Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. buddh prakash gupta jauhar deobandi (1912-xxxx), saharanpur, UP. Family background of agriculture, grain dealership and money lending. Finished high school locally, probably in urdu. There was a strong tradition of monthly mushaa’era in sahaaranpur. Participated in the audience and later as a shaa’er. Continued family business and kept working on urdu. Granted an honorary PhD by aligaRh university, on his work related to non-muslim shu’ara. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
kis se vaabasta¹ hai ummiid²-e vafaa³ mere baad
kis pe farmaiyega⁴ mashq⁵-e jafaa⁶ mere baad 1.associated, tied, dependent 2.hope 3.fidelity, loyalty 4.bestow, grant 5.practice 6.cruelty
With whom will the hope of loyalty be associated after me? and on whom will you practice your cruelties after me? The poet/lover is addressing the beloved either just before or even after his passing. He reminds her that there is no one else able to bear her cruelty, or offer her steadfast loyalty. There is no one else that can fulfil these roles after his passing.
2
kis se kheleNge tere naaz-o-ada¹ mere baad
kis se saNvr’e² gi teri zulf³-e do-taa⁴ mere baad      1.charm and coquetry 2.combed, adorned 3.locks of hair 4.twin-branched
With whom will your charm and coquetry play after me? who will tend to your divided locks of hair after me? The poet/lover still addresses the beloved. After him, there is no one else capable to doing this for her, he cautions.
3
phir nasheman¹ na kisi ka bhi jalaa mere baad
phir na gulshan² meN giri³ barq⁴-e balaa⁵ mere baad 1.nest 2.garden 3.fell, struck 4.lightning 5.calamity
No other nest was burned after me, no calamitous lightning struck the garden after me. In poetic convention the poet is often presented as a free bird building its nest in the garden. Fate is always cruel on him and lightning strikes and burns his nest as soon as he builds it. Lightning is always on the lookout for his particular nest. He is the chosen one for calamities of fate to fall on. Now that he is gone no other nest has burned, lightning has not struck.
4
jaama¹-e lafz²-e vafaa³ ki hai mujhii se qiimat⁴
chaak⁵ ho jaa’ega daamaan⁵-e vafaa³ mere baad     1.garment, robe 2.word 3.fidelity, loyalty 4.value, credibility 5.torn 6; hem of a garment
The robe of the word ‘loyalty’ holds its worth/credibility because of me; its hem will tear apart after me. The poet has been the only steadfast lover loyal to the beloved not only in a particular but in the universal sense. After his passing, the word loyalty will lose its meaning and tear its own garment in distress much like majnuN.
5
kaun samjhaa’ega¹ asraar² zamaane³ ko tere
kaun dega teri manzil⁴ ka pataa⁵ mere baad 1.explain 2.mysteries 3.world 4.destination 5.direction, clue
Who will explain your mysteries to the world to me? Who will guide the world to you after me? This could be addressed to the beloved but much more likely it is addressed to the divine. The divine is the destination and the poet is the only one that can explain divine mysteries to the world and the only one that give them direction towards their destination to the divine. Who will do this after me, he asks.
6
mere dam¹ se hai namaaz²-e dar³-e jaanaaN⁴ ki baqaa⁵
kis se phir hoga fareeza⁶ yeh adaa⁷ mere baad 1.power, presence, breath 2.prayer, devotion 3.door, threshold 4.beloved, divine 5.stability, continuity, sustaining 6.dut 7.perform
It’s my presence that sustains the prayer at the beloved’s threshold. Who will fulfil this duty after me? This could be the beloved, but equally well this could be the divine. It is the poet/lover/seeker who exercises enough influence to maintain sustained devotion at the threshold of the beloved/divine. Who will perform this duty after me, he asks.
7
mast¹-o-beKhud² hai junooN³ se mere zarra-zarra⁴
muskuraa’egi⁵ na sahra⁶ ki fazaa⁷ mere baad 1.intoxicated 2.in a blissful trance 3.passionate madness 4.every particle/grain of sand 5.smile, be happy 6.desert 7.atmosphere, ambience, surroundings
Every grain of sand is intoxicated and in a blissful trance due to my passion. The desert’s atmosphere will no longer be happy after me. The poet presents himself as a mad passionate majnuN wandering the desert in search of his beloved laila. The desert is familiar with majnuN and his passion. It is because of this passion that it feels intoxicated and in trance. But after the poet’s passing the ambience of the desert will no longer be pleasant.
8
jashn¹ diivaanoN ke phir hoNge na maiKhaanoN² meN
phir na iss shaan³ se umDegi⁴ ghaTaa⁵ mere baad 1.celebrations 2.taverns 3.pride, glory 4.rise, swirl 5.dark clouds
There will no longer be celebrations for passionate lovers in the taverns; nor will clouds rise with such grandeur after me. Rising/swirling dark clouds are a harbinger of spring rains which mark the season of love and celebration, of drinking wine and song and dance. But after the poets passing clouds will not rise with quite the same grandeur and will not trigger the feelings that start celebrations in taverns.
9
unn ko mujh se na rah’e vaj’h¹-e shikaa’et² koi
baat rah jaa’e³ meri mere Khuda mere baad      1.reason 2.complaint 3.baat rah jaana-promise kept
Let her have no reason for complaints against me, may my promises be fulfilled after me, O god. The poet/lover seeks to leave behind no grievances, no cause for the beloved to complain. He places his legacy in divine care.
10
har nafas¹ ruu-ba-tabaddul² hai zamaana³ jauhar⁴
dekhiye kya ho zamaane ki havaa⁵ mere baad 1.every breath, every moment 2.changing face 3.world, times 4.pen-name 5.trend, fashion
Every moment, the world changes its course, jauhar. Let’s see what direction the winds of the world take after me. He bemoans the changing values and implies that he and his writing were a steadying influence. Now that he will be gone, there will be no one to steer changes in the right direction.