauba² tauba meri tauba³ ab baRi mushkil meN hai   1.fresh 2.regret 3.repentence
The poet has repented and given up drinking wine. But now it is early spring and breeze is cool and moonlight fresh. He regrets that he has repented and his repentence is now in danger/difficulty.
8
chhoR de aye naaKhuda¹ kishti Khuda ke naam par
ek kaif²-e mustaqil³ saa hasrat⁴-e saahil⁵ meN hai    1.boatman, oarsman, captain 2.tranquility, exhilaration 3.permanent, constant 4.longing 5.shore
This she’r has a pleasurable juxtaposition of ‘Khuda’ and ‘naaKhuda’. ‘Khuda ke naam pe chhoR dena’ – leave it to god; whatever happens, happens; stop trying. Let god/fate do whatever it wants. It appears that the boat is in a storm and poet would like for the boatman to stop trying to get it to the shore because even though the poet has had a desire to reach the shore, now that he has decided to leave his fate in the hands of god a tranquility has settled on this desire.
9
yak-ba-yak¹ looTa gaya hai kaarvaan-e aql² o hosh³
ek qadam⁴ manzil⁵ ke baahir, yak qadam⁴ manzil⁵ meN hai    1.suddenly 2.mind, intelligence 3.awareness, senses 4.step 5.destination
I am not sure I get it. The literal interpretation appears bland and I cannot figure out what it can mean figuratively. Suddenly the poet’s mind and senses have been looted. Why? Who did it? As a result of this loss sometimes he is walking along the path to his destination and at other times he wanders/drifts away. Has he lost his mind and senses because of the dazzling beauty of the beloved? If so, then his aimless wandering is well within the bounds of the conventions of love. Any help?

10
tum bhi ab dekho meri jaanib¹ nigaah²-e yaas³ se
jo taRap⁴ mujh meN thi paida⁵, vo tumhaare dil meN hai   1.towards 2.glance 3.longing, yearning 4.pain 5.existing
You too now look towards me with a longing glance. The pain (of love) that was in my heart is now also in yours.
11
Khatm¹-e josh²-e shauq³ ka imkaan⁴ hai aye dard-e dil
vo qadam⁵ kaise haTaauN jo qadam manzil⁶ meN hai   1.finish, end 2.warmth, enthusiasm 3.desire, love 4.possibility 5.step 6.destination
The poet/lover is on a journey of love. His feet are firm on the path towards his destination. O my heart, how can I move my step in a different direction when there is a danger that warmth of my desire/love would cool off.
12
kis liye bahzaad¹ tum phirte ho aaKhir kuu-ba-kuu²
jis ki tum ko justuju³ hai vo tumhaare dil meN hai     1.pen-name of the poet 2.lane by lane, aimlessly 3.search
O bahzaad, why do you wander aimlessly from street to street. The one you are searching for is in your heart.