For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GPsh-Khat-ke-javaab-meN-audio.mp3

Recitation

خط  کے  جواب  میں  ۔  جارج  پیِش  شورؔ

۱

آنسو  ہیں  جس  قدر  مرے  چشمِ  پُر  آب  میں

اُتنی  ہیں  حسرتیں  دلِ  خانہ  خراب  میں

۲

جب  دم  لبوں  پہ  آئے  ہے  اُس  دم  وہ  آئے  ہے

میں  بھی  عذاب  میں  ہوں  اجل  بھی  عذاب  میں

۳

فرماؤ  آج  شرم  کے  دعوے  کہاں  گئے

جوں  بوئے  گل  ہو  جامہ  سے  باہر  عتاب  میں

۴

ہے  آپ  کی  جفا  سے  زیادہ  مری  وفا

کر  لو  حساب  فرق  نہیں  کچھ  حساب  میں

۵

دیکھو  نگاہِ  ناز  سے  مرنے  کے  ہم  نہیں

آبِ  حیات  ہے  اِسی  تیغِ  پُر  آب  میں

۶

یہ  وہ  ہے  داغِ  دل  کہ  قیامت  کو  ہو  پُکار

گر  عکس  زن  ہو  آینۂ  آفتاب  میں

۷

تم  بزم  میں  ہمارے  تو  آؤ  کبھی  ذرا

وہ  ہم  دکھائیں  گے  جو  نہ  دیکھا  ہو  خواب  میں

۸

ہرجائی  پن  کے  طعنے  سے  بر  آئی  آرزُو

جھنجھلا  کے  آپ  آئے  وہ  خط  کے  جواب  میں

۹

رلوا  رہا  ہے  خون  کے  آنسو  یہ  دورِ  جام

دورِ  فلک  ہے  گردشِ  جامِ  شراب  میں

۱۰

بیدردیاں  غضب  ہیں  جلا  کر  وہ  دل  مرا

کہتے  ہیں  یہ  کہ  رہ  گئی  خامی  کباب  میں

۱۱

لکھی  ہے  لاجواب  غزل  آپ  نے  یہ  شورؔ

ایک  اور  بھی  ہو  اِس  سے  سِوا  اِنتخاب  میں

ख़त के जवाब में – जॉर्ज पेइश शोर

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Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. George Puech shor (1823-1894). aligaRh, meeraTh and dehli. French and German descent from both grandfathers. Received education in urdu and faarsi at the insistence of his father. Six collections of Ghazal and a diary describing the events of 1857. He was well known in poetic circles including Ghalib, daaGh and tufta. This Ghazal modeled after Ghalib’s saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

George Puech shor (1823-1894). aligaRh, meeraTh and dehli.  French and German descent from both grandfathers.  Received education in urdu and faarsi at the insistence of his father.  Six collections of Ghazal and a diary describing the events of 1857.  He was well known in poetic circles including Ghalib, daaGh and tufta.  This Ghazal modeled after Ghalib’s saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

1.tears 2.as much, as many 3.eyes 4.water filled i.e., tear filled 5.longing, unfulfilled desires 6.ruined home, broken heart

There is an abundance of tears in the poet/lover’s tear-filled eyes.  There are as many unfulfilled desires in his broken/ruined heart as there are tears in his eyes.  Thus, the cause of his tears (sorrow) is the unfulfilled desires – probably the beloved’s indifference.

1.breath, life 2.lips 3.moment 4.torment, suffering 5.death

It is customary for the beloved to visit the lover on his death bed.  His life is ‘hanging on the lips’ i.e., he is about to die and yet she has not arrived.  She arrives only at the last minute.  All this while the lover is in agony waiting for her.  Seeing his agony, death itself feels tormented or perhaps death is restless because it has to do its job and move on.

1.speak, say 2.modesty, shyness 3.claims 4.like, similar to 5.fragrance 6.rose 7.garment, also jaama se baahir hona means to lose control of oneself 8.anger, rage

The background appears to be that the beloved always claims that her modesty prevents her from speaking and meeting.  But now she has lost complete control of herself and is publicly and (perhaps) loudly abusing him.  He reminds her of her claims of modesty … what happened to those, he asks and says that she has lost control of herself like the rose loses control of its fragrance.  Perhaps the poet means to imply that even her rage and public expression of it is pleasant to the lover like fragrance.

1.cruelty, betrayal 2.more 3.loyalty, fidelity 4.counting, reckoning 5.difference

The lover is always faithful to the beloved and she always teases and tortures him by playing around with other admirers.  He claims that his fidelity is far more than her cruelty and invites her to count/reckon/measure it herself.  She will not find any difference, he is confident.

1.glance 2.coquetry 3.water of life, elixir of immortality, amrit 4.sword 5.shiny, sharp

There is a nice play of words with aab-e hayaat and pur-aab – aab can mean both water and luster/sharpness.  The lover always desire to be killed at the hands of the beloved and she slays him with her sharp sword.  Figuratively, her coquettish glance can be the sword with which she slays him.  He declares he won’t die from a coquettish glance, instead, he finds immortality in the sharp and shiny sword of love.

1.scar 2.doomsday 3.if 4.reflection striking/falling on 5.mirror of the sun

The scar on the heart is so deep and dramatic that if it falls on the ‘mirror of the sun’, then it would cause such an eclipse that people would shout that doomsday is at hand.

1.gathering

I am not sure who this invitation is to – the beloved or the preacher/moralizer.  Perhaps to the latter who always preaches abstinence.  He is invited to come to the gathering at that tavern at least once, even for a little while, and the wine-lovers will show him such a pleasant time as he has never even dreamt of.

1.habitual infidelity 2.sarcasm 3.fruitful 4.desire, longing 5.irritated 6.herself 7.reply

Lovers write letters of entreaties to the beloved and send them via messenger.  Most of the time, letters go unanswered.  This time, the lover wrote sarcastically accusing the beloved of being a harjaa’ii and that too habitually.  This raised her temper and in extreme irritation she showed up herself to scold him.  Of course, her arrival is an answer to his prayers, never mind that she is irritated.  See the many delightful ways in which letters are answered …

1.making someone cry 2.tears 3.circulation, passing around 4.cup 5.rotation of the sky, vicissitudes of time, trials and tribulations of life 6.movement

The passing around of the wine cup is making the lover cry tears of blood.  It is as if the trials and tribulations of life, the calamities that befall the lover are reflected/embodied in the movement/circulation of the cup.  Why this is so is not clear.  Perhaps the saaqi/beloved is passing it around to the Ghair rival (perhaps more than one rival) and this is making the lover cry tears of blood.  Any other suggestions?

1.cruelties 2.a colloquial expression meaning ‘so much’ 3.defect

The beloved visits many kinds of cruelties on the lover and burns his heart (of jealousy).  She ‘burns/roasts it into a kabaab’ and says there is a defect/shortcoming in it.  Perhaps it is not cooked enough and she is getting ready for more cruelty.

1.without example, unequaled 2.pen-name 3.beyond, more/better than 4.selection

I imagine that there is a tarahii mushaa’era in which a Ghazal of Ghalib is given as a tarah model (saaqi ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharaab meN) for all poets to compose for the evening.  shor reads this Ghazal, praises it as beyond compare and invites himself to read another one even better than this.  He then proceeds to read the second Ghazal (also posted on this site as iss ke javaab meN).

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