Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed taqi beg maa’el dehlavi (1850-1931). He moved to jaipur, rajasthan, in 1879 looking for patronage and found employment with the local rajah along with a number of cohorts. The extensive collection of his work was posthumously published in three volumes by the rajasthan urdu academy. The biographical note in this collection mentions that he met with Ghalib several times but there is no record that he received any formal instruction/correction of his verse. There may be a bit of confusion because there were two maa’el dehlavi contemporaneously. This Ghazal is linked to others of the same refrain on the Refrain Index page.
1
na kyuN jaa’e meraa sabr¹ o qaraar² aahista aahista
nigaaheN³ ho rahii haiN dil ke paar⁴ aahista aahista    1.patience, forbearance 2.peace, composure 3.eyes, glance 4.piercing through
The poet laments how his patience and composure slip away ‘slowly, slowly’ as the beloved’s piercing gaze also penetrates his heart slowly. Thus, the effect keeps pace with the cause.
2
kahaaN tak aa’egaa aye gul’azaar¹ aahista aahista
chaman par chhaa gayaa abr²-e bahaar³ aahista aahista    1.rose-bodied, beloved 2.cloud 3.spring
The beloved gul’azaar is taking her time to come to the garden. In the meantime spring clouds have gathered and cover the garden. Spring clouds bring rejuvenating rain and trigger celebrations of song and dance as well as wine drinking. The poet/lover is eagerly waiting for the beloved to arrive so that celebrations can begin. But she is coming aahista aahista and the poet/lover is impatient.
3
janaazaa¹ le chaleN kyuNkar na yaar² aahista aahista
keh nikli hai badan³ se jaan-e-zaar⁴ aahista aahista    1.funeral procession 2.friends 3.body 4.life worn out by sorrow
Why should friends not carry his funeral bier slowly in the procession. After all, his life too, worn out by the sorrow of love, left his body slowly, torturously. Thus the pace of the funeral procession matches the pace of his dying process.
4
kabhii dil ko, kabhii jaaN ko, kabhii diiN¹ ko, Gharaz² jo thaa
kiyaa nazr³-e nigaah⁴-e sharm-saar⁵ aahista aahista    1.faith 2.whatever it may be 3.devotional offering 4.glance 5.bashful
Whatever he cherished, whatever was required at the time – heart, soul, or even faith – he made a devotional offering of sacrifice to the beloved’s bashful, downcast gaze.
5
nikal jaatii hai jaan¹-e ahl²-e Ghairat³ ek dam-bhar⁴ meN
nikaltaa hai magar dil kaa Ghubaar⁵ aahista aahista     1.life 2.people of 3.honour, dignity 4.instantly, within a moment 5.fog, ill will, suspicion
Imagine a situation where the beloved does not trust the lover; she suspects that he will not be faithful to her. This is a matter for great dishonour to the lover and if he is a person of dignity/honour, he would immediately die-lose his life. While honorable people die instantly, the fog/suspicion in the heart of the beloved is dissipated very slowly.
6
tere kuuche¹ meN mar jaanaa mere kaam² aa gayaa aaKhir
keh jaa lipTaa hai daaman³ se Ghubaar⁴ aahista aahista     1.lane 2.came in useful 3.hem of the garment 4.dust
The poet/lover was lucky enough to have died in the lane of the beloved and it is implied that he was buried there too (but he is still writing Ghazal). It has been long and he is changed into dust. He says, my dying in your lane came in handy, now my dust flies and clings to the hem of your garment; something that the lover could not do during his lifetime.
7
qadam¹ jamn’e² jo detaa rashk³-e dushman⁴ kuu⁵-e jaanaaN⁶ meN
banaa lete vahiiN apnaa mazaar⁷ aahista aahista    1.feet 2.stabilize, stay 3.envy 4.rival 5.lane 6.beloved 7.grave
Whenever the poet/lover goes to the lane of the beloved he finds the rival there. This makes him very envious/jealous. He cannot bear it and comes away. Thus, the envy of the rival does not let him stay in the beloved’s lane qadam jamn’e nahiN deta. If his envy had let his stand there jo qadam jamn’e deta, then he would have made himself a grave in the lane and died there.
8
qayaamat¹ aur na ho har gaam² par barpaa³ nahiiN mumkin⁴
chal’e voh fitna-e-aalam⁵ hazaar aahista aahista    1.tumult/chaos like doomsday 2.every step 3.occur, happen, take place 4.possible 5.mischief of the world
The beloved is characterized as fitna-e aalam – mischief of the world. She may walk slowly, subtly, unobtrusively all she wants, but it is not possible that doomsday like tumult not be raised at every step i.e., it is sure to happen no matter how quietly she tries to pass through.
9
sadaa¹-e shor-e-mahshar² de’r se aatii hai kaanoN meN
koii aataa na ho suu³-e mazaar⁴ aahista aahista     1.sound 2.call to judgment day 3.towards 4.grave
The poet is dead and buried but he can still hear what is going on outside and of course, write about it in his Ghazal. For a while now he has been hearing loud noises as if it is judgment day. He wonders if it is because ‘someone’ is coming towards his grave slowly … of course that someone is the beloved and loud noises follow/precede her because of all her admirers.
10
kahaa maiN ne aduu¹ se Khat-kitaabat² kyuN, to kahte haiN
keh TuuTeNge sabhii qaul³ o qaraar⁴ aahista aahista     1.rival 2.letter-writing 3.words, promises 4.agreements
When he asks why the beloved continues to correspond with the rival, she replies – all promises and agreements will be broken gradually, thus mocking his fragile hopes.
11
adab-aamoz¹ haiN diivaar-o-dar² sab kuu³-e jaanaaN⁴ ke
chale kyuNkar⁵ na vaaN baad⁶-e bahaar⁷ aahista aahista    1.respect/decorum teaching 2.walls and doors, dwellings 3.lane 4.beloved 5.why 6.breeze 7.spring
Every dwelling in the beloved’s lane teaches decorum/proper behaviour. Why then, shouldn’t the spring breeze also move there ‘slowly,’ with reverence?
12
junuuN¹ meN naatavaanii² kaa bhii honaa ek qayaamat³ hai
garebaaN⁴ ko kiyaa hai taar-taar⁵ aahista aahista     1.madness of passion 2.weakness, fragility 3.curse 4.collar 5.shredded to threads
In poetic tradition the mad passionate lover shreds his collar to threads because of the intensity of his distress. But it seems that his passion has also resulted in much weakness which feels like a curse because he can only shred his collar very slowly.
13
maz’e¹ le le ke vaa’ez² maiN nahiiN piitaa, baRhaataa³ huN
umiid⁴-e rahmat⁵-e parvardigaar⁶ aahista aahista     1.taste, pleasure 2.preacher 3.increase 4.hope 5.kindness, forgiveness 6.god, protector
O vaa’ez I do not drink slowly for taste and pleasure, but to increase the hope that god will show his kindness and forgiveness.
14
ajab¹ ek lutf² aataa hai kisii se chhup ke miln’e meN
kabhii baateN kabhii bos-o-kinaar³ aahista aahista    1.strange, unusual 2.pleasure 3.kisses and embrace
There is unusual pleasure in meeting ‘someon’ on the sly. Sometimes conversation and other times kiss and embrace – all savored ‘slowly.’
15
kiyaa karte ho kyaa afsos¹ maa’el² haal³ par apne
ye miT jaa’eNge sab naqsh-o-nigaar aahista aahista     1.sorrow, pity 2.pen-name 3.condition 4.marks and embellishments
The wounds and scars of love are characterized as naqsh-o-nigaar – embellishments/adornment. Why do you feel sorry for your condition O maa’el, these adornments and embellishments – scars of love will fade ‘slowly’.