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jo na baar-baar hota-jamna parshaad raahi
For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/jpr-jo-na-baar-baar-hota-audio.mp3
Recitation
جو نہ بار بار ہوتا ۔ جمنا پرشاد راہیؔ
۱
یہ نفس نفس نہ ہوتا نہ یہ قِسط وار ہوتا
کسے مرگ بارِ جاں تھا جو نہ بار بار ہوتا
۲
مرے سینے میں بھی دل ہے مجھے اعتبار ہوتا
کوئی تیر میرے دل کے اگر آر پار ہوتا
۳
شبِ غم دوکانِ دل پر یہی کاروبار ہوتا
کبھی ہِجر نقد ہوتا کبھی غم اُدھار ہوتا
۴
سرِ دشتِ دل نہ آتیں جو یہ سر پھری ہوائیں
نہ بگولے سر اُٹھاتے نہ کہیں غبار ہوتا
۵
جو خطابِ سروری ہے تو صدائے سرد کیا ہے
تجھے آسماں سمجھتے جو سخن شرار ہوتا
۶
متضاد راستوں سے نئے زاویے نکلتے
مجھے اپنی گمرہی پر اگر اعتبار ہوتا
۷
جو مکرّر آ نہ جاتے تری چاہتوں کے موسم
نہ یہ زخم پھول ہوتے نہ یہ غم بہار ہوتا
۸
نہ گمان ہاتھ چھوڑا نہ یقیں نے رہبری کی
تجھے پالیا تھا میں نے اگر اعتبار ہوتا
۹
دمِ آخرِ تماشا غمِ جاں نزاعِ ہستی
کوئی کھیل جانتے ہم تُو جو غم گُسار ہوتا
जो न बार बार होता – जमना प्रसाद राही
१
ये नफ़स नफ़स न होता न ये क़िस्त-वार होता
किसे मर्ग बार-ए जाँ था जो न बार बार होता
२
मेरे सीने में भी दिल है मुझे ए’तेबार होता
कोई तीर मेरे दिल के अगर आर-पार होता
३
शब-ए ग़म दुकान-ए दिल पर यही कारोबार होता
कभी हिज्र नक़्द होता कभी ग़म उधार होता
४
सर-ए दश्त-ए दिल न आतीं जो ये सर-फिरी हवाएँ
न बगूले सर उठाते न कहीं ग़ुबार होता
५
जो ख़िताब-ए सर्वरी है तो सदा-ए सर्द क्या है
तुझे आसमाँ समझते जो सुख़न शरार होता
६
मुतज़ाद रास्तों से नए ज़ाविए निकलते
मुझे अपनी गुमरही पर अगर ए’तेबार होता
७
जो मुकर्रर आ न जाते तेरी चाहतों के मौसम
न ये ज़ख़्म फूल होते न ये ग़म बहार होता
८
न गुमान हाथ छोढा न यक़ीं ने रहबरी की
तुझे पा लिया था मैं ने अगर ए’तेबार होता
९
दम-ए आख़िर-ए तमाशा ग़म-ए जाँ नज़ा-ए हस्ती
कोई खेल जानते हम तू जो ग़मगुसार होता
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jamna prashaad raahi (1940-2017), aligaRh. Sahitya Akademi, UP, awardee. President, Progressive Writers’ Association. He specialized in composing in the style of Ghalib and traced his literary lineage to daaGh dehlavi. He has a whole collection in the style of Ghalib called ‘baazgasht-e Ghalib’. This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘visaal-e yaar hota’ is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’. Many of his Ghazal are extremely difficult to interpret. ‘raahi’ takes himself seriously as a ‘return-baazgasht-echo of Ghalib’ and makes his ash’aar difficult to understand like the complaint about Ghalib voiced by aish dehlavi ‘magar un ki zabaaN vo aap samjheN ya Khuda samjhe’.
1
ye nafas1 nafas na hotaa na ye qist-vaar2 hotaa
kise marg3 baar-e jaaN4 thaa jo na baar-baar5 hotaa 1.breath, moment of life 2.in installments, in parts 3.death 4.burden of the soul/life 5.repeatedly
Let us start with the second misra. Would death have been a burden on the soul, if it had happened just once. The implicit answer is – of course not. Death is a burden because it happens every time … you die in installments. Said Ghalib …
kahuN kis se maiN keh kya hai shab-e Gham buri balaa hai
mujhe kya bura tha marna agar ek baar hota
With that let us turn to the first misra. This breath would not have been a breath i.e., this life would not have been a life i.e., this life would not have been sustained, if it had not been qist-vaar – meted out breath by breath and piece by piece. This is exactly opposite to what the poet feels about death.
In an alternative perspective, the she’r presents a unified philosophical view: Life is an installment plan of breaths, and death is an installment plan of sorrows. The two processes are fundamentally linked. The burden of life is the process of living, which is also the process of slowly dying. The she’r isn’t just saying death is a burden because it happens in installments; it’s saying that life itself – the very thing that keeps us alive – is the slow, relentless, and burdensome process of dying in installments. The pain of death isn’t just in the final moment, but in every moment leading up to it. Ghalib again …
na ho marna to jiine ka maza kya
2
mere siin’e meN bhii dil hai mujhe e’tebaar1 hotaa
koi tiir2 mere dil ke agar aar-paar3 hotaa 1.trust, confidence 2.arrow 3.through and through
The poet/lover does not have confidence that he has a heart in his bosom because he has not experienced any arrow piercing his heart through and through. Perhaps this means that he has not experienced true love – if only he had trust, in his own emotions or the reality of pain, he might believe there is a heart in his chest too. The absence of a clean, piercing wound makes him doubt the authenticity of his own suffering.
Said Ghalib (in a she’r that has a different implication) …
koi mere dil se puchhe tere tiir-e niim-kash ko
ye Khalish kahaaN se hoti jo jigar ke paar hota
3
shab-e Gham dukaan-e dil par yahii kaarobaar1 hotaa
kabhi hijr2 naqd3 hotaa kabhi Gham udhaar4 hotaa 1.business, trade 2.separation 3.cash, immediate 4.on credit, deferred
In the night of sorrow, the heart becomes a shop where only grief is traded; there is no joy. Sometimes the pain of separation is dealt with immediately (cash), sometimes sorrow lingers like debt.
4
sar1-e dasht2-e dil na aatiiN jo ye sar-phirii3 havaa’eN4
na baguule5 sar uThaate na kahiiN Ghubaar6 hotaa 1.head, beginning 2.wilderness 3.headstrong, reckless 4.can also mean love, desire, longing 5.whirlwinds 6.dust, chaos
havaa’eN is used here to mean love and longing and sar-phirii havaa’eN means persistent, headstrong desire. Thus, persistent love has come to the wilderness of his heart. If it had not come, then there wouldn’t be dust storms, and the landscape might’ve remained calm. A metaphor for emotional turmoil stirred up by his obstinacy in love. This is a very clever use of the word havaa and allows us to interpret the she’r in a literal sense, where havaa means ‘wind’ but also in a figurative sense where it means love and longing.
5
jo Khitaab1-e sarvarii2 hai to sadaa3-e sard4 kyaa hai
tujhe aasmaaN5 samajhte jo suKhan6 sharaar7 hotaa 1.title, address 2.leadership, supremacy 3.voice 4.cold, unimpassioned tone 5.sky, elevated, respected 6.speech, poetry 7.spark, fire metaphor for passion
If your speech claims leadership, why is it so uninspired/insipid? Had we truly believed you were like the sky – vast and noble – your words would have sparked like fire/passion. As opposed to this, Ghalib said …
yeh masaa’el-e tasavvuf, yeh tera bayaan Ghalib
tujhe ham valii samajhte, jo na baada-Khwaar hota
6
mutazaad1 raastoN se naye zaaviye2 nikalte
mujhe apnii gum-rahii3 par agar e’tebaar5 hotaa 1.contradictory, opposing 2.angles, perspectives 3.being lost, deviation 4.trust, confidence
New perspectives arise from contradictory paths, had the poet trusted even in his own search (even if he might feel lost), perhaps those paths could’ve led somewhere. A philosophical view on the value of doubt and daring to take detours.
7
jo mukarrar1 aa na jaate terii chaahtoN ke mausam
na ye zaKhm2 phool hote na ye Gham bahaar3 hotaa 1.repeatedly, again and again 2.wounds 3.spring, blossoming
If the seasons of your love hadn’t returned again and again, these wounds wouldn’t have become flowers, and this sorrow wouldn’t feel like spring. Pain, through recurrence, transforms into beauty – a deeply sufiaana thought.
8
na gumaan1 haath choRaa na yaqiiN2 ne rahbarii3 kii
tujhe paa liyaa thaa maiN ne agar e’tebaar4 hotaa 1.suspicion, doubt 2.certainty, belief, confidence 3.guidance 4.trust
Neither doubt let go, nor did confidence/belief guide. Had the poet/seeker trusted (either one), he might have truly found ‘you’; ‘you’ could be the beloved, truth, god, or even self. The poet is stuck between skepticism and faith or between self-doubt and self-confidence, paralyzed by lack of conviction.
9
dam1-e aaKhir2-e tamaashaa3 Gham-e-jaaN4 niza’a5-e hastii6
koi khel jaante ham tu jo Gham-gusaar7 hotaa 1.moment 2.final, ending, death 3.spectacle, attractions 4.sorrow of the soul/life 5.struggle, conflict 6.existence, life 7.companion in sorrow, one who consoles
The spectacle of the moment of death, the sorrows of life, the struggle for existence, would all have been child’s play, if you had been my companion.
jamna prashaad raahi (1940-2017), aligaRh. Sahitya Akademi, UP, awardee. President, Progressive Writers’ Association. He specialized in composing in the style of Ghalib and traced his literary lineage to daaGh dehlavi. He has a whole collection in the style of Ghalib called ‘baazgasht-e Ghalib’. This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘visaal-e yaar hota’ is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’. Many of his Ghazal are extremely difficult to interpret. ‘raahi’ takes himself seriously as a ‘return-baazgasht-echo of Ghalib’ and makes his ash’aar difficult to understand like the complaint about Ghalib voiced by aish dehlavi ‘magar un ki zabaaN vo aap samjheN ya Khuda samjhe’.
1
ye nafas1 nafas na hotaa na ye qist-vaar2 hotaa
kise marg3 baar-e jaaN4 thaa jo na baar-baar5 hotaa
1.breath, moment of life 2.in installments, in parts 3.death 4.burden of the soul/life 5.repeatedly
Let us start with the second misra. Would death have been a burden on the soul, if it had happened just once. The implicit answer is – of course not. Death is a burden because it happens every time … you die in installments. Said Ghalib …
kahuN kis se maiN keh kya hai shab-e Gham buri balaa hai
mujhe kya bura tha marna agar ek baar hota
With that let us turn to the first misra. This breath would not have been a breath i.e., this life would not have been a life i.e., this life would not have been sustained, if it had not been qist-vaar – meted out breath by breath and piece by piece. This is exactly opposite to what the poet feels about death.
In an alternative perspective, the she’r presents a unified philosophical view: Life is an installment plan of breaths, and death is an installment plan of sorrows. The two processes are fundamentally linked. The burden of life is the process of living, which is also the process of slowly dying. The she’r isn’t just saying death is a burden because it happens in installments; it’s saying that life itself – the very thing that keeps us alive – is the slow, relentless, and burdensome process of dying in installments. The pain of death isn’t just in the final moment, but in every moment leading up to it. Ghalib again …
na ho marna to jiine ka maza kya
2
mere siin’e meN bhii dil hai mujhe e’tebaar1 hotaa
koi tiir2 mere dil ke agar aar-paar3 hotaa
1.trust, confidence 2.arrow 3.through and through
The poet/lover does not have confidence that he has a heart in his bosom because he has not experienced any arrow piercing his heart through and through. Perhaps this means that he has not experienced true love – if only he had trust, in his own emotions or the reality of pain, he might believe there is a heart in his chest too. The absence of a clean, piercing wound makes him doubt the authenticity of his own suffering.
Said Ghalib (in a she’r that has a different implication) …
koi mere dil se puchhe tere tiir-e niim-kash ko
ye Khalish kahaaN se hoti jo jigar ke paar hota
3
shab-e Gham dukaan-e dil par yahii kaarobaar1 hotaa
kabhi hijr2 naqd3 hotaa kabhi Gham udhaar4 hotaa
1.business, trade 2.separation 3.cash, immediate 4.on credit, deferred
In the night of sorrow, the heart becomes a shop where only grief is traded; there is no joy. Sometimes the pain of separation is dealt with immediately (cash), sometimes sorrow lingers like debt.
4
sar1-e dasht2-e dil na aatiiN jo ye sar-phirii3 havaa’eN4
na baguule5 sar uThaate na kahiiN Ghubaar6 hotaa
1.head, beginning 2.wilderness 3.headstrong, reckless 4.can also mean love, desire, longing 5.whirlwinds 6.dust, chaos
havaa’eN is used here to mean love and longing and sar-phirii havaa’eN means persistent, headstrong desire. Thus, persistent love has come to the wilderness of his heart. If it had not come, then there wouldn’t be dust storms, and the landscape might’ve remained calm. A metaphor for emotional turmoil stirred up by his obstinacy in love. This is a very clever use of the word havaa and allows us to interpret the she’r in a literal sense, where havaa means ‘wind’ but also in a figurative sense where it means love and longing.
5
jo Khitaab1-e sarvarii2 hai to sadaa3-e sard4 kyaa hai
tujhe aasmaaN5 samajhte jo suKhan6 sharaar7 hotaa
1.title, address 2.leadership, supremacy 3.voice 4.cold, unimpassioned tone 5.sky, elevated, respected 6.speech, poetry 7.spark, fire metaphor for passion
If your speech claims leadership, why is it so uninspired/insipid? Had we truly believed you were like the sky – vast and noble – your words would have sparked like fire/passion. As opposed to this, Ghalib said …
yeh masaa’el-e tasavvuf, yeh tera bayaan Ghalib
tujhe ham valii samajhte, jo na baada-Khwaar hota
6
mutazaad1 raastoN se naye zaaviye2 nikalte
mujhe apnii gum-rahii3 par agar e’tebaar5 hotaa
1.contradictory, opposing 2.angles, perspectives 3.being lost, deviation 4.trust, confidence
New perspectives arise from contradictory paths, had the poet trusted even in his own search (even if he might feel lost), perhaps those paths could’ve led somewhere. A philosophical view on the value of doubt and daring to take detours.
7
jo mukarrar1 aa na jaate terii chaahtoN ke mausam
na ye zaKhm2 phool hote na ye Gham bahaar3 hotaa
1.repeatedly, again and again 2.wounds 3.spring, blossoming
If the seasons of your love hadn’t returned again and again, these wounds wouldn’t have become flowers, and this sorrow wouldn’t feel like spring. Pain, through recurrence, transforms into beauty – a deeply sufiaana thought.
8
na gumaan1 haath choRaa na yaqiiN2 ne rahbarii3 kii
tujhe paa liyaa thaa maiN ne agar e’tebaar4 hotaa
1.suspicion, doubt 2.certainty, belief, confidence 3.guidance 4.trust
Neither doubt let go, nor did confidence/belief guide. Had the poet/seeker trusted (either one), he might have truly found ‘you’; ‘you’ could be the beloved, truth, god, or even self. The poet is stuck between skepticism and faith or between self-doubt and self-confidence, paralyzed by lack of conviction.
9
dam1-e aaKhir2-e tamaashaa3 Gham-e-jaaN4 niza’a5-e hastii6
koi khel jaante ham tu jo Gham-gusaar7 hotaa
1.moment 2.final, ending, death 3.spectacle, attractions 4.sorrow of the soul/life 5.struggle, conflict 6.existence, life 7.companion in sorrow, one who consoles
The spectacle of the moment of death, the sorrows of life, the struggle for existence, would all have been child’s play, if you had been my companion.
The post jo na baar-baar hota-jamna parshaad raahi appeared first on UrduShahkar.
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By For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/jpr-jo-na-baar-baar-hota-audio.mp3
Recitation
جو نہ بار بار ہوتا ۔ جمنا پرشاد راہیؔ
۱
یہ نفس نفس نہ ہوتا نہ یہ قِسط وار ہوتا
کسے مرگ بارِ جاں تھا جو نہ بار بار ہوتا
۲
مرے سینے میں بھی دل ہے مجھے اعتبار ہوتا
کوئی تیر میرے دل کے اگر آر پار ہوتا
۳
شبِ غم دوکانِ دل پر یہی کاروبار ہوتا
کبھی ہِجر نقد ہوتا کبھی غم اُدھار ہوتا
۴
سرِ دشتِ دل نہ آتیں جو یہ سر پھری ہوائیں
نہ بگولے سر اُٹھاتے نہ کہیں غبار ہوتا
۵
جو خطابِ سروری ہے تو صدائے سرد کیا ہے
تجھے آسماں سمجھتے جو سخن شرار ہوتا
۶
متضاد راستوں سے نئے زاویے نکلتے
مجھے اپنی گمرہی پر اگر اعتبار ہوتا
۷
جو مکرّر آ نہ جاتے تری چاہتوں کے موسم
نہ یہ زخم پھول ہوتے نہ یہ غم بہار ہوتا
۸
نہ گمان ہاتھ چھوڑا نہ یقیں نے رہبری کی
تجھے پالیا تھا میں نے اگر اعتبار ہوتا
۹
دمِ آخرِ تماشا غمِ جاں نزاعِ ہستی
کوئی کھیل جانتے ہم تُو جو غم گُسار ہوتا
जो न बार बार होता – जमना प्रसाद राही
१
ये नफ़स नफ़स न होता न ये क़िस्त-वार होता
किसे मर्ग बार-ए जाँ था जो न बार बार होता
२
मेरे सीने में भी दिल है मुझे ए’तेबार होता
कोई तीर मेरे दिल के अगर आर-पार होता
३
शब-ए ग़म दुकान-ए दिल पर यही कारोबार होता
कभी हिज्र नक़्द होता कभी ग़म उधार होता
४
सर-ए दश्त-ए दिल न आतीं जो ये सर-फिरी हवाएँ
न बगूले सर उठाते न कहीं ग़ुबार होता
५
जो ख़िताब-ए सर्वरी है तो सदा-ए सर्द क्या है
तुझे आसमाँ समझते जो सुख़न शरार होता
६
मुतज़ाद रास्तों से नए ज़ाविए निकलते
मुझे अपनी गुमरही पर अगर ए’तेबार होता
७
जो मुकर्रर आ न जाते तेरी चाहतों के मौसम
न ये ज़ख़्म फूल होते न ये ग़म बहार होता
८
न गुमान हाथ छोढा न यक़ीं ने रहबरी की
तुझे पा लिया था मैं ने अगर ए’तेबार होता
९
दम-ए आख़िर-ए तमाशा ग़म-ए जाँ नज़ा-ए हस्ती
कोई खेल जानते हम तू जो ग़मगुसार होता
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jamna prashaad raahi (1940-2017), aligaRh. Sahitya Akademi, UP, awardee. President, Progressive Writers’ Association. He specialized in composing in the style of Ghalib and traced his literary lineage to daaGh dehlavi. He has a whole collection in the style of Ghalib called ‘baazgasht-e Ghalib’. This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘visaal-e yaar hota’ is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’. Many of his Ghazal are extremely difficult to interpret. ‘raahi’ takes himself seriously as a ‘return-baazgasht-echo of Ghalib’ and makes his ash’aar difficult to understand like the complaint about Ghalib voiced by aish dehlavi ‘magar un ki zabaaN vo aap samjheN ya Khuda samjhe’.
1
ye nafas1 nafas na hotaa na ye qist-vaar2 hotaa
kise marg3 baar-e jaaN4 thaa jo na baar-baar5 hotaa 1.breath, moment of life 2.in installments, in parts 3.death 4.burden of the soul/life 5.repeatedly
Let us start with the second misra. Would death have been a burden on the soul, if it had happened just once. The implicit answer is – of course not. Death is a burden because it happens every time … you die in installments. Said Ghalib …
kahuN kis se maiN keh kya hai shab-e Gham buri balaa hai
mujhe kya bura tha marna agar ek baar hota
With that let us turn to the first misra. This breath would not have been a breath i.e., this life would not have been a life i.e., this life would not have been sustained, if it had not been qist-vaar – meted out breath by breath and piece by piece. This is exactly opposite to what the poet feels about death.
In an alternative perspective, the she’r presents a unified philosophical view: Life is an installment plan of breaths, and death is an installment plan of sorrows. The two processes are fundamentally linked. The burden of life is the process of living, which is also the process of slowly dying. The she’r isn’t just saying death is a burden because it happens in installments; it’s saying that life itself – the very thing that keeps us alive – is the slow, relentless, and burdensome process of dying in installments. The pain of death isn’t just in the final moment, but in every moment leading up to it. Ghalib again …
na ho marna to jiine ka maza kya
2
mere siin’e meN bhii dil hai mujhe e’tebaar1 hotaa
koi tiir2 mere dil ke agar aar-paar3 hotaa 1.trust, confidence 2.arrow 3.through and through
The poet/lover does not have confidence that he has a heart in his bosom because he has not experienced any arrow piercing his heart through and through. Perhaps this means that he has not experienced true love – if only he had trust, in his own emotions or the reality of pain, he might believe there is a heart in his chest too. The absence of a clean, piercing wound makes him doubt the authenticity of his own suffering.
Said Ghalib (in a she’r that has a different implication) …
koi mere dil se puchhe tere tiir-e niim-kash ko
ye Khalish kahaaN se hoti jo jigar ke paar hota
3
shab-e Gham dukaan-e dil par yahii kaarobaar1 hotaa
kabhi hijr2 naqd3 hotaa kabhi Gham udhaar4 hotaa 1.business, trade 2.separation 3.cash, immediate 4.on credit, deferred
In the night of sorrow, the heart becomes a shop where only grief is traded; there is no joy. Sometimes the pain of separation is dealt with immediately (cash), sometimes sorrow lingers like debt.
4
sar1-e dasht2-e dil na aatiiN jo ye sar-phirii3 havaa’eN4
na baguule5 sar uThaate na kahiiN Ghubaar6 hotaa 1.head, beginning 2.wilderness 3.headstrong, reckless 4.can also mean love, desire, longing 5.whirlwinds 6.dust, chaos
havaa’eN is used here to mean love and longing and sar-phirii havaa’eN means persistent, headstrong desire. Thus, persistent love has come to the wilderness of his heart. If it had not come, then there wouldn’t be dust storms, and the landscape might’ve remained calm. A metaphor for emotional turmoil stirred up by his obstinacy in love. This is a very clever use of the word havaa and allows us to interpret the she’r in a literal sense, where havaa means ‘wind’ but also in a figurative sense where it means love and longing.
5
jo Khitaab1-e sarvarii2 hai to sadaa3-e sard4 kyaa hai
tujhe aasmaaN5 samajhte jo suKhan6 sharaar7 hotaa 1.title, address 2.leadership, supremacy 3.voice 4.cold, unimpassioned tone 5.sky, elevated, respected 6.speech, poetry 7.spark, fire metaphor for passion
If your speech claims leadership, why is it so uninspired/insipid? Had we truly believed you were like the sky – vast and noble – your words would have sparked like fire/passion. As opposed to this, Ghalib said …
yeh masaa’el-e tasavvuf, yeh tera bayaan Ghalib
tujhe ham valii samajhte, jo na baada-Khwaar hota
6
mutazaad1 raastoN se naye zaaviye2 nikalte
mujhe apnii gum-rahii3 par agar e’tebaar5 hotaa 1.contradictory, opposing 2.angles, perspectives 3.being lost, deviation 4.trust, confidence
New perspectives arise from contradictory paths, had the poet trusted even in his own search (even if he might feel lost), perhaps those paths could’ve led somewhere. A philosophical view on the value of doubt and daring to take detours.
7
jo mukarrar1 aa na jaate terii chaahtoN ke mausam
na ye zaKhm2 phool hote na ye Gham bahaar3 hotaa 1.repeatedly, again and again 2.wounds 3.spring, blossoming
If the seasons of your love hadn’t returned again and again, these wounds wouldn’t have become flowers, and this sorrow wouldn’t feel like spring. Pain, through recurrence, transforms into beauty – a deeply sufiaana thought.
8
na gumaan1 haath choRaa na yaqiiN2 ne rahbarii3 kii
tujhe paa liyaa thaa maiN ne agar e’tebaar4 hotaa 1.suspicion, doubt 2.certainty, belief, confidence 3.guidance 4.trust
Neither doubt let go, nor did confidence/belief guide. Had the poet/seeker trusted (either one), he might have truly found ‘you’; ‘you’ could be the beloved, truth, god, or even self. The poet is stuck between skepticism and faith or between self-doubt and self-confidence, paralyzed by lack of conviction.
9
dam1-e aaKhir2-e tamaashaa3 Gham-e-jaaN4 niza’a5-e hastii6
koi khel jaante ham tu jo Gham-gusaar7 hotaa 1.moment 2.final, ending, death 3.spectacle, attractions 4.sorrow of the soul/life 5.struggle, conflict 6.existence, life 7.companion in sorrow, one who consoles
The spectacle of the moment of death, the sorrows of life, the struggle for existence, would all have been child’s play, if you had been my companion.
jamna prashaad raahi (1940-2017), aligaRh. Sahitya Akademi, UP, awardee. President, Progressive Writers’ Association. He specialized in composing in the style of Ghalib and traced his literary lineage to daaGh dehlavi. He has a whole collection in the style of Ghalib called ‘baazgasht-e Ghalib’. This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘visaal-e yaar hota’ is linked to ‘Ghalib naqsh-e qadam’. Many of his Ghazal are extremely difficult to interpret. ‘raahi’ takes himself seriously as a ‘return-baazgasht-echo of Ghalib’ and makes his ash’aar difficult to understand like the complaint about Ghalib voiced by aish dehlavi ‘magar un ki zabaaN vo aap samjheN ya Khuda samjhe’.
1
ye nafas1 nafas na hotaa na ye qist-vaar2 hotaa
kise marg3 baar-e jaaN4 thaa jo na baar-baar5 hotaa
1.breath, moment of life 2.in installments, in parts 3.death 4.burden of the soul/life 5.repeatedly
Let us start with the second misra. Would death have been a burden on the soul, if it had happened just once. The implicit answer is – of course not. Death is a burden because it happens every time … you die in installments. Said Ghalib …
kahuN kis se maiN keh kya hai shab-e Gham buri balaa hai
mujhe kya bura tha marna agar ek baar hota
With that let us turn to the first misra. This breath would not have been a breath i.e., this life would not have been a life i.e., this life would not have been sustained, if it had not been qist-vaar – meted out breath by breath and piece by piece. This is exactly opposite to what the poet feels about death.
In an alternative perspective, the she’r presents a unified philosophical view: Life is an installment plan of breaths, and death is an installment plan of sorrows. The two processes are fundamentally linked. The burden of life is the process of living, which is also the process of slowly dying. The she’r isn’t just saying death is a burden because it happens in installments; it’s saying that life itself – the very thing that keeps us alive – is the slow, relentless, and burdensome process of dying in installments. The pain of death isn’t just in the final moment, but in every moment leading up to it. Ghalib again …
na ho marna to jiine ka maza kya
2
mere siin’e meN bhii dil hai mujhe e’tebaar1 hotaa
koi tiir2 mere dil ke agar aar-paar3 hotaa
1.trust, confidence 2.arrow 3.through and through
The poet/lover does not have confidence that he has a heart in his bosom because he has not experienced any arrow piercing his heart through and through. Perhaps this means that he has not experienced true love – if only he had trust, in his own emotions or the reality of pain, he might believe there is a heart in his chest too. The absence of a clean, piercing wound makes him doubt the authenticity of his own suffering.
Said Ghalib (in a she’r that has a different implication) …
koi mere dil se puchhe tere tiir-e niim-kash ko
ye Khalish kahaaN se hoti jo jigar ke paar hota
3
shab-e Gham dukaan-e dil par yahii kaarobaar1 hotaa
kabhi hijr2 naqd3 hotaa kabhi Gham udhaar4 hotaa
1.business, trade 2.separation 3.cash, immediate 4.on credit, deferred
In the night of sorrow, the heart becomes a shop where only grief is traded; there is no joy. Sometimes the pain of separation is dealt with immediately (cash), sometimes sorrow lingers like debt.
4
sar1-e dasht2-e dil na aatiiN jo ye sar-phirii3 havaa’eN4
na baguule5 sar uThaate na kahiiN Ghubaar6 hotaa
1.head, beginning 2.wilderness 3.headstrong, reckless 4.can also mean love, desire, longing 5.whirlwinds 6.dust, chaos
havaa’eN is used here to mean love and longing and sar-phirii havaa’eN means persistent, headstrong desire. Thus, persistent love has come to the wilderness of his heart. If it had not come, then there wouldn’t be dust storms, and the landscape might’ve remained calm. A metaphor for emotional turmoil stirred up by his obstinacy in love. This is a very clever use of the word havaa and allows us to interpret the she’r in a literal sense, where havaa means ‘wind’ but also in a figurative sense where it means love and longing.
5
jo Khitaab1-e sarvarii2 hai to sadaa3-e sard4 kyaa hai
tujhe aasmaaN5 samajhte jo suKhan6 sharaar7 hotaa
1.title, address 2.leadership, supremacy 3.voice 4.cold, unimpassioned tone 5.sky, elevated, respected 6.speech, poetry 7.spark, fire metaphor for passion
If your speech claims leadership, why is it so uninspired/insipid? Had we truly believed you were like the sky – vast and noble – your words would have sparked like fire/passion. As opposed to this, Ghalib said …
yeh masaa’el-e tasavvuf, yeh tera bayaan Ghalib
tujhe ham valii samajhte, jo na baada-Khwaar hota
6
mutazaad1 raastoN se naye zaaviye2 nikalte
mujhe apnii gum-rahii3 par agar e’tebaar5 hotaa
1.contradictory, opposing 2.angles, perspectives 3.being lost, deviation 4.trust, confidence
New perspectives arise from contradictory paths, had the poet trusted even in his own search (even if he might feel lost), perhaps those paths could’ve led somewhere. A philosophical view on the value of doubt and daring to take detours.
7
jo mukarrar1 aa na jaate terii chaahtoN ke mausam
na ye zaKhm2 phool hote na ye Gham bahaar3 hotaa
1.repeatedly, again and again 2.wounds 3.spring, blossoming
If the seasons of your love hadn’t returned again and again, these wounds wouldn’t have become flowers, and this sorrow wouldn’t feel like spring. Pain, through recurrence, transforms into beauty – a deeply sufiaana thought.
8
na gumaan1 haath choRaa na yaqiiN2 ne rahbarii3 kii
tujhe paa liyaa thaa maiN ne agar e’tebaar4 hotaa
1.suspicion, doubt 2.certainty, belief, confidence 3.guidance 4.trust
Neither doubt let go, nor did confidence/belief guide. Had the poet/seeker trusted (either one), he might have truly found ‘you’; ‘you’ could be the beloved, truth, god, or even self. The poet is stuck between skepticism and faith or between self-doubt and self-confidence, paralyzed by lack of conviction.
9
dam1-e aaKhir2-e tamaashaa3 Gham-e-jaaN4 niza’a5-e hastii6
koi khel jaante ham tu jo Gham-gusaar7 hotaa
1.moment 2.final, ending, death 3.spectacle, attractions 4.sorrow of the soul/life 5.struggle, conflict 6.existence, life 7.companion in sorrow, one who consoles
The spectacle of the moment of death, the sorrows of life, the struggle for existence, would all have been child’s play, if you had been my companion.
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