Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. raghupati sahay firaq gorakhpuri (1896-1982) pre-eminent urdu shaa’er, scholar of farsi and sanskrit. Was nominated to Indian Civil Service but chose to participate in the freedom movement. After independence he chose an academic career, teaching English at Allahabad University. Various ash’aar in this she’r have nuances that hint at politics, mysticism and romantics. It is quite a mix, with each she’r standing on its own. This Ghazal is linked to others of the same radeef on the Refrain Index page.
1
har naala¹ tere dard se ab aur hi kuchh hai
har naGhma² sar-e-bazm³-e tarab⁴ aur hi kuchh hai     1.wail, lament 2.song 3.openly before the gathering 4.joy, music
Who is this addressed to; who is ‘tere’. Most likely, it is the poet himself, as a rejected lover. Because of the intensity of his pain, every lament of his, is ‘something else’, very powerful, unique. Every song that you sing before the gathering of merriment, is something else i.e., your song of joy carries in it the pain that you feel.
2
arbaab¹-e vafaa² jaan bhi dene ko haiN tayyaar³
hasti⁴ kaa magar husn-e-talab⁵ aur hi kuchh hai    1.owners, masters 2.fidelity, true to promise 3.ready 4.existence, life 5.elegance/beauty of demand
‘arbaab-e vafaa’ are those who are loyal to the beloved or committed to a cause. They are so firm in their commitment that they are ready to die. But the ‘elegance of the demands of life’ is something else. What might this be. Could it be a deeper understanding of love, where the process of striving, yearning, and seeking is more valuable than even the ultimate sacrifice of life.
3
yeh kaam na le naala¹-o-faryaad²-o-fuGhaaN³ se
aflaak⁴ ulaT dene kaa Dhab⁵ aur hi kuchh hai     1.lament 2.appeal, protest 3.wailing, crying 4.skies, fate, power structure 5.method
Do not try to accomplish this task with lamentation, complaints or crying. The method of overturning the cosmic/social order is something else.
4
ek silsila¹-e raaz² hai jiinaa keh ho marnaa
jab aur hi kuchh thaa magar ab aur hi kuchh hai     1.series, continuation 2.secret, mystery
The key is to understand ‘jab and ab – then and now’ in the second misra. Something has changed between then and now. In the light of the previous she’r … that the method of overturning the power structure is not wailing and complaining but something else … I interpret that what has changed is the call of the Progressive Writers’ Association to turn away from conventional themes of mysticism and love to socially relevant themes. Thus, life and death is a series of (mystical) mysteries. The theme of that mystery was something else then (then it was mysticism) but it is something else now (now it is socially relevant themes). If the call of the PWA seems a little far-fetched then it could be interpreted as changing times require different ways of looking at the mysteries of life and death.
5
kuchh mahr-e-qayaamat¹ hai na kuchh naar-e-jahannam²
hushyaar³ keh vo qahr-o-Ghazab⁴ aur hi kuchh hai     1.burning sun of doomsday 2.fire of hell 3.beware, careful 4.wrath and fury, calamities
It is thought that on doomsday, the sun will come close to the earth and everything will burn up in its heat and of course after judgement, those who are to be punished will be thrown into the fire of hell. The first misra should be interpreted as symbolic of divine punishment. The second misra brings it all together … the calamities that befall us are not divine punishment, they are something else i.e., they are due to an unjust order.
6
maz’hab ki Kharaabi¹ hai na aKhlaaq² ki pasti³
duniyaa ke masaa’eb⁴ kaa sabab⁵ aur hi kuchh hai    1.defects, shortcomings 2.character 3.inferiority 4.misery, misfortune 5.cause, basis
It is neither the deficiency of faith nor the inferiority of character; the cause of the misfortunes of the world is something else i.e., it is an unjust order.
7
behuuda-sari¹ sajde² meN hai jaan khapaanaa³
aa’iin⁴-e mohabbat meN adab⁵ aur hi kuchh hai      1.futility, thoughtlessness 2.prayer, prostration 3.use up, waste 4.code, principles 5.politeness, being respectful – also means traditions
Thoughtless prostration is a waste of life. In the traditions of love, offering respect is something else i.e., following rituals blindly is a waste of life. The traditions of love (of humanity) call for something else.
8
kyaa husn¹ ke andaaz²-e taGhaaful³ ki shikaa’et⁴
paimaan⁵-e vafaa⁶ ishq kaa jab aur hi kuchh hai     1.beauty, beloved 2.style 3.indifference 4.complain 5.measure, standard 6.fealty, fidelity
In poetic tradition, the beloved is always indifferent to the lover. What is the use of complaining about this, when the standards of fealty are something else. Conventional standards of fealty are to stoically bear the torment of indifference of the beloved. Sometimes he inconsolably lets out loud wails. Perhaps the poet is using the beloved and her indifference as symbolic of the power structure and its uncaring attitude towards public welfare. Why just complain about it, now the standards of fealty have changed. It is implied that some other action is needed.
9
duniyaa ko jagaa de jo adam¹ ko bhi sulaa² de
sunte haiN keh voh roz³ voh shab⁴ aur hi kuchh hai     1.afterlife, next world 2.put to sleep, banish that thought 3.days 4.nights
This is a dynamic call to wake the world up to the present life and banish thoughts of an imagined afterlife with rewards and punishments. The daily life (day and night) of such a world will be something else i.e., it will create vitality, consciousness and engagement with this life.
10
aaNkhoN ne firaaq¹ aaj na puuchho jo dikhaayaa
jo kuchh nazar² aataa hai voh sab aur hi kuchh hai      1.pen-name of the poet 2.seen, visible
O firaaq, do not ask what the eyes have revealed to me. Whatever has been shown to me is something else. As a stand-alone she’r this could mean the difference between perception/illusion and reality (spiritualism). But if this she’r is taken in the context of several preceeding ash’aar then it might mean that his eyes have seen the true nature of calamities that beset humanity … they are not divine, they are human created injustices.