Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. priyamvada siNgh ilhaan (1991-living), dehli. Lives in bikaner, rajasthan. It is fascinating that a young woman with a name like that would be composing such excellent Ghazal. She writes that even as a child, she was interested in old bollywood songs from an era when classical shu’ara were also lyricists, adapting Ghazals as lyrics. This, combined with a natural inclination towards poetry, and the revolutionaries singing or quoting ash’aar or Ghazal in their letters also inspired her to learn. The effort to learn urdu slowed because of lack of a mentor. Then she joined All India Radio where it was necessary to learn proper pronunciation of urdu and memorize ash’aar for quoting wherever necessary. Social media friends helped her along, and the first couplets came towards the end of 2018 and Ghazal in 2019. She has done much in these short three years. This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘jahaaN tera naqsh-e qadam dekhte haiN’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
nazar¹ ka ye e’jaaz² ham dekhte haiN
har ek samt³ vo hi sanam⁴ dekhte haiN    1.sight, glance 2.miracle, magic, illusion 3.direction 4.beloved, god
It is a miracle of our sight that we see in every direction an image of the beloved. ‘sanam’ is used extensively to also mean the divine beloved i.e., god. Also, if e’jaaz is used sarcastically, then can mean illusion. Thus, I could interpret this as – we imagine god’s presence in all directions, and this is merely an illusion/imagination. Elsewhere, shahed says …
ye kaisa anokha bharam dekhte haiN
jahaaN tera naqsh-e qadam dekhte haiN
2
idhar aate un ke qadam¹ dekhte haiN
sitam² hai keh hai ye karam³ dekhte haiN   1.steps 2.cruelty, torture 3.kindness, favour
Their steps are seen coming in this direction. Let us see if this turns out to be torture or a favour. Intriguingly, the poet leaves ‘un’ undefined. Whose steps are these that are coming in this direction … is it the beloved, is it god or could it even be the audience turning towards the poet. A slightly different variation of sitam and karam goes along with each choice.
3
juda¹ dekhte haiN zamiiN aasmaaN ko
Khuda ka juda¹ ye karam² dekhte haiN     1.separate, different 2.kindness, benevolence
‘zamiiN-aasmaaN’ in combination is often used to mean all the universe. And who is it that is the principal in ‘dekhte haiN’. If we take that to mean all humanity … then, we see the universe as separate from god, we see this as a distinct gift of god (when in classical sufiyaana view they are the same).
4
na duniya rahegi na ham tum hi hoNge
abas¹ ek dooje² ko ham dekhte haiN     1.uncontrollable, useless, without purpose 2.each other
In the common fatalistic view this world is transitory and illusionary. The ‘real’ world is the ‘next’ world. Thus, neither will this world survive, nor will you and I remain. We look upon each other (our lives on earth) as without purpose. This can be interpreted as an implied questioning of this view. Elsewhere, shahed says …
hai ziist ka maqsad kya, allaah hi jaane hai
maqsad tu Khud apna, bana leta to kya hota
5
adaavat¹ ki buniyaad² hi rashk³ par hai
adu⁴ Khwaab meN Khud ko ham dekhte haiN     1.rivalry, enmity 2.foundation, basis 3.envy 4.rival
Envy is the basis of rivalry i.e., when we perceive the beloved as favouring another, then we are envious and consider the other to be a rival. The second misra can be re-ordered in prose form as … hum Khwaab meN Khud ko adu (ki tarah) dekhte haiN, i.e., we see ourselves in our dreams as our own rivals.
6
bahut milne se ayb¹ dikhte haiN kam kam
bahut dekhte haiN jo kam dekhte haiN     1.shortcomings, defects
In English a commonly used saying is ‘familiarity breeds contempt’, meant as an exhortation – keep your distance, otherwise you might cause the other person to devalue you. But here the poet seems to suggest the opposite. It seems to mean that meeting frequently is a good thing. Liking increases and you see less and less defects and those who see fewer defects are able to see more.
7
kisi ne na dekha jo zaahir¹ tha sab par
jahaaN² meN sub apne bharam³ dekhte haiN    1.visible, apparent, plain 2.world 3.illusions, superstitions, biases, respect, reputation (see notes)
In modern day usage the words ‘bhram’ and ‘bharam’ are used interchangeably and cause confusion. Original dictionary meanings – ‘bhram’ – suspicion, confusion and ‘bharam’ – respect, reputation. Two opposite interpretations emerge (a) nobody sees that which can be plainly seen by all. In this world all look at things with our own bias and see illusions (b) nobody sees that which plainly visible to everyone. In this world we see our own respect and credibility.
8
bura lag gaya hai mera such hi itna
tere jhooT ko log kam dekhte haiN     The truth of what I said hurt so much that people failed to see through the lies you spoke. This could be interpreted in a more universal way … people like to hear only good things, whether they are true or not. Thus, if I speak the truth, they don’t like it that much but if you flatter, they like it. It could also be interpreted from a feminist point of view … a woman’s statement is discounted.
9
nahiN Tas-se-mas¹ hote dekhoge ham ko
raqeebo² tumhaara bhi dam³ dekhte haiN   1.move one inch, remain steadfast 2.rivals 3.power
You will not see me change my position one bit. O rivals, I am ready to test your power.