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GHALIB KE RANG

Azaad khayali

1

2 Ghalib on striking one's own path

laazim nahii;N kih ;xi.zr kii ham pairavii kare;N

jaanaa kih ik buzurg hame;N ham-safar mile

it's not necessary that we would follow in Khizr's footsteps

we considered that we had acquired one venerable-elder as a fellow-traveler

This is one of Ghalib's "independence of thought" verses. In Khizr Ghalib takes on one of the most revered wise men of the Islamic tradition. Khizr is said to have drunk from the fountain of youth and acheived immortality. He appears throughout history with Moses, with Alexander, at Mohammad's (PBUH) fuuneral and even today has been seen by many Sufi saints. The Sufi's consider him a guide to all those who are lost. Revealing himself to those who are worthy, he is also said to reveal divine secrets (sirr) to them. Ghalib is at his tongue-incheek best here. First he accepts Sufi tradition which claims that Khizr is still alive today (otherwise how would be meet him in our travels?), and Ghalib grants to himself the status of those to whom Khizr would deign to reveal himself (i.e. someone who is worthy of what Khizr has to offer). But then he undermines Khizr's special place by saying: its not really binding on us to imitate or follow him. We will just think we have found a buzurg as a fellow-traveler, a companion. The word buzurg is very multivalent and well-chosen. According to Platts:

P بزرگ buzurg [Pehl. vazr; Zend vazra; S. vajra], adj. & s.m. Great, reverend, venerable, aged, noble, respected, respectable;—great man, grandee; old man, elder, respectable person; holy man, saint; sage, wise man;

Ghalib on the Faith of Faithlessness

vafaadaarii ba shart-e-ustuvaarii asl-e-iimaaN hai

mare but;xaane meN to ka((be meN gaa;Rho barahmin ko

Faithfulness, as long as it is firm, is the essence/root of religion/faith

If he dies in the temple (idol-house) bury the Brahmin in the Ka'ba

There is fantastic use of strong verbs, marnaa (to die) and gaaRhna (to bury) and of course the sheer contradictory pleasure of seeing the Brahmin, the scion of Hindu faith, buried (no less!!) in the Ka'ba (no less!!). Ghalib uses the power of this immediately felt contradiction (the Brahmin who dies in the temple, is to be buried in the Ka'ba), to point to the philosophical contradiction. That even faithlessness (of the Brahman) can be equal to faith, if only it is pure, it is firm, it is steadfast. The firmess in this instance of the Brahmin's faith is illustrated by his death in the temple.

ItIt also employs a linguistic device used on other occasions by Ghalib where he juxtaposes a misra with Perso-Arabic vocabulary next to a very Indic misra.

Self-relexivity and paradox

The mirror is one of Ghalib’s favorite metaphors. The mirror is of the world and also reflects the world. It is thus like the heart (or in modern terminology consciousness or the brain), which is also part of the world and at the same time reflects it. Thus both heart and mirror are united in this property and the equation works both ways (heart = mirror).

Ghalib chuN shaKhs-o-aks dar aainah-e-Khayaal

ba Khveshtan yaki o do char khudiim ma

Ghalib, like the person and the reflection in the mirror of thought

With ourselves we are one and we confront ourselves

Mirrors are particularly favored by Ghalib's paradox-loving nature, because of that aspect I alluded to earlier of mirror being part of reality and also reflecting it, as do minds.

Urdu verse:

az mihr taa ba-zarrah dil o dil hai aaiinah

tuti ko sash jihat se muqaabil hai aaiinah

(here the house of mirrors is implied)

Persian verses:

har zarrah mahv-(e)-jalvah-e-husn-(e)-yagaanah ast

goyii tilism-(e)- shash jihat aaiinah ;xaanah ast

every grain is absorbed in the spectacle of the beauty of oneness

as if the magic of the six directions is a house of mirrors

haq raa ze ;xalq ju ke nau aamoz(e)diid raa

aaiinaah ;xaanah maktab(e)tauheed bude ast

search for the One in the world because to the novices of sight

the house of mirrors is a school for Oneness

3 The Lesser Known Ghalib (4): The Veil of Existence

This time's entry on the lesser known Ghalib collects two verses, one Urdu and one Farsi, which, in my opinion seem to display connected philosophical features. They both play with the theme that the world of appearance (that which we see around us) is a veil over (Divine) reality, it both gestures towards the Divine presence and elides it.

The first verse in Urdu, is one of my all-time favorites (Ghazal 98, verse 10, rhyme scheme "aab mein"). It goes

hai Ghaib-e-Ghaib jisko samajhte haiN ham shuhood

haiN Khvaab meiN hanoz jo jaage haiN Khvaab meiN

That which we think of as seeing/the seen is the hidden of the hidden

They are dreaming still those who have awakened in a dream

But as Faruqi also notes, while the second line entices us with the beauty of its image, the first line also packs complex thoughts very densely. Ghaib itself is an incredibly multivalent word meaning "Absence; invisibility; concealment; anything that is absent, or invisible, or hidden (from sight or mental perception); a mystery, secret; an event of futurity; the invisible world, the future state" according to Platts Dictionary. So the phrase Ghaib-e-Ghaib right at the beginning sets us up with an interesting mental construct, the absence of absence, the hidden of the hidden, or the concealment of concealment. If we take Ghaib to mean hidden/concealed then we get the following: Existence, the world that exists, which we consider to be a manifestation of the Divine presence (shuhood) is actually only the concealment of the concealed, a curtain, a veil over the Ghaib. As Faruqi says, "even seeing things in the form of Divinity alone does not bestow knowledge about the true Essence; rather, it only gestures toward that knowledge." Just as waking up in a dream is not really waking up but only a "gesture" towards real waking. So far so good. But I wonder if it would be valid to take Ghaib to mean "absence", then shuhood/appearance/manifestation is the absence of absence, its the non-existence of non-existence, i.e. existence itself. I am not sure this reading works very well in conjunction with the second line, but maybe someone can think of a connection.

4 Ghalib on the object of true worship

This week's verse, all of Ghalib's commentators note, could only have occurred to Ghalib. His penchant for paradox, for surprising the reader by using common words and ideas to make uncommon points, for holding the suspense till the last possible minute, and all the while making a profound (in this case philosophical) point, all this is in evidence here. It is verses like these, that compel us to agree with Ghalib and say, "haaN Mirzaa saahab, aapkaa andaaz-e-bayaaN hai aur!"

So without further ado, the verse:

hai pare sar;had-e idraak se apnaa masjuud

qible ko ahl-e na:zar qiblah-numaa kahte hai;N

1) beyond the limit of the senses/perception/comprehension is [their/our] own {worship/prostration}-object

2) people of vision call the Qiblah the 'Qiblah-pointer'

The literal translation is Frances Pritchett's with some additions from me. Click here for this verse's entry on Desertful of Roses.

The first line makes a broad comment. Our object of worship is beyond (a beautiful use of a simple word, pare) the border or limit of the senses or of perception. Most commentators have chosen to interpret idraak here as simply the senses or sense perception, but it can also mean understanding or comprehension. The later gives a stronger interpretation. Not only is our object of worship beyond the senses, it is beyond human comprehension. And since that which cannot be perceived can still be comprehended (for e.g. the existence of unseen planets or start, or even a magenta colored flying horse), it actually means something to say that the Absolute is not only beyond our senses, it is also beyond comprehension.

It is not till the second line that we get the full significance of the first (a sign of a well-crafted she'r). So what is the consequence of the fact that our object of worship is beyond perception and comprehension? It is that those with vision or those who have true perception (ahl-e-nazar) call the qiblah, qiblah-numa. The qiblah, the direction to prayer for a Muslim (the direction where the Ka'ba is to be found), is itself a pointer to the Real Qiblah. Platts dictionary defines the qiblah-numa thus:

qibla-numa, s.m. lit. 'Showing the qibla'; an instrument by which Muhammadans at a distance from Mecca ascertain the direction of the qibla;—a mariner's compass.

Thus as Nazm notes, "by doing prostrations toward the Ka'bah, the goal is not to do prostrations to the Ka'bah. Rather, the one to Whom we do prostrations is beyond the directions, and a prostration must have a direction. For this reason, He has decreed the direction of the Ka'bah."

So the Qiblah itself is merely a pointer to the Qiblah. As the commentators say, no one but Ghalib would have thought of calling the qiblah, a pointer to guide to the qiblah. What the commentators don't mention is that this second line also sets up a nice little infinite regress. Since the new qiblah being pointed to is itself, a qiblah, it is therefore also a qiblah-numa and so on ad infinitum. This interpretation is sustained by the fact that Ghalib doesn't say, the qiblah is a pointer to the "real qiblah" or anything like that. He simply says, a qiblah (any qiblah) is a qiblah-pointer. Perhaps this is why in the first line Ghalib says that the object of worship is beyond comprehension. Thinking about it sets us down a path of infinite regress.

Actually the verse works at two levels parallely. If we interpret idraak as senses or sense perception then the second line offers "proof" that the real object of worship is beyond the senses just as the real qiblah is only gestured to by what ordinary people call the qiblah. In this reading, there is nice resonance between sarhad-e-idraak and ahl-e-nazar (limit of senses, and people who have sight or vision). On the other hand, if we interpret idraak as understanding or comprehension, then the second line gives a separate proof and can be read in the way I mentioned above with an infinite regress in it.

In either reading, Ghalib invokes his favorite theme regarding the Absolute or the Divine. This is the theme of that worldly objects (existence) gestures to the Other World, points to non-existence. I have commented earlier on other verses that display this theme.

5 The Lesser Known Ghalib(1): Veil of openness

6

dar pardah unhe;N ;Gair se hai rab:t-e nihaanii

:zaahir kaa yih pardah hai kih pardaa nahii;N karte

dar pardah = behind the veil, rabt-e-nihaani = relationship of hiddenness (a hidden connection), zaahir kaa pardah = veil of openness

I have taken the Urdu and the Roman from Frances Pritchett's site. As usual, Prof. Pritchett collects the available commentaries on this verse and adds her own interpretation. I don't have a whole lot to add to the excellent interpretations, but my own two cents follow.

In the first line Ghalib informs us of the behavior of (who else?), the beloved. We are told she carries on a secret relationship with "the Other" behind the purdah. So far it is not too remarkable though a bit puzzling (see below), we might think, except for the usual Ghalibian tautness of phrasing. But then the second line delivers the basic paradox, the veil of openness. We are informed that her not keeping purdah (purdah nahi karte) is itself a type of purdah, a type of veil, a way of hiding something. Her affair with the Other is there, only it is hidden in plain view so to speak. By not keeping purdah from the Other, the Beloved seems to announce to the world, "Look there is nothing between us, he is 'like a brother' to me. If there were something going on then would I not keep purdah, to convey the appearance of normalcy and to allay any suspicion?" But our lover is smart. He has seen through the deception. He tells us, "Don't be fooled by this lack of purdah, it is merely the zaahir kaa purdah, the veil of openness in the guise of which all kinds of nefarious activities are going on."

Try reciting this verse as it might be recited in a mushairah. It is brilliant. Repeating the first line several times, builds up the tension, we are led to expect something fishy afoot. We think to ourselves, "How can some hidden relationship (rabt-e-nihaani) exist within the veil (dar purdah)? Something could be going on between two people (two strangers, remember we are talking about a relationship with "the Other"), if the Beloved meets him like she does everyone else, i.e. by keeping purdah from him. But if she is meeting him inside the purdah, he must be above suspicion (an older male relative, a brother etc)." And the second line does not disappoint. It tells us, "Aha! But thats exactly it. Zaahir ka yeh purdah hai...ke purdah nahi karte!"

Brilliant!

A simple exercise in paradox:

tire va((de par jiye ham to yih jaan jhuu;T jaanaa

kih ;xvushii se mar nah jaate agar i((tibaar hotaa

if we lived on your promise, it was because we knew it to be false

would we not have died of joy, if we had believed it?

This is a charmingly simple, yet troublesome verse. We can assume that the promise being discussed, is the promise the beloved has made to the lover, that (s)he will come to meet him. We are living on that promise, but only because we know it is a false promise. This itself is a troubling notion to begin with. How can one “live on a false promise,” one must at some level believe it to be true.

But it gets worse (or better)! The reason we must believe your promise to be false, is that if we really believed it to be true, we would die in sheer joy. This completely inverts the traditional idiom: to live on someone’s promise, kisi ke vade pe jeena. To believe in the promise (aitbaar hona) is to die, to disbelieve in it, is to live.

And of course the final paradox, if we really believed you would come and that we would meet you, why then we would die in joy and thus not be able to meet you.

Meaning generation:

nah thaa kuchh to ;xudaa thaa kuchh nah hotaa to ;xudaa hotaa

;Duboyaa mujh ko hone ne nah hotaa mai;N to kyaa hotaa

puuchhte hai;N vuh kih ;Gaalib kaun hai

ko))ii batlaa))o kih ham batlaa))e;N kyaa

Shokhi (mischievousness)

7 Ghalib: Paradise or the Beloved's Lane?

kam nahii;N jalvah-garii me;N tire kuuche se bihisht

yihii naqshah hai vale is qadar aabaad nahii;N

1) it's not less in splendor-possession than your street, paradise--

2) there is this very same design/layout, but it's not populous/flourishing to this extent

Click here for commentary and translation on Desertful of Roses.

This week's verse is lesser known but nevertheless great follow-up on last week's verse. As we saw last week, Ghalib took a rather "instrumental" approach to the existence or non-existence of paradise. It may or may not exist (and we suspect it doesn't), but its still a good idea to keep us happy or contented.

This week's verse has Ghalib continuing his pontifications on paradise. Now he finds it lacking from another angle. It is not any less splendorous than "your street", it even has the same map/layout/plan though its not quite as populated or flourishing. Conventionally we interpret the "you" in the she'r to be the beloved, and more so in such a verse an earthly beloved (as opposed to God). So the standard interpretation goes that the poet having witnessed paradise himself, finds it quite similar to his beloved's street, but also finds that the later is much more popular and flourishing, perhaps because its easier to get there, perhaps because only boring ascetics go to paradise and hence its much less popular (see S.R.Faruqi's interpretations on this point). Lastly the commentators also note the cheekiness or mischievousness (sho;xii) in comparing paradise to the beloved's street rather than the beloved's street to paradise.

8 Ghalib: Independent even in servitude

bandagii me;N bhii vuh aazaadah-o-;xvud-bii;N hai;N kih ham

ul;Te phir aa))e dar-e ka((bah agar vaa nah hu))aa

1) even/also in servitude we are so free and self-regarding that we

2) turned and came back if the door of the Ka'bah did not open

[Translation by Frances Pritchett, click here for verse commentary on Desertful of Roses]

First, some comments on the language and construction, before we get into the meaning. Notice, as Pritchett points out the great use of the colloquial "voh," to mean not "that" but "to such an extent" or "in such a manner." And also the idiomatic "ul;Taa phir aanaa", to turn back. The hardness of the palatal "T" (ट, ٹ ) stands out (in a good way) in the midst of softer Perso-Arabic words (bandagii, aazaad, ;xvudbiiN, dar, ka'ba and so on). In my experience, Ghalib seems fully aware of the effects that can be produced in Urdu by taking advantage of the spectacular variety of consonants that derive from Indic and Perso-Arabic heritage. Another example is the verse from last month where Ghalib uses another Indic word with a palatal consonant, gaa;Rho (ढ़) in a sea of softer Perso-Arabic sounds (vafaadaarii, ustuvaarii, imaaN, but;xaanaa and so on).

And finally, yet one more time, notice how the dramatic climax (about the ka'ba door not being open) is saved for the very end, not only the second line (the first line is general annd doesn't give much cause for excitement), but the second half of the second line.

Now for the meaning of the verse. We have chosen this verse because it takes a critical attitude towards (blind) faith. Ghalib suggests that "even in bandagii, even as a person of faith, I retain an independence of spirit, something essentially human. An example of my independent nature is that when I go to the ka'ba, I expect Providence itself to 'meet me half way' by opening the door of the ka'ba. I do not deny that I am a bandaa (a follower), but my bandagii is not unquestioning."

So the questions we ask ourselves reading this are:

Whatever be our faith (Islam, Christainity, Hinduism, Atheism), what sort of faith do we practice (hum kis kism ke bande haiN?) Do we retain a spirit of aazaadii? Is our identity as a person of a particular faith based upon unquestioning, unflinching loyalty or does it allow space for some dissent?

I lay more stress on the "aazaad" (free, independent) than the ";xudbiiN" (self-regarding), but I do realize that the reference to "self-regarding" makes the verse sound more like Ghalib is saying, I am too possessed of a sense of self to surrender myself completely to the Divine. It is possible that he is commenting specifically on the concept of surrender in Islam (if I understand correctly the word "Islam" itself has Arabic connotations of surrender to God's will). If he is doing so, then in context, I take the verse not as endorsing a selfishness but instead as questioning the concept of surrender and faith as it is handed down.

9

10 Ghalib sets off for Mount Sinai

kyaa far.z hai kih sab ko mile ek-saa javaab

aa))o nah ham bhii sair kare;N koh-e :tuur kii

1a) is there an assumption/obligation that all would get a similar answer?

1b) what assumption/obligation is there that all would get a similar answer?

1c) what an assumption it is-- that all would get a similar [pic]answer!

2) come on, won't you? let's even/also us take a stroll around Mount Tur

This verse is impossible to interpret until we understand the significance of Mount Sinai (koh-e-tuur). As many readers will be aware this is the mountain on which Moses goes in order to ask God for an appearance, so that his people would believe that Moses was truly a prophet. The answer (jawaab) that Moses receives is "No! You cannot behold the radiance of God." (I am not sure what the exact words are according to the Quran. I am giving the gist here). There follows a bolt of divine lightning which burns the mountain and strikes Moses down.

Now for Ghalib's take on this story. Frances Pritchett, who offers us the translations above, calls this verse "mischievous." We could call it downright cheeky and insolent (gustaaKh). Why so? There are multiple reasons for it. First, taking the verse as a whole there is the basic premise: "it is not necessary/why is it necessary that everyone should receive the same answer (No!)? Come let us try our own luck, who knows maybe we will be graced by the vision that was denied Moses." This is already a cheeky proposition. But the way it is made, as Pritchett notes, is even better. Ghalib uses the expression "sair karna," i.e. to take a stroll. So we are not setting out determined or prepared or afraid or any such thing. We are just out for a stroll and we will see if we might not get a glimpse of God.

Finally let talk about the structural properties of the verse itself. As always, the suspense is withheld till the last minute. We don't get the full import of the verse, or indeed in this case, we do not understand anything specific about what is being said until we hear the rhyme word, tuur. Fran Pritchett makes this point very well. Next, commentators of this verse have also noted the use of the very colloquial "aao nah" which we use in contemporary language as an expression of familiarity. If fact all the words used are of a simple nature. The power of the verse lies in the bringing together of simple words and sentiments with the complex valences associated with a significant event (Moses going to Sinai).

Memorable single verses

asad ;xvushii se mire haath paa;Nv phuul ga))e

kahaa jo us ne ;zaraa mere paa;Nv daab to de

buu-e gul naalah-e dil duud-e chiraa;G-e ma;hfil

jo tirii bazm se niklaa so pareshaa;N niklaa

hai sabzah-zaar har dar-o-diivaar-e ;Gam-kadah

jis kii bahaar yih ho phir us kii ;xizaa;N nah puuchh

ug rahaa hai dar-o-diivaar se sabzah ;Gaalib

ham bayaabaa;N me;N hai;N aur ghar me;N bahaar aa))ii hai

zindagii apnii jab is shakl se guzrii ;Gaalib

ham bhii kyaa yaad kare;Nge kih ;xudaa rakhte the

kahtaa hai kaun naalah-e bulbul ko be-a;sar

parde me;N gul ke laakh jigar chaak ho ga))e

qaa.sid ko apne haath se gardan nah maariye

us kii ;xa:taa nahii;N hai yih meraa qa.suur thaa

Entire ghazals/multiple couplets

GHAZAL #20

yih nah thii hamaarii qismat kih vi.saal-e yaar hotaa

agar aur jiite rahte yihii inti:zaar hotaa

tire va((de par jiye ham to yih jaan jhuu;T jaanaa

kih ;xvushii se mar nah jaate agar i((tibaar hotaa

ko))ii mere dil se puuchhe tire tiir-e niim-kash ko

yih ;xalish kahaa;N se hotii jo jigar ke paar hotaa

yih kahaa;N kii dostii hai kih bane hai;N dost naa.si;h

ko))ii chaarah-saaz hotaa ko))ii ;Gam-gusaar hotaa

rag-e sang se ;Tapaktaa vuh lahuu kih phir nah thamtaa

jise ;Gam samajh rahe ho yih agar sharaar hotaa

;Gam agarchih jaa;N-gusil hai pah kahaa;N bache;N kih dil hai

;Gam-e ((ishq agar nah hotaa ;Gam-e rozgaar hotaa

kahuu;N kis se mai;N kih kyaa hai shab-e ;Gam burii balaa hai

mujhe kyaa buraa thaa marnaa agar ek baar hotaa

hu))e mar ke ham jo rusvaa hu))e kyuu;N nah ;Garq-e daryaa

nah kabhii janaazah u;Thtaa nah kahii;N mazaar hotaa

use kaun dekh saktaa kih yagaanah hai vuh yaktaa

jo duu))ii kii buu bhii hotii to kahii;N do chaar hotaa

yih masaa))il-e ta.savvuf yih tiraa bayaan ;Gaalib

tujhe ham valii samajhte jo nah baadah-;xvaar hotaa

GHAZAL #32

nah thaa kuchh to ;xudaa thaa kuchh nah hotaa to ;xudaa hotaa

;Duboyaa mujh ko hone ne nah hotaa mai;N to kyaa hotaa

hu))aa jab ;Gam se yuu;N be-;his to ;Gam kyaa sar ke ka;Tne kaa

nah hotaa gar judaa tan se to zaanuu par dharaa hotaa

hu))ii muddat kih ;Gaalib mar gayaa par yaad aataa hai

vuh har ik baat par kahnaa kih yuu;N hotaa to kyaa hotaa

GHAZAL #78

aah ko chaahiye ik ((umr a;sar hote tak

kaun jiitaa hai tirii zulf ke sar hote tak

((aashiqii .sabr-:talab aur tamannaa betaab

dil kaa kyaa rang karuu;N ;xuun-e jigar hote tak

ham ne maanaa kih ta;Gaaful nah karoge lekin

;xaak ho jaa))e;Nge ham tum ko ;xabar hote tak

yak na:zar besh nahii;N fur.sat-e hastii ;Gaafil

garmii-e bazm hai ik raq.s-e sharar hote tak

;Gam-e hastii kaa asad kis se ho juz marg ((ilaaj

sham((a har rang me;N jaltii hai sa;har hote tak

GHAZAL #85

vuh firaaq aur vuh vi.saal kahaa;N

vuh shab-o-roz-o-maah-o-saal kahaa;N

fur.sat-e kaar-o-baar-e shauq kise

;zauq-e na:z:zaarah-e jamaal kahaa;N

dil to dil vuh dimaa;G bhii nah rahaa

shor-e saudaa-e ;xa:t:t-o-;xaal kahaa;N

thii vuh ik sha;x.s ke ta.savvur se

ab vuh ra((naa))ii-e ;xayaal kahaa;N

aisaa aasaa;N nahii;N lahuu ronaa

dil me;N :taaqat jigar me;N ;haal kahaa;N

ham se chhuu;Taa qimaar-;xaanah-e ((ishq

vaa;N jo jaave;N girih me;N maal kahaa;N

fikr-e dunyaa me;N sar khapaataa huu;N

mai;N kahaa;N aur yih vabaal kahaa;N

mu.zma;hil ho ga))e quv;aa ;Gaalib

vuh ((anaa.sir me;N i((tidaal kahaa;N

GHAZAL #89

mihrbaa;N ho ke bulaa lo mujhe chaaho jis vaqt

mai;N gayaa vaqt nahii;N huu;N kih phir aa bhii nah sakuu;N

.zu((f me;N :ta((nah-e a;Gyaar kaa shikvah kyaa hai

baat kuchh sar to nahii;N hai kih u;Thaa bhii nah sakuu;N

zahr miltaa hii nahii;N mujh ko sitamgar varnah

kyaa qasam hai tire milne kii kih khaa bhii nah sakuu;N

GHAZAL #115

dil hii to hai nah sang-o-;xisht dard se bhar nah aa))e kyuu;N

ro))e;Nge ham hazaar baar ko))ii hame;N sataa))e kyuu;N

dair nahii;N ;haram nahii;N dar nahii;N aastaa;N nahii;N

bai;The hai;N rah-guzar pah ham ;Gair hame;N u;Thaa))e kyuu;N

jab vuh jamaal-e dil-furoz .suurat-e mihr-e niim-roz

aap hii ho na:zaarah-soz parde me;N mu;Nh chhupaa))e kyuu;N

qaid-e ;hayaat-o-band-e ;Gam a.sl me;N dono;N ek hai;N

maut se pahle aadmii ;Gam se nijaat paa))e kyuu;N

haa;N vuh nahii;N ;xudaa-parast jaa))o vuh bevafaa sahii

jis ko ho diin-o-dil ((aziiz us kii galii me;N jaa))e kyuu;N

;Gaalib-e ;xastah ke ba;Gair kaun-se kaam band hai;N

ro))iye zaar zaar kyaa kiijiye haay haay kyuu;N

GHAZAL #126

kisii ko de ke dil ko))ii navaa-sanj-e fi;Gaa;N kyuu;N ho

nah ho jab dil hii siine me;N to phir mu;Nh me;N zabaa;N kyuu;N ho

vafaa kaisii kahaa;N kaa ((ishq jab sar pho;Rnaa ;Thahraa

to phir ay sang-dil teraa hii sang-e aastaa;N kyuu;N ho

qafas me;N mujh se ruudaad-e chaman kahte nah ;Dar hamdam

girii hai jis pah kal bijlii vuh meraa aashiyaa;N kyuu;N ho

;Gala:t hai ja;zb-e dil kaa shikvah dekho jurm kis kaa hai

nah khe;Ncho gar tum apne ko kashaakash darmiyaa;N kyuu;N ho

yih fitnah aadmii kii ;xaanah-viiraanii ko kyaa kam hai

hu))e tum dost jis ke dushman us kaa aasmaa;N kyuu;N ho

yihii hai aazmaanaa to sataanaa kis ko kahte hai;N

((aduu ke ho liye jab tum to meraa imti;haa;N kyuu;N ho

nikaalaa chaahtaa hai kaam kyaa :ta((no;N se tuu ;Gaalib

tire be-mihr kahne se vuh tujh par mihrbaa;N kyuu;N ho

GHAZAL #162

dil-e naa-daa;N tujhe hu))aa kyaa hai

aa;xir is dard kii davaa kyaa hai

ham hai;N mushtaaq aur vuh be-zaar

yaa il;aahii yih maajraa kyaa hai

mai;N bhii mu;Nh me;N zabaan rakhtaa huu;N

kaash puuchho kih mudda((aa kyaa hai

jab kih tujh bin nahii;N ko))ii maujuud

phir yih hangaamah ay ;xudaa kyaa hai

sabzah-o-gul kahaa;N se aa))e hai;N

abr kyaa chiiz hai havaa kyaa hai

ham ko un se vafaa kii hai ummiid

jo nahii;N jaante vafaa kyaa hai

haa;N bhalaa kar tiraa bhalaa hogaa

aur darvesh kii .sadaa kyaa hai

jaan tum par ni;saar kartaa huu;N

mai;N nahii;N jaantaa du((aa kyaa hai

mai;N ne maanaa kih kuchh nahii;N ;Gaalib

muft haath aa))e to buraa kyaa hai

GHAZAL #196

faryaad kii ko))ii lai nahii;N hai

naalah paaband-e nai nahii;N hai

har-chand har ek shai me;N tuu hai

par tujh-sii ko))ii shai nahii;N hai

haa;N khaa))iyo mat fareb-e hastii

har-chand kahe;N kih hai nahii;N hai

hastii hai nah kuchh ((adam hai ;Gaalib

aa;xir tuu kyaa hai ay nahii;N hai

GHAZAL #208

baaziichah-e a:tfaal hai dunyaa mire aage

hotaa hai shab-o-roz tamaashaa mire aage

hotaa hai nihaa;N gard me;N .sa;hraa mire hote

ghistaa hai jabii;N ;xaak pih daryaa mire aage

mat puuchh kih kyaa ;haal hai meraa tire piichhe

tuu dekh kih kyaa rang hai teraa mire aage

iimaa;N mujhe roke hai jo khai;Nche hai mujhe kufr

ka((bah mire piichhe hai kaliisaa mire aage

((aashiq hu;N pah ma((shuuq-farebii hai miraa kaam

majnuu;N ko buraa kahtii hai lail;aa mire aage

11

go haath ko junbish nahii;N aa;Nkho;N me;N to dam hai

rahne do abhii saa;Gar-o-miinaa mire aage

ham-peshah-o-ham-mashrab-o-ham-raaz hai meraa

;Gaalib ko buraa kyuu;N kaho achchhaa mire aage

GHAZAL #219

hazaaro;N ;xvaahishe;N aisii kih har ;xvaahish pah dam nikle

bahut nikle mire armaan lekin phir bhii kam nikle

nikalnaa ;xuld se aadam kaa sunte aa))e hai;N lekin

bahut be-aabruu ho kar tire kuuche se ham nikle

magar likhvaa))e ko))ii us ko ;xa:t to ham se likhvaa))e

hu))ii .sub;h aur ghar se kaan par rakh kar qalam nikle

mu;habbat me;N nahii;N hai farq jiine aur marne kaa

usii ko dekh kar jiite hai;N jis kaafir pah dam nikle

kahaa;N mai-;xaane kaa darvaazah ;Gaalib aur kahaa;N vaa((i:z

par itnaa jaante hai;N kal vuh jaataa thaa kih ham nikle

GHAZAL #233

muddat hu))ii hai yaar ko mihmaa;N kiye hu))e

josh-e qada;h se bazm chiraa;Gaa;N kiye hu))e

phir pursish-e jaraa;hat-e dil ko chalaa hai ((ishq

saamaan-e .sad-hazaar namak-daa;N kiye hu))e

maa;Nge hai phir kisii ko lab-e baam par havas

zulf-e siyaah ru;x pah pareshaa;N kiye hu))e

jii ;Dhuu;N;Dtaa hai phir vuhii fur.sat kih raat din

bai;The rahe;N ta.savvur-e jaanaa;N kiye hu))e

;Gaalib hame;N nah chhe;R kih phir josh-e ashk se

bai;The hai;N ham tahiiyah-e :tuufaa;N kiye hu))e

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