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https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/kamj-halqa-meri-zanjiir-ka-audio.mp3

Recitation

حلقہ  مری  زنجیر  کا  ۔  کلبِ  احمد  مانیؔ  جائسی

۱

خامشی،  اچھا  ہے  شیوہ  پیکرِ  تصویر  کا

یعنی  کیا  کہنا  کسی  کی  شوقیِ  تحریر  کا

۲

لطف  کھویا  اشک  نے  نظارۂ  تحریر  کا

دیکھتا  ہوں  آنکھ  سے  لکھا  ہوا  تقدیر  کا

۳

رونقِ  بازارِ  سودا  عقدۂ  گیسو  ترا

زینتِ  بزمِ  جنوں  حلقہ  مری  زنجیر  کا

۴

دستِ  وحشت  سے  نہ  بچتا  دامنِ  دشتِ  جنوں

آ  گیا  ہے  بیچ  میں  لیکن  قدم  زنجیر  کا

۵

اور  ساماں  تو  نہیں  اب  قبرِ  مجنوں  پر  مگر

نغمہ  پردازِ  جنوں  ہے  غُل  مری  زنجیر  کا

۶

کیا  غضب  ہے  کوہکن  کو  حسرتِ  شیریں  رہی

اور  شیریں  کو  رہا  ارمان  جوئے  شیر  کا

۷

بختِ  وحشت  آشنا  کا  بل  ہے  اے  مانیؔ  وہی

نفع  کیا  ہے  میرے  پاؤں  میں  خمِ  زنجیر  کا

हलक़ा मेरी ज़ंजीर का – कल्ब-ए अहमद मानी जा’एसी

१

ख़ामुशी अच्छा है शेवा पैकर-ए तस्वीर का

यानी क्या कहना किसी की शूख़ी-ए तहरीर का

२

लुत्फ़ खोया अश्क ने नज़्ज़ारा-ए तहरीर का

देखता हुं आंख से लिक्खा हुआ तक़्दीर का

३

रौनक़-ए बाज़ार-ए सौदा उक़्दा-ए गेसू तेरा

ज़ीनत-ए बज़्म-ए जुनूं हलक़ा मेरी ज़ंजीर का

४

दस्त-ए वहशत से न बचता दामन-ए दश्त-ए जुनूं

आ गया है बीच में लैकिन क़दम ज़ंजीर का

५

और सामां तो नहीं अब क़ब्र-ए मजनूं पर मगर

नग़्मा पर्दाज़-ए जुनूं है ग़ुल मेरी ज़ंजीर का

६

क्या ग़ज़ब है कोहकन को हस्रत-ए शीरीं रही

और शीरीं को रहा अरमान जू-ए शीर का

७

बख़्त-ए वहशत आश्ना का बल है अए मानी वही

नफ़’अ क्या है मेरे पाऊं में ख़म-ए ज़ंजीर का

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. syed kalb-e ahmed maani jaa’esi (1885-1963), deoria, uttar pradesh. His taKhallus is the name of a legendary ancient Persian artist. His father worked for the British government of India was transferred frequently. He received urdu and faarsi education at home and in local schools. By the time the opportunity to learn English at school came around, it was too late for him. He seems to have had, clerical and later office supervisory positions in local principalities and later worked as the editor of a magazine. He did get some patronage from raja mahmoodabad and a few others. It seems that in 1954 he was able to meet nehru and azad who granted a government pension to him. Two of his early collections were lost, and three later ones published. This Ghazal with the same radeef-qaafiya as Ghalib’s “shooKhi-e tahriir ka” is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

syed kalb-e ahmed maani jaa’esi (1885-1963), deoria, uttar pradesh.  His taKhallus is the name of a legendary ancient Persian artist.  His father worked for the British government of India was transferred frequently.  He received urdu and faarsi education at home and in local schools.  By the time the opportunity to learn English at school came around, it was too late for him.  He seems to have had, clerical and later office supervisory positions in local principalities and later worked as the editor of a magazine.  He did get some patronage from raja mahmoodabad and a few others.  It seems that in 1954 he was able to meet nehru and azad who granted a government pension to him.  Two of his early collections were lost, and three later ones published.  This Ghazal with the same radeef-qaafiya as Ghalib’s “shooKhi-e tahriir ka” is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

1.preoccupation, habit, nature 2.image 3.meaning 4.what can be said 5.mischief 6.writing

It is better for the image in the picture to acquire the habit of silence, meaning what is the use of saying anything about the mischief of writing/drawing of this image.  Consider the following … the ‘picture’ is the universe, and the ‘image’ is the human.  god has drawn this image in this picture i.e., placed the human being on earth in this universe.  This is considered to be god’s mischievous hand that has done this.  What is the use of complaining.  Hence, it is better to be habitually silent about this.

1.pleasure 2.tears 3.scene, sighting 4.writing 5.fate

I have lost the pleasure of looking at this writing because of the blurred image caused by my tears.  Tears well up because what I have seen is my fate written out.

1.glory, brilliance 2.trade, passion, love, madness 3.knot 4.hair 5.adornment 6.gathering 7.passionate madness 8.circle, link (of chain)

The use of ‘sauda’ with its double meaning juxtaposed with baazaar and the parallelism between ‘uqda-e gesu’ and ‘halqa-e zanjiir’ is noteworthy.  Thus, the ringlets of the beloved’s hair are the glory of the baazaar where hearts are traded or mad passionate love is on offer.  Parallel to this the link of the chain on the lover’s feet are the adornment of the gathering of passionate madness.  The lover has been chained because he is mad like majnuN.  He wears his chain as a badge of honour to match the glory of the ringlets of the beloved’s hair.

1.hand 2.madness 3.hem of the robe 4.wilderness 5.passion 6.step, feet

This she’r, like several others, evokes the picture of majnuN as a mad passionate lover who is chained.  In the fable, majnuN wandered through the wilderness looking for laila.  Holding the hem of the robe of the wilderness of passion means to demand from the wilderness that it disclose the whereabouts of laila.  Thus, the hem of the robe of the wilderness could not have escaped the hand of madness.  This hand would have grabbed it and demanded to know where laila was.  The only problem is that the chains of the feet of the poet/lover prevent him from doing this.

1.provisions, offerings 2.grave 3.music/song 4.completing/perfecting 5.passion, madness 6.noise, sound

There may be no other offerings, but the sound of my chains completes the musical offering of passion at the grave of majnuN.

1.calamity 2.stone mason, another name of farhaad 3.longing 4.desire, wish 5.river 6.milk

This has reference to the legend of shiriN-farhaad.  farhaad was set an impossible task of carving a channel through a mountain and making a river of milk flow through it.  In the story, he very nearly succeeded but ended up killing himself because of a rumour that shirin had died.  I some ash’aar, shirin is portrayed as an egotistical woman.  Thus, shirin is desirous to see a river of milk flow as a tribute to her beauty but what a calamity that farhaad had a longing for her to his last breath.  In the same vein, munshi naubat rai nazar lakhnavi …

1.fate 2.passion, madness 3.familiar with 4.loop, kink 5.pen-name of the poet 6.profit, use 7.curve, curl, kink, bend

O maani, it is the kink in my passion knowing fate.  Otherwise, what is the meaning of the links of the chain on my feet i.e., it is my fate that my passion leads me to being chained.

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