UrduShahkar

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/rpr-Khwaab-hai-kyuN-audio.mp3

Recitation

خواب  ہے  کیوں  ۔  رام  پرکاش  راہیؔ

۱

توقعات  کی  چہروں  پہ  آب  و  تاب  ہے  کیوں

سوال  بن  کے  یہ  مِنّت  کشِ  جواب  ہے  کیوں

۲

بھنور  کی  آنکھ  میں  آنسو  نہ  اِنفعال  کا  رنگ

یہاں  گرفتِ  تلاطم  میں  سطحِ  آب  ہے  کیوں

۳

کوئی  تو  در  کسی  سِم  سِم  کے  بس  میں  تھا  ورنہ

جو  باریاب  نہیں  تھا  وہ  کامیاب  ہے  کیوں

۴

بھلے  برے  کی  سند  دینے  والوں  سے  پوچھو

نصابِ  زیست  کا  ہر  لفظ  اِک  کتاب  ہے  کیوں

۵

قدم  قدم  کی  پرکھ  وہ  بھی  ذرّے  ذرّے  پر

یہ  احتساب  اگر  ہے  تو  بے  حساب  ہے  کیوں

۶

اُبھر  کے  پھر  اُسی  پانی  میں  ڈوبنے  کے  لیے

پرائے  لمس  کا  مرہون  ہر  حباب  ہے  کیوں

۷

اسی  وثوق  سے  سینچوں  گا  اب  میں  کِشتِ  اُمید

مری  نظر  ہی  پہ  موقوف  ہر  سراب  ہے  کیوں

۸

ضرور  دل  کو  کسی  دل  سے  راہ  سوجھی  ہے

ہر  ایک  رگ  میری  کھینچتی  ہوئی  تناب  ہے  کیوں

۹

بدن  کی  چھوٹ  پہ  لو  دے  رہا  ہے  روپ  جہاں

نظر  کے  لمس  پہ  برہم  تیرا  حجاب  ہے  کیوں

۱۰

وہی  ضمیرِ  تعصب  تہِ  خمیرِ  وفا

سمندروں  پہ  جو  برسے  ہے  وہ  صحاب  ہے  کیوں

۱۱

جو  دوڑ  دھوپ  کو  حاصل  نہیں  حقیقت  ہے

ملے  جو  نیند  میں  اکثر  وہ  راہیؔ  خواب  ہے  کیوں

ख़्वाब है क्यूं – राम प्रकाश राही

१

२

३

४

५

६

७

८

९

१०

११

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. raam prakash raahi (1924-2003), dehli. There are two collections of his own and several others that he compiled and translated. Only one has a vague introduction, more vague than informative. It is not clear whether he was born in what is now pakistan, but he did post-graduate work in urdu, faarsi and English from lahore and later worked for the government of India.

raam prakash raahi (1924-2003), dehli.  There are two collections of his own and several others that he compiled and translated.  Only one has a vague introduction, more vague than informative.  It is not clear whether he was born in what is now pakistan, but he did post-graduate work in urdu, faarsi and English from lahore and later worked for the government of India.

1.expectations 2.faces 3.radiance, shine 4.question 5.obliged to, dependent upon 6.answer

Why is there such radiance on faces full of expectations?  Why have these faces, becoming an embodiment of question/plea, become so dependent on an answer?  The poet reflects on the tension between expectations and their fulfillment. The glow on faces suggests hope, but the dependency on answers highlights the vulnerability of these hopes.  Who is expecting what from whom?  This is intriguely left undefined.  It could be (a) the throng lovers expecting the beloved to acknowledge their love (b) it could be the deprived masses, expecting their leaders for fulfil promises or (c) it could be believers/devotees expecting god to answer their prayers.

1.whirlpool 2.regret 3.colour, image, style 4.grip 5.storm, choppy waves 6.surface 7.water

Neither tears nor shades of regret in the whirlpool’s eye; why is the water’s surface caught in such turbulence?  The poet paints a picture of turmoil, symbolized by a whirlpool without remorse or sadness. The chaotic surface represents life’s restlessness, reflecting the daily struggle of the masses.  The ‘bhaNvar’ could symbolize the politically powerful or the orthodoxy.

1.door 2.sesame 3.control 4.otherwise 5.admitted/accepted in a court or in company 6.successful

There surely was some door that was controlled by a secret charm, ‘open sesame’ (ali baba and the forty thieves), otherwise, how did the one who did not have access to authority, succeed?  This may reflect the mysteries of fate, which opens doors for someone; or equally about access to power that opens doors surreptitiously.

1.certificate 2.curriculum 3.life 4.word 5.book

Ask those who certify good and bad; why is every word of life’s curriculum like a book?

1.every step 2.evaluation, judgement 3.every paticle/speck/grain 4.accountability 5.immeasurable, unlimited

Every step is judged, every particle scrutinized; if this is called accountability, why is it so expansive/unlimited?  The poet critiques excessive scrutiny and accountability in life. It reflects the frustration of being constantly evaluated without clear standards, making the process seem endless and oppressive.  Following the previous she’r this is a reflection on the judgements that society/orthodoxy pronounces.

1.emerging, rising 2.drown, sink 3.other, foreign 4.touch 5.indebted, mortgaged 6.bubble

Rising only to sink again into the same water; why is every bubble indebted to the other’s touch?  It is possible that bubbles here symbolize fleeting aspirations shaped by external forces of turbulene of life.  They are doomed to dissolve back into the chaos they emerged from.  Here ‘paraaya lams’ is the touch of another’s hand which creates false expectations which why the bubble/hopes burst.

1.certainty, confidence 2.irrigate, water, nature 3.agricultural field 4.hope 5.sight, gaze 6.dependent 7.mirage

With the same confidence, I will now nurture the field of hope; why does every mirage depend solely on my vision?  Mirage represents unfulfilled dreams and false promises.  The poet represents every human who has been shown a mirage – a set of false promises, by the powerful and/or by the orthodoxy.  It is the false promise that gives him (the misplaced) confidence to nurture his field of hope.

1.surely 2.path, connection 3.found, seen 4.vein, fibre of the body 5.pulled tight 6.tight rope/string

Surely, my heart has found a path/connection to another; why then would every fibre in my body pull at me like a taut rope?  This could be about a romantic/love relationship but it might also be about hopes planted in his heart by ‘someone’ – the powerful or the orthodox.

1.body 2.chhooT also means radiance, reflection 3.flame 4.shape, beauty 5.where, when 6.gaze 7.touch 8.annoyed, disturbed 9.veiling, shyness, bashfulness, reticence

The beloved is bashful and prefers reticence, but her beauty sets fire to her reflection and the poet/lover cannot help himself but direct his gaze towards her brilliance.  Why then, should her reticence be annoyed by the ‘touch’ of his gaze.

1.inner self 2.bigotry, prejudice 3.under, beneath 4.essence 5.fidelity, keeping promises 6.seas, ocean 7.rain on 8.cloud

This is the cloud of benevolence, and it is raining on a place that already has a lot of water.  It does not rain where it is needed – on dry fields.  This shows that beneath the veneer of the essence of fidelity (being true to promises) is the inner self of prejudice.

1.an expression meaning-intense activity, hard work 2.gain, obtain 3.truth, reality 4.often 5.dream

What we gain with tireless effort is never reality; what we often find in sleep, O raahi, why is that a dream?  In real life we are faced with unattainable realities based on false hopes and expectations.  Why is it that we only dream about them.

The post Khwaab hai kyuN-raam prakash raahi appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/rsfg-intezaar-e-sahr-bhi-hai-12-22-audio.mp3

Recitation

اِنتظارِ  سحر  بھی  ہے  ۔  رگھوپتی  سہائے  فراقؔ  گورکھپوری

۱۲

وہی  درد  بھی  ہے  دوا  بھی  ہے  وہی  موت  بھی  ہے  حیات  بھی

وہی  عشق  ناوکِ  ناز  ہے  وہی  عشق  سینہ  سپر  بھی  ہے

۱۳

تو  زماں  مکاں  سے  گزر  بھی  جا  تو  رہِ  عدم  کو  بھی  کاٹ  لے

وہ  ثواب  ہو  کہ  عذاب  ہو  کہیں  زندگی  سے  مفر  بھی  ہے

۱۴

جو  گلے  تک  آ  کے  اٹک  گیا  جسے  تلخ  کام  نہ  پی  سکے

وہ  لہو  کا  گھونٹ  اُتر  گیا  تو  سنا  ہے  شیر  و  شکر  بھی  ہے

۱۵

کوئی  اہلِ  دل  کو  کمی  نہیں  مگر  اہلِ  دل  کا  یہ  قول  ہے

ابھی  موت  بھی  نہیں  مل  سکی  ابھی  زندگی  میں  کسر  بھی  ہے

۱۶

بڑی  چیز  دولت  و  جاہ  ہے  بڑی  وسعتیں  ہیں  نصیب  اُسے

مگر  اہلِ  دولت  و  جاہ  میں  کہیں  آدمی  کا  گزر  بھی  ہے

۱۷

یہ  شبِ  دراز  بھی  کٹ  گئی  وہ  ستارے  ڈوبے  وہ  پو  پھٹی

سر  راہ  غفلتِ  خواب  سے  اب  اٹھو  کہ  وقتِ  سحر  بھی  ہے

۱۸

جو  اُلٹ  چکے  ہیں  بساطِ  دہر  کو  اگلے  وقتوں  میں  بارہا

وہی  آج  گردشِ  بخت  ہے  وہی  رنگِ  دورِ  قمر  بھی  ہے

۱۹

نہ  غمِ  عذاب  و  ثواب  سے  کبھی  چھیڑ  فطرتِ  عشق  کو

جو  ازل  سے  مستِ  نگاہ  ہے  اُسے  نیک  و  بد  کی  خبر  بھی  ہے

۲۰

وہ  تمام  شکر  و  رضا  سہی  وہ  تمام  صبر  و  سکوں  سہی

تو  ہے  جس  سے  مائل  امتحاں  وہ  فرشتہ  ہے  تو  بشر  بھی  ہے

۲۱

نہ  کہو  تغافلِ‌  حسن  سے  کوئی  کار  سازیٔ  غم  کرے

کہ  جو  آج  غم  سے  نکل  گئی  وہ  دعا  خرابِ  اثر  بھی  ہے

۲۲

ترے  غم  کی  عمرِ  دراز  میں  کئی  انقلاب  ہوئے  مگر

وہی  طولِ  شامِ  فراقؔ  ہے  وہی  اِنتظارِ  سحر  بھی  ہے

इंतेज़ार-ए-सहर भी है – रघुपती सहाय फ़िराक़ गोरखपूरी

१२

वही दर्द भी है दवा भी है वही मौत भी है हयात भी

वही इश्क़ नावक-ए नाज़ है वही इश्क़ सीना-सिपर भी है

१३

तू ज़माँ मकाँ से गुज़र भी जा तू रह-ए अदम को भी काट ले

वो सवाब हो के अज़ाब हो कहीं ज़िंदगी से मफ़र भी है

१४

जो गले तक आ के अटक गया जिसे तल्ख़-काम न पी सके

वो लहू का घूँट उतर गया तो सुना है शीर-ओ-शकर भी है

१५

कोई अहल-ए दिल को कमी नहीं मगर अहल-ए दिल का ये क़ौल है

अभी मौत भी नहीं मिल सकी अभी ज़िंदगी में कसर भी है

१६

बढी चीज़ दौलत-ओ-जाह है बढी वुस’अतें हैं नसीब उसे

मगर अहल-ए दौलत-ओ-जाह में कहीं आदमी का गुज़र भी है

१७

ये शब-ए दराज़ भी कट गई वो सितारे डूबे वो पौ फटी

सर-ए राह ग़फ़्लत-ए ख़्वाब से अब उठो के वक़्त-ए सहर भी है

१८

जो उलट चुके हैं बिसात-ए दहर को अगले वक़्तों में बारहा

वही आज गर्दिश-ए बख़्त है वही रंग-ए दौर-ए क़मर भी है

१९

न ग़म-ए अज़ाब-ओ-सवाब से कभी छेढ फ़ितरत-ए इश्क़ को

जो अज़ल से मस्त-ए निगाह है उसे नेक-ओ-बद की ख़बर भी है

२०

वो तमाम शुक्र-ओ-रज़ा सही वो तमाम सब्र-ओ-सुकूँ सही

तू है जिस से मा’एल-ए इम्तेहाँ वो फ़रिश्ता है तो बशर भी है

२१

न कहो तग़ाफ़ुल-ए हुस्न से कोई कार-साज़ी-ए ग़म करे

के जो आज ग़म से निकल गई वो दुआ ख़राब-ए असर भी है

२२

तेरे ग़म की उम्र-ए दराज़ में कई इंक़लाब हुए मगर

वही तूल-ए शाम-ए फ़िराक़ है वही इंतेज़ार-ए सहर भी है

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. raghupati sahay firaq gorakhpuri (1896-1982) pre-eminent urdu shaa’er, scholar of farsi and sanskrit. Was nominated to Indian Civil Service but chose to participate in the freedom movement. After independence he chose an academic career, teaching English at Allahabad University. firaq composed four Ghazal (already posted on urdushahkar) in the style of mir taqi mir and five in the style of Ghalib. He freely swings between mystic, romantic and social themes.

raghupati sahay firaq gorakhpuri (1896-1982) pre-eminent urdu shaa’er, scholar of farsi and sanskrit.  Was nominated to Indian Civil Service but chose to participate in the freedom movement.  After independence he chose an academic career, teaching English at Allahabad University.  firaq composed four Ghazal (already posted on urdushahkar) in the style of mir taqi mir and five in the style of Ghalib.  He freely swings between mystic, romantic and social themes.

1.death 2.life 3.arrow 4.elegance, coquetry 5.shielding the chest/heart

That same ishq mystical love is both the pain and the cure/salve/balm; it is both death and life (rejuvenation).  That same ishq is the arrow of coquetry (that can kill); it is also the shield that protects the heart.  For the mystic, the pain of love itself is the cure and fanaa annihilation results in merger with the divine spirit, hence rejuvenation.

1.time 2.space 3.pass through/beyond 4.path 5.non-existence 6.traverse, go through 7.reward 8.punishment, curse 9.escape, refuge

Here tu could be the poet addressing himself or all of humanity.  He is presenting a sufiyaana point of view.  You may pass through space and time, you may traverse the region of non-being; you may be rewarded or punished; but is there any escape from life!  Whether it is happy (reward) or sad (punishment), whether it is the duality of being and non-being, life is inescapable.

1.throat 2.stuck 3.bitter mouth/throat, frustrated/disappointed person 4.blood 5.gulp 6.milk and sugar

What is the jo that came to the throat and got stuck there which talKh-kaam frustrated person could not swallow.  It could be heartbreaks, traumas, memories, bitter truths; we are left with the choice.  Whatever it is, that one gulp of blood, once it descends past the throat, it is heard that it turns into milk and sugar i.e., sweet and palatable.  Keeping bitterness stuck in the throat does not help.  Accepting it, letting descend can begin the process of healing, turning bitterness to sweetness.

1.people of heart, lovers 2.shortage 3.but 4.word, statement, belief 5.death 6.deficiency

To say ‘koi ahl-e dil ko kami nahiN’ goes agains the grain of all poetic convention, because lovers are portrayed as distraught and destitute like majnuN.  I think that this statement should be interpreted to mean that sincere lovers are satisfied and fulfilled in their genuine love.  They are not wanting for anything.  But they still keep saying/complaining that death is not at hand, they are still alive, and there is a deficiency in their lives.  Is this swipe against poetic convention or is it a sufiyaana thought that nothing can satisfy except fanaa.

1.wealth 2.pomp. glory, status 3.expanse 4.available, fated 5.people of 6.passage, place

Wealth and status are a major asset.  Vast opportunities become available because of it.  But in the lives of the people of wealth and status, is there any room for humans?

1.night 2.long 3.passed 4.sunk, set 5.early light broke out 6.head, beginning 7.path 8.heedlessness, oblivion 9.sleep, dream 10.dawn

This long night has passed, early light is breaking out; it is the beginning of the journey get up from the oblivion of sleep, after all it is dawn.  This straightforward word meaning can be applied to any number of issues including a call for the people of India to rise up against colonialism (if this was written before 1947); or calling upon the dispossessed to rise up against their oppressors; or for the ignorant to rise and become aware of the dawn of knowledge around them.  It is up to the reader to take it in any or many directions.

1.turned over, flipped 2.game board 3.world 4.past 5.many times 6.rotation 7.fate 8.colour, style, way 9.rotation of the moon

bisaat-e dahr ulaTnaa means the game/order of the world has been turned over; there have been major upsets/revolutions.  And these have happened many times in the past.  Today, the poet sees the same turning of fate, the same style of rotation of the moon i.e., he sees the same forces about to bring change/revolution.   Once again, this can be applied to any number of possible changes.  We are left to choose.

1.sorrow (threat of grief) 2.punishment 3.reward 4.tease, disturb 5.nature, character 6.beginning, eternity 7.intoxicated 8.gaze, vision 9.good and evil 10.awareness

The sufi mystic is intoxicated/fascinated with the (mental picture) vision of the divine.  They are oblivious to good and evil.  Do not disturb them with threat of sorrow of reward and punishment.  They do what they do for the pleasure of the act itself … not caring for any reward or punishment.

1.total, head to toe, embodiment 2.gratitude and submission to divine will 3.it may be so 4.patience and composure 5.inclined towards 6.test 7.angel 8.human

In the second misra the word tu is addressed to the divine or to fate.  The person in question the object of testing by the divine or by fate may be an embodiment of gratitude and acceptance, patience and composure; they may be like an angel, but they are also human i.e., do not expect angelic perfection, allow room for transgression.

1.do not ask 2.indifference, neglect 3.beauty, beloved 4.remedy, resolution 5.grief 6.prayer 7.destroyer of 8.effect

This could be about the worldly beloved or about the divine beloved.  In poetic convention the beloved is supposed to be indifferent to the pain of the lover.  The divine is also supposed to be mustaGhnii not in need of anything-complete and contended in itself.  Thus, do not ask, do not expect the beloved to provide a remedy for your grief, because that prayer which escapes the lips today can also be destructive of its own effect/fulfillment.

1.life-span 2.long 3.reversals, revolutions 4.length 5.evening of 6.pen-name, separation 7.waiting 8.dawn

In the long life-span of your grief, there have been many changes/reversals/revolutions but it is still the same long evening of separation, the same anticipation of dawn.  Here firaaq and sahar can be given a romantic interpretation or taken in a social-political meaning.

The post intezaar-e sahar bhi hai-12-22-raghupati sahay firaaq gorakhpuri appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/rsfg-intezaar-e-sahr-bhi-hai-01-11-audio.mp3

Recitation

اِنتظارِ  سحر  بھی  ہے  ۔  رگھوپتی  سہائے  فراقؔ  گورکھپوری

۱

جسے  لوگ  کہتے  ہیں  تیرگی  وہی  شب  حجابِ  سحر  بھی  ہے

جنہیں  بے  خودئ  فنا  ملی  اُنہیں  زندگی  کی  خبر  بھی  ہے

۲

ترے  اہلِ  دید  کو  دیکھ  کے  کبھی  کُھل  سکا  ہے  یہ  راز  بھی

اُنہیں  جس  نے  اہلِ  نظر  کیا  وہ  ترا  خرابِ  نظر  بھی  ہے

۳

یہ  وصال  و  ہجر  کی  بحث  کیا  کہ  عجیب  چیز  ہے  عشق  بھی

تجھے  پا  کے  ہے  وہی  دردِ  دل  وہی  رنگِ  زخمِ  جگر  بھی  ہے

۴

یہ  نصیبِ  عشق  کی  گردشیں  کہ  زماں  مکاں  سے  گزر  کے  بھی

وہی  آسماں  وہی  شامِ  غم  وہی  شامِ  غم  کی  سحر  بھی  ہے

۵

ترے  کیفِ  حسن  کی  جان  ہے  مری  بے  دلی  و  فسردگی

جسے  کہتے  ہیں  غمِ  رائگاں  وہ  لئے  ہوئے  کچھ  اثر  بھی  ہے

۶

نہ  رہا  حیات  کی  منزلوں  میں  وہ  فرقِ  ناز  و  نیاز  بھی

کہ  جہاں  ہے  عشق  برہنہ  پا  وہیں  حسن  خاک  بسر  بھی  ہے

۷

وہ  غمِ  فراق  بھی  کٹ  گیا  وہ  ملالِ  عشق  بھی  مٹ  گیا

مگر  آج  بھی  ترے  ہاتھ  میں  وہی  آستیں  ہے  کہ  تر  بھی  ہے

۸

دمِ  حشرِ  ازل  کی  بھی  یاد  کر  یہ  زبان  کیا  یہ  نگاہ  کیا

جو  کسی  سے  آج  نہ  ہو  سکا  وہ  سوال  بارِ  دگر  بھی  ہے

۹

جو  وصال  و  ہجر  سے  دور  ہے  جو  کرم  ستم  سے  ہے  بے  خبر

کچھ  اُٹھا  ہوا  ہے  وہ  درد  بھی  کچھ  اٹھی  ہوئی  وہ  نظر  بھی  ہے

۱۰

یہ  پتہ  ہے  اُس  کی  عنایتوں  نے  خراب  کتنوں  کو  کر  دیا

یہ  خبر  ہے  نرگسِ  نیم  وا  کہ  گرہ  میں  فتنۂ  شر  بھی  ہے

۱۱

اِسی  شامِ  مرگ  کی  تیرگی  میں  ہیں  جلوہ  ہائے  حیات  بھی

اِنہیں  ظلمتوں  کے  حجاب  میں  یہ  چمک  یہ  رقصِ  شرر  بھی  ہے

इंतेज़ार-ए-सहर भी है – रघुपती सहाय फ़िराक़ गोरखपूरी

१

जिसे लोग कहते हैं तीरगी वही शब हिजाब-ए सहर भी है

जिन्हें बे-ख़ुदी-ए फ़ना मिली उन्हें ज़िंदगी की ख़बर भी है

२

तेरे अहल-ए दीद को देख के कभी खुल सका है ये राज़ भी

उन्हें जिस ने अहल-ए नज़र किया वो तेरा ख़राब-ए नज़र भी है

३

ये विसाल-ओ-हिज्र की बहस क्या के अजीब चीज़ है इश्क़ भी

तुझे पा के है वही दर्द-ए दिल वही रंग-ए ज़ख़्म-ए जिगर भी है

४

ये नसीब-ए इश्क़ की गर्दिशें के ज़माँ मकाँ से गुज़र के भी

वही आसमाँ वही शाम-ए ग़म वही शाम-ए ग़म की सहर भी है

५

तेरे कैफ़-ए हुस्न की जान है मेरी बे-दिली-ओ-फ़सुर्दगी

जिसे कहते हैं ग़म-ए राएगाँ वो लिए हुए कुछ असर भी है

६

न रहा हयात की मंज़िलों में वो फ़र्क़-ए नाज़-ओ-नियाज़ भी

के जहाँ है इश्क़ बरहना-पा वहीं हुस्न ख़ाक-बसर भी है

७

वो ग़म-ए फ़िराक़ भी कट गया वो मलाल-ए इश्क़ भी मिट गया

मगर आज भी तेरे हाथ में वही आस्तीं है के तर भी है

८

दम-ए हश्र अज़ल की भी याद कर ये ज़बान क्या ये निगाह क्या

जो किसी से आज न हो सका वो सवाल बार-ए दिगर भी है

९

जो विसाल-ओ-हिज्र से दूर है जो करम सितम से है बे-ख़बर

कुछ उठा हुआ है वो दर्द भी कुछ उठी हुई वो नज़र भी है

१०

ये पता है उस की इनायतों ने ख़राब कितनों को कर दिया

ये ख़बर है नर्गिस-ए नीम-वा के गिरह में फ़ित्ना-ए शर भी है

११

उसी शाम-ए मर्ग की तीरगी में हैं जल्वा-हा-ए हयात भी

उन्हीं ज़ुल्मतों के हिजाब में ये चमक ये रक़्स-ए शरर भी है

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. raghupati sahay firaq gorakhpuri (1896-1982) pre-eminent urdu shaa’er, scholar of farsi and sanskrit. Was nominated to Indian Civil Service but chose to participate in the freedom movement. After independence he chose an academic career, teaching English at Allahabad University. firaq composed four Ghazal (already posted on urdushahkar) in the style of mir taqi mir and five in the style of Ghalib. He freely swings between mystic, romantic and social themes.

raghupati sahay firaq gorakhpuri (1896-1982) pre-eminent urdu shaa’er, scholar of farsi and sanskrit.  Was nominated to Indian Civil Service but chose to participate in the freedom movement.  After independence he chose an academic career, teaching English at Allahabad University.  firaq composed four Ghazal (already posted on urdushahkar) in the style of mir taqi mir and five in the style of Ghalib.  He freely swings between mystic, romantic and social themes.

1.darkness 2.night 3.veil, covering 4.dawn 5.intoxication, trance, being unmindful 6.destruction, annihilation, non-being, merger with the divine being 7.awareness

Two ways of looking at this … progressive and sufiyaana/mystical.

1.people of sight, admirers, seekers 2.become clear, revealed 3.secret, mystery 4.people of discerning sight, able to see deep 5.that which causes sight to be flawed/blinded

tere in the first misra and tera in the second are addressed to the beloved and the beloved can be the divine.  The poet/protagonist/mystic, observing the people who want to see you/see your superficial attributes, questions whether this mystery has ever become clear/been solved.  What mystery?  The mystery that the power which made them ahl-e-nazar which gave them the ability to discern is also that which makes them Kharaab-e-nazar i.e., of flawed or blinded sight.  What is it that makes people unable to see – it is the dazzling beauty of the divine/beloved.  But it is this very blindness that makes them sensitive to inner beauty and makes them ahl-e-nazar people of discerning sight.

1.union 2.separation 3.arguement, discussion 4.mysterious, wondrous 5.attain, achieve 6.colour, condition 7.wound 8.liver/forbearance

The poet/mystic dismisses the argument about visaal and hijr as inconsequential in the matter of ishq love because love itself is a wondrous/mysterious thing.  Even after achieving visaal nearness to the beloved the same pain as that during hijr remains in the heart and the wound of forbearance remains in the same condition i.e., visaal is not the fulfillment of love; that love is more than the binary of visaal and hijr; that the pain of separation remains even after achievement because the desire to keep searching remains strong.

1.fate 2.circulation, cycle, turning around, curse 3.time 4.space 5.pass beyond, transcend 6.dawn

It is the curse-gardish of the fate of ishq that even after transcending the bounds of space and time i.e., even after moving into the spiritual domain it has the same limiting aasmaan-cover of the evening of sorrow and even the dawn is the harbinger of the shaam-e Gham.  Thus, there is no escape from Gham in the domain of ishq.  Said Ghalib …

1.intoxication of beauty 2.life, soul 3.hopelessness 4.melancholy 5.futile, useless 6.effect, result

I transform the first misra into prose structure … meri be-dili o farsurdagi tere kaif-e husn ki jaan hai.  My hopelessness and melancholy is the life/soul of the intoxication of your beauty.  That which is called futile sorrow carries with it some effect … It is the futility of the poet/mystic’s sorrow and hopelessness that feeds the dazzling beauty of the beloved. The fact that the sufi/mystic/seeker loves/seeks the divine (even though it is an endeavour of hopelessness) makes the divine so desirable.

1.life 2.stages in the journey 3.difference 4.pride, aloofness, indifference 5.devotional offering 6.where, wherever 7.bare-foot 8.beauty 9.dust on the head

Both barhana-paa and Khaak-ba-sar barefeet and dust on the head are metaphorical signs of great distress.  Similarly, naaz is associated with the aloofness/indifference of the beloved or of the divine because the divine is supposed to be complete in itself, and not need anything-mustaGhni.  Thus, in the journey of life the difference between naaz and niyaaz; between the divine and devotee, has been erased.  Wherever you see ishq to be barahnaa-paa there you also see husn as Khaak-ba-sar.

1.separation 2.passed 3.grief, sorrow 4.erased, faded 5.sleeve 6.wet

This is addressed by the poet/lover to himself … the grief of separation has passed; the sorrow of love has faded but to this day your sleeve is wet (with tears).  The anamoly of long past love but presisting grief continues.

1.moment, time 2.day of judgement 3.beginning 4.language 5.glance, gaze 6.question 7.once again

Who is this she’r addressed to.  Who is he calling upon to yaad kar to recall.  I choose to think that he is addressing the divine, because it makes the interpretation a lot more interesting.  He says … at the time of the day of judgment, remember the beginning – why this stern language; why this annoyed gaze – the implication is that at the moment of beginning after all it was you who created these beings who are being subjected to your stern words and angry gaze.  The question that no one could ask to this day will come back again to haunt you, O divine.  The question being – ‘who is responsible for their transgressions; how much responsibility do you bear’.

1.union and separation 2.kindness, favours 3.cruelty, oppression, neglect 4.unaware, indifferent, insensitive 5.glance, gaze

That which is distant from the concerns of union or separation; that which is untouched by kindness/joy or cruelty/pain; even that pain seems to be elevated to a transcendence; even that gaze seems to rise, lifted beyond ordinary seeing.  What kind of pain and what kind of gaze are these and who is experiencing it.  The pain here is not personal sorrow, not born of loss or longing but a higher existential, or spiritual pain that comes from recognizing the futility or illusion of dualities like union/separation, kindness/cruelty, joy/sorrow.  This elevated pain is a quiet, noble suffering, one that doesn’t scream, but whispers truths only silence understands. It might be the ache of a poet, seer, mystic, or philosopher who has gone beyond emotional oscillation; who is no longer caught in the drama of love and betrayal, pleasure and pain.  The gaze is not directed outward in longing or judgment; it’s an inward, contemplative gaze.

1.clue, knowledge 2.favours 3.ruin, destruction 4.awareness 5.narcissus, symbolism for the beloved’s eye 6.half-open, dreamy 7.knot, grip, possession 8.mischief of evil/trouble

I think both misra should be interpreted as rhetorical questions.  Do you even know how many have been ruined by uss ki inaa’et their favours.  We still have to decide who the uss is.  It could be the beloved, but are there other possibilities?  Are you even aware that those dreamy eyes carry with them fitna-e-shar – the mischief of trouble.  It the uss is the beloved, it almost sounds like a well experienced lover warning new entrants in the field of love of the dire consequences of their folly; much like Ghalib …

1.evening, night 2.death 3.darkness 4.manifestations 5.life 6.darkness 7.veiled, hidden behind 8.sparkle 9.dance 10.sparks

This she’r yields itself to a mystical and a progressive interpretation …

The post intezaar-e sahar bhi hai-01-11-raghupati sahay firaaq gorakhpuri appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/shpvjf-miTaaya-na-jaaega-audio.mp3

Recitation

مِٹایا  نہ  جائے  گا  ۔  شِو  پرشاد  وششٹ  جاویدؔ  فتح  پوری

۱

دل  کو  جنونِ  دل  سے  بچایا  نہ  جائے  گا

احساں  اب  آگہی  کا  اُٹھایا  نہ  جائے  گا

۲

اے  درد  تو  ہی  بڑھ  کے  چھلک  چشمِ  شوق  سے

ہم  سے  تو  دل  کا  حال  سنایا  نہ  جائے  گا

۳

دیکھو  بہت  بڑھاؤ  نہ  اُلفت  کی  رسم  و  راہ

یہ  بارِ  غم  ہے  تم  سے  اُٹھایا  نہ  جائے  گا

۴

احساسِ  لمس  ہی  سے  پگھل  جائے  ہے  دھنک

اُس  گل  بدن  کو  ہاتھ  لگایا  نہ  جائے  گا

۵

مبنی  ہے  آرزو  پہ  تسلسل  حیات  کا

دامانِ  دل  کو  اُن  سے  چھڑایا  نہ  جائے  گا

۶

اِس  پتھروں  کے  شہر  میں  باوصفِ  احتیاط

دل  کو  شکستگی  سے  بچایا  نہ  جائے  گا

۷

جاویدؔ  میرے  فن  کو  نہ  چھو  پائے  گی  فنا

یہ  نقشِ  جاوِداں  ہے  مِٹایا  نہ  جائے  گا

मिटाया नहीं जाएगा – शिव प्रशाद वशिष्ठ जावेद फ़तहपूरी

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Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jaaved fatehpuri, shiv prasad vashishT (1920-1994). Started out as lecturer in dehli college while still an MA student. PhD on mulla vaj’hi, working for a while in hyderabad. Studied under maulvi abdul haq for some time. Later shaagird of shamiim kirmaani. There are several collections of his historical and literary works as well as his nazm and Ghazal. Faculty, urdu department, zakir husain college.

jaaved fatehpuri, shiv prasad vashishT (1920-1994).  Started out as lecturer in dehli college while still an MA student.  PhD on mulla vaj’hi, working for a while in hyderabad.  Studied under maulvi abdul haq for some time.  Later shaagird of shamiim kirmaani.  There are several collections of his historical and literary works as well as his nazm and Ghazal.  Faculty, urdu department, zakir husain college.

1.mad passion, frenzy 2.save, protect 3.obligation 4.wisdom, reason, rationality

This could be the mad passion/frenzy of romantic or divine love.  In either case the heart cannot be protected from its own madness junuun-e dil.  In order to bring it out of its frenzy, rational thinking is required, but the poet/sufi is unwilling to be obliged by/bear the debt of rationality, hence reinforcing the utter helplessness of the heart.

1.step forward 2.overflow, spill over 3.eye of 4.desire 5.condition

The poet/lover addresses his own pain of love, imploring it to step forward and tell its own story because the poet is incapable to relating his condition with his tongue.  And how is the ‘pain’ to relate his story … by oveflowing from the chashm-e shauq eyes of desire/longing in the form of tears.

1.increase 2.love 3.rituals and practice 4.burden 5.pain, sorrow

This is addressed to the poet/lover himself, warning against inreasing/reading too much into the rasm-o-raah rituals and practice of love i.e., do not surrender so completely to the calls of love because this is burden of sorrow and you will not be able to bear it.

1.feeling, sensing 2.touch 3.melt away 4.rainbow 5.rose-bodied

Divine beauty/splendour is ephemeral.  It cannot be touched.  It can only be felt in fleeting moment of spirituality.  The rainbow-dhanak is a metaphor for ephemeral beauty, that will melt away upon touching. The untouchable rose-bodied beloved becomes an ideal forever beyond physical reach, elevating desire to a spiritual level.

1.dependent 2.unfulfilled desire, longing 3.continuity 4.life 5.daaman chhuRaana, pulling away the hem of the garment is an expression meaning pull away from, escape from

Life’s continuity tasalsul-e hayaat depends on unfulfilled desire – aarzuu. The heart’s hem daamaan-e dil cannot be withdrawn from the (divine) beloved, suggesting our very existence is woven with threads of perpetual longing that both sustain and bind us.  In the sufi tradition, the only end of desire is fulfilment through fanaa.

1.metaphor for ‘hard life’, material world 2.in spite of 3.caution 4.breaking 5.protect

The material world becomes an existential trap where even caution ehtiyaat cannot prevent heartbreak/disappointment. The only escape is through not getting attached to the material, reaching for the spiritual.

1.pen-name (also means immortal) 2.art, poetry 3.annihilation, obliteration 4.mark, image 5.immortality 6.erased

The poet declares that his words are immortal. His artistic creation fun transcends mortality – fanaa, with naqsh-e jaavedaaN – imprint of immortality asserting poetry’s immortality.

The post miTaaya na jaa’ega-shiv prashaad vashishT jaaved fatehpuri appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/shpvjf-har-raah-guzar-jaae-audio.mp3

Recitation

ہر  راہگزر  جائے  ۔  شِو  پرشاد  وششٹ  جاویدؔ  فتح  پوری

۱

عالم  ہو  یہ  مستی  کا،  جب  سجدے  میں  سر  جائے

مستوں  کی  بلا  جانے،  شام  آئے  سحر  جائے

۲

یہ  دیر  و  حرم  والے،  کیوں  راہ  میں  لڑتے  ہیں

جب  ایک  ہی  منزل  تک  ہر  راہگزر  جائے

۳

یہ  دل  کا  سفینہ  بھی،  پروردۂ  طوفاں  ہے

ٹکرا  کے  تلاطم  سے،  ڈوبے  تو  اُبھر  جائے

۴

وہ  کون  سی  منزل  ہے،  وہ  کون  سا  جادہ  ہے

انساں  ہو  جہاں  انساں  جس  سمت  بشر  جائے

۵

بےتابیِ  دل  سے  تھی  آوارگیِ  پیہم

اب  کون  اِدھر  آئے  اب  کون  اُدھر  جائے

۶

تقدیر  چمک  اُٹّھے،  اُن  خاک  نشینوں  کی

تو  جن  کو  محبت  سے  ٹُھکرا  کے  گزر  جائے

۷

رُت  گیت  کنول  بھنورا،  رس  روپ  کلی  خوشبو

ہمراہ  چلیں  اُس  کے،  وہ  شوخ  جِدھر  جائے

۸

بیٹھے  جو  ترے  در  پر،  منہ  موڑ  کے  دنیا  سے

وہ  اُٹھ  کے  ترے  در  سے،  جائے  تو  کِدھر  جائے

۹

آنسو  بھی  ہیں  شبنم  بھی،  کلیاں  بھی  ہیں  تارے  بھی

سب  کچھ  ہے  نظاروں  تک  گر  تیری  نظر  جائے

۱۰

جاویدؔ  نے  کہہ  دی  ہے،  اشعار  کے  پردے  میں

وہ  بات  جو  نشتر  سی  ہر  دل  میں  اُتر  جائے

हर राहगुज़र जाए – शिव प्रशाद वशिष्ठ जावेद फ़तह पुरी

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Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jaaved fatehpuri, shiv prasad vashishT (1920-1994). Started out as lecturer in dehli college while still an MA student. PhD on mulla vaj’hi, working for a while in hyderabad. Studied under maulvi abdul haq for some time. Later shaagird of shamiim kirmaani. There are several collections of his historical and literary works as well as his nazm and Ghazal. Faculty, urdu department, zakir husain college.

jaaved fatehpuri, shiv prasad vashishT (1920-1994).  Started out as lecturer in dehli college while still an MA student.  PhD on mulla vaj’hi, working for a while in hyderabad.  Studied under maulvi abdul haq for some time.  Later shaagird of shamiim kirmaani.  There are several collections of his historical and literary works as well as his nazm and Ghazal.  Faculty, urdu department, zakir husain college.

1.condition, state 2.intoxication, trance 3.prostration, bowing in prayer 4.drunk in love, mad lovers 5.an expression meaning ‘who cares’ 6.dawn, morning

The ecstatic state/trance should be such that when the head bows in prayer, the mad lovers are completely unaware of the passage of time.  They don’t care whether it is evening or dawn, they transcend time.

1.temple 2.mosque 3.path 4.quarrel 5.destination

Why do these people of temple and mosque quarrel along the path, when all paths lead to the same destination.

1.boat 2.nurtured 3.storm 4.clash, confront 5.storm 6.emerge

This heart is like a boat nurtured by storms; confronting tempests if it is sunk, it emerges again.  The symbolism is of a storm of love.  Whoever immerses themselves completely in love, emerges triumphant.  Said amiir Khusro …

1.destination 2.path 3.where 4.direction 5.human

Which destination is it, where is the pathway in which humanity is universal; whatever direction one turns, there are human beings only i.e., they are not divided into religions or sects.  The destination and the path that the poet is looking for is the path of love.

1.restlessness 2.wandering, lost 3.repeated, constant

Restlessness-betaabi is probably restlessness because of the temptations and illusions of the material world.  One can easily get lost in the constant wandering-flitting from one attraction to the other.  The poet/sufi yearns for contentment-why should one keep turning from here to there, he asks.

1.fate, destiny 2.dust-dwellers, downtrodden, rejected 3.kick, reject

mohabbat se Thukraana- reject lovingly is a contradiction but can nevertheless be conceived as an act of love rather one of anger.  Destiny shines on the humble khaak-nashiiN whom you reject lovingly.  I am not sure I understand this.  Is this addressed to the earthly beloved or the divine beloved.  Is it a statement of humility that being lovingly rejected is enough.  There is no expectation of success in love.

1.season (spring) 2.juice, nectar 3.beauty 4.follow, accompany 5.playful, beloved

A sensual ode to the beloved – seasons, songs, lotuses, bees, nectar, beauty, buds and fragrance all follow wherever that playful one goes.

1.door 2.turning away from 3.where

Those who sit at your door turning away from/renouncing the (material) world have no other place to go – where could they go from your threshold?

1.dew 2.withing sight 3.eyes, gaze, glance

Here teri nazar could be the gaze of the poet himself.  Thus, tears, dew, buds and stars are all before you to see if only you raise your eyes and gaze at them.  This could be an implication that god created beauty is all around you.  All you have to do is, look.

1.pen-name 2.knife

jaaved says words (meanings) hidden behind the veil of ash’aar that descend into every heart like a knife … either painful, heart touching or heart warming truths.

The post har raah-guzar jaa’e-shiv prashaad vashishT jaaved fatehpuri appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/jjdhpm-kyuN-teri-shamshiir-ka-audio.mp3

Recitation

کیوں  تری  شمشیر  کا  ۔  دھرم  پال  مرواہا  جگرؔ  جالندھری

۱

زخم  کھایا  دل  نے  اُلٹا  آہِ  بے  تاثیر  کا

خود  نشانہ  بن  گیا  صیّاد  اپنے  تیر  کا

۲

اِس  طرح  حیران  ہوں  اُس  بُت  کی  صورت  دیکھ  کر

سامنا  ہو  جس  طرح  تصویر  سے  تصویر  کا

۳

وہ  محبّت  کر  چُکا،  اُس  سے  محبّت  ہو  چکی

جس  کو  بدنامی  کا  ڈر  ہے،  خوف  ہے  تشہیر  کا

۴

وہ  اکیلا  ہی  نہیں  سَو  حسرتیں  بھی  ساتھ  ہیں

کیوں  نہ  بھاری  ہو  جنازہ  عاشقِ  دلگیر  کا

۵

دیکھ لینے کی اِجازت مل تو جاتی ہے مجھے

آپ سے بہتر ہے یہ رُخ آپ کی تصویر کا

۶

مجھ  کو  دیوانہ  بنانے  والا  موسم  آ  گیا

دوست  بندوبست  کرنے  لگ  پڑے  زنجیر  کا

۷

دل  سے  کہتا  ہے  نظر  کے  تیر  کو  خوش  آمدید

کیا  کلیجہ  ہے  تمہارے  عاشقِ  دلگیر  کا

۸

تیری  صورت  دیکھ  تو  لینے  دے  پہلے  قتل  سے

دم  نکلتا  جا  رہا  ہے  کیوں  تری  شمشیر  کا

۹

آستانِ  یار  کی  مِٹّی  جو  ہو  جائے  نصیب

عمر  بھر  ہم  منہ  نہ  دیکھیں  اے  جگر  اِکسیر  کا

क्यूं तेरी शमशीर का – धरम पाल मरवाहा जिगर जालंधरी

१

ज़ख़्म खाया दिल ने उल्टा आह-ए बे-तासीर का

ख़ुद निशाना बन गया सय्याद अपने तीर का

२

इस तरह हैरान हूं उस बुत कि सूरत देख कर

सामना हो जिस तरह तस्वीर से तस्वीर का

३

वो मोहब्बत कर चुका, उस से मोहब्बत हो चुकी

जिस को बदनामी का डर है, ख़ौफ़ है तशहीर का

४

वो अकेला हि नहीं सौ हसरतें भी साथ हैं

क्यूं न भारी हो जनाज़ा आशेक़-ए दिलगीर का

५

देखख लेने की इजाज़त मिल तो जाती है मुझे

आप से बेहतर है ये रुख़ आप कि तस्वीर का

६

मुझ को दीवाना बनाने वाला मोसम आ गया

दोस्त बन्दोबस्त करने लग पढे ज़ंजीर का

७

दिल से कहता है नज़र के तीर को ख़ुश-आमदीद

क्या कलेजा है तुम्हारे आशेक़-ए दिलगीर का

८

तेरी सूरत देख तो लेने दे पहले क़त्ल से

दम निकलता जा रहा है क्यूं तेरी शमशीर

९

आस्तान-ए यार की मिट्टी जो हो जाए नसीब

उम्र भर हम मुंह न देखें अए जिगर एक्सीर का

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. dharam pal marvaaha jigar jalandhari (1953-xxxx). BA, LLB punjab university. At least ten awards between 1968 and 1984 from a range of organizations such as the university, urdu academy, Lions Club and Rotary Club, showing both recognition of his poetic excellence and the continued popularity of urdu. This Ghazal with the same radeef/qaafiya as Ghalib’s ‘kaaGhazi hai pairahan har paikar-e tasviir ka’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

dharam pal marvaaha jigar jalandhari (1953-xxxx).  BA, LLB punjab university.  At least ten awards between 1968 and 1984 from a range of organizations such as the university, urdu academy, Lions Club and Rotary Club, showing both recognition of his poetic excellence and the continued popularity of urdu.  This Ghazal with the same radeef/qaafiya as Ghalib’s ‘kaaGhazi hai pairahan har paikar-e tasviir ka’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

1.sigh 2.without effect 3.target 4.hunter

Normally, the beloved is portrayed as the hunter and poet/lover as the prey.  But here the poet/lover is the hunter and is using his long-drawn sigh as an arrow.  But his sigh does not have any effect on the intended target – the beloved.  She simply ignores him and he himself becomes a target of his own arrow.

1.puzzled, stunned 2.idol 3.encounter, face to face

The poet/lover has come face to face with the beloved and dazzled/stunned by her beauty so much so that he remains frozen as in a picture creating the impression of a picture.  The beloved herself is picture perfect in her beauty.  Thus the description-picture face to face with a picture.

1.disrepute 2.fear 3.fame, becoming famous/infamous

In poetic convention the beloved likes to string along lovers but she does not want this known for fear of disrepute.  The poet/lover knows all this and does not actively seek to fall in love with such a beloved.  But as the first misra indicates, he is helpless.  Alternatively, vo mohabbat kar chuka can be a sarcastic statement meaning, he will never be able to love.  In love, disrepute is inevitable because the lover goes stark raving mad.  Thus, he who is afraid of disrepute will never be able to love.

1.longing, unfulfilled desires 2.heavy 3.funeral bier 4.heart-broken

Why should the funeral bier of the heart-broken lover not be heavy.  He is not alone, there are hundreds of unfulfilled desires to be buried along with him.

1.permission 2.better 3.face, angle, facet, feature

The beloved does not even permit the lover to see her, but her picture does.  At least this facet/characteristic of the picture is better than you.

1.season 2.arrangement 3.chain

In urdu poetic tradition, the arrival of spring marks the beginning of the rise of the passion of love.  Lovers go stark raving made ala majnuN and they need to be chained.  Thus, the season that makes me go mad is at hand.  My friends are making arrangements for a chain.

1.welcome 2.liver-considered to be the seat of courage/fortitude 3.heart-broken

The beloved shoots arrows with glances at the lover.  That should cause fear of injury.  But this lover welcomes the arrows of glances from the bottom of his heart.  The second misra then admires the fortitude (kaleja) of the heart-broken lover.

1.killing 2.breath, life, moment … but also means sharp edge 3.sword

In poetic convention the beloved draws her sword to kill her lover.  ‘dam nikalna’ can mean any and all of three things (a)losing breath-meaning losing courage (b)shining edge being drawn out of the scabbard (c)losing its sharpness/shine.  The lover considers it an honour to be killed at the hands of the beloved.  Even as the lover is being killed/slaughtered he wants to catch a glimpse of the beloved’s face.  Three possibilities go with each interpretation of ‘dam’ – (a)he may be fearful that the sword is losing its courage (b) he is reassured that the shining edge is being pulled out of the scabbard (c)one way to see the beloved’s face is through its reflection in the mirror like surface of the sword-he is afraid that the sword is beginning to lose its mirror like quality.

1.threshold 2.friend, beloved 3.granted by fate 4.life-long 5.face 6.pen-name of the poet 7.elixir, cure

An elixir may be a cure-all and/or life-extender.  The poet/lover considers the dust from the threshold of the beloved to be better than an elixir.  Thus, if fate grants me some of the dust/clay from the threshold of the beloved, I would not seek to see the face of an elixir all my life.  Alternatively, eksiir also means a substance can convert base metal to gold.  The poet/lover is happy with the dust from the threshold of the beloved, and would readily discard all the gold in this world by comparison.

The post kyuN teri shamshiir ka-dharam paal marvaaha jigar jalandhari appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mshaKhfb-koii-paikaaN-tiir-ka-audio.mp3

Recitation

کوئی  پیکاں  تیر  کا  ۔  شوکت  علی  خاں  فانیؔ  بدایونی

۱

مل  گیا  زنداں  برا  ہو  نالۂ  شبگیر  کا

چونک  اُٹھا  گھبرا  کے  ہر  حلقہ  مری  زنجیر  کا

۲

میری  تدبیروں  کی  مُشکل  اب  تو  یارب  سہل  کر

کیا  یہ  ساری  عمر  منہ  تکتی  رہیں  تقدیر  کا

۳

میرے  دل  سے  پوچھتے  ہیں  آپ  کیا  وجہ  خلش

یاد  ہے  گم  ہو  گیا  تھا  کوئی  پیکاں  تیر  کا

۴

عشق  کا  بھی  کیا  تصرُّف  ہے  کہ  دل  اب  دل  نہیں

آئینہ  ہے  غم  کی  جیتی  جاگتی  تصویر  کا

۵

آپ  کی  آزردگیِ  بے  سبب  بھی  خوب  ہے

کیا  مزے  کا  ہے  تقاضہ  عذرِ  بے  تقسیر  کا

۶

کس  نظر  سے  تم  نے  دیکھا  اپنے  دامن  کی  طرف

کانپ  اٹھا  ہر  ذرّہ  میری  خاکِ  دامنگیر  کا

۷

برق  کو  اب  کیا  غرض  کیا  رہ  گیا  کیا  جل  گیا

جل  گیا  خِرمن  میں  جو  کچھ  تھا  مری  تقدیر  کا

۸

فکرِ  راحت  چھوڑ  بیٹھے  ہم  تو  راحت  مل  گئی

ہم  نے  قِسمت  سے  لیا  جو  کام  تھا  تدبیر  کا

۹

نامُرادی  حد  سے  گزری  حالِ  فانیؔ  کچھ  نہ  پوچھ

ہر  نفس  ہے  اِک  جنازہ  آہِ  بے  تاثیر  کا

कोई पैकां तीर का – शौकत अली ख़ां फ़ानी बदायूनी

१

मिल गया ज़िंदां बुरा हो नाला-ए शब्गीर का

चौंक उठा घब्रा के हर हल्क़ा मेरी ज़ंजीर का

२

मेरी तदबीरों की मुश्किल अब तो यारब सहल कर

क्या ये सारी उम्र मुंह तकती रहें तक़्दीर का

३

मेरे दिल से पूछते है आप क्या वजह ख़लिश

याद है गुम हो गया था कोई पैकां तीर का

४

इश्क़ का भी क्या तसर्रुफ़ है के दिल अब दिल नहीं

आईना है ग़म की जीती जागती तस्वीर का

५

आप की अज़ुर्दगी-ए बे-सबब भी ख़ूब है

क्या मज़े का है तक़ाज़ा उज़्र-ए बे-तक़्सीर का

६

किस नज़र से तुमने देखा अपने दामन की तरफ़

कांप उठा हर ज़र्रा मेरी ख़ाक-ए दामनगीर का

७

बर्क़ को अब क्या ग़रज़ क्या रह गया क्या जल गया

जल गया ख़िरमन में जो कुछ था मेरी तक़्दीर का

८

फ़िक्र-ए राहत छोढ बैठे हम तो राहत मिल गई

हमने क़िस्मत से लिया जो काम था तदबीर का

९

नामुरादी हद्द से गुज़्री हाल-ए फ़ानी कुछ न पूछ

हर नफ़स है एक जनाज़ा आह-ए बे-तासीर का

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed shaukat ali KhaaN faani badayuni (1879-1941), BA 1901, law 1908. Stumbling law practice. Invited to hyderabad by maharaja kishan parshaad in 1932, working as the principal of a reputed school. Alcohol proved to be a big problem. He died forlorn and destitute. Much of his work was lost. This is a Ghazal that he composed in the zamin of Ghalib, ‘shooKhi-e tahriir ka’ and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, on the Theme page.

mohammed shaukat ali KhaaN faani badayuni (1879-1941), BA 1901, law 1908.  Stumbling law practice.  Invited to hyderabad by maharaja kishan parshaad in 1932, working as the principal of a reputed school.  Alcohol proved to be a big problem.  He died forlorn and destitute.  Much of his work was lost.  This is a Ghazal that he composed in the zamin of Ghalib, ‘shooKhi-e tahriir ka’ and is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam, on the Theme page.

1.prison 2.wail 3.night piercing 4.alert, awake 5.startled 6.circle, link 7.chain

The poet/lover, in agony has been wailing loudly and because of the nuisance that he has caused, he has been put in prison with chains on his feet.  He lets out a night-piercing wail and the links in his chain wake up startled i.e., they begin to clang.

1.plans of action 2.difficulties, problems 3.O lord 4.solve 5.life-long 6.stare expectantly 7.fate

This is about the dichotomy between free-will and destiny.  The poet has made plans and acted upon them without getting any results.  O lord, at least now solve the problems of my plans.  Will they have to keep expectantly staring at fate/destiny all my life long.

1.reason 2.burning pain, irritation 3.lost 4.arrow-head, tip 5.arrow

The beloved shoots arrows of furtive glances at the lover.  These lodge in the heart and break off, leaving the tip in the heart with causes the wound to fester and burn.  What a surprise that you ask me the reason for my burning pain.  Do you not remember that you had lost an arrow tip.

1.use 2.alive and kicking, continuously updated 3.picture, reflection

The use of love is that the heart no longer remains the heart.  It becomes a mirror that continuously reflects the pain and sorrow felt by the lover.

1.distress, annoyance 2.without reason 3.good (used here sarcastically) 4.funny 5.demand 6.excuse, apology 7.without any error/transgression

The beloved is annoyed with the lover for no reason at all.  This is so nice, he says sarcastically.  How funny it is that you demand an apology even though there was no offence/transgression.

1.eyes, looks (implied – disdainful looks) 2.hem of the garment 3.towards 4.tremble 5.particle, grain 6.dust 7.holding the hem

The poet/lover is dead and turned to dust.  His dust rises and clings to the hem of the beloved’s garment – this is an expression that means humbling oneself and appealing/begging.  The beloved looks towards her hem with such disdain that every ‘grain of dust’ of the lover trembles.  The poet characterizes himself as a pile of dust as an expression of humility.

1.lightning 2.concern 3.harvest pile 4.fate

An oft used trope in urdu poetry is that whenever the harvest is collected and piled, lightning strikes and burns it.  Such is fate.  Thus, why should lightning show any concern about what got burnt and what remained.  When the harvest burnt, along with it everything that was given to me by fate, also burnt.  There is nothing left for me.

1.worry 2.comfort 3.plan of action

When the poet stopped worrying about getting comfort, he got comfortable.  This does not mean that he got the material means of comfort.  It implies that stopping to worry about it, gave his a state of mind that made him comfortable.  Thus, that which would have been accomplished by planned action, got done by fate.

1.misfortune 2.limits, bounds 3.went beyond 4.condition 5.pen-name of the poet 6.breath 7.funeral pier 8.sigh 9.ineffective

The poet’s misfortune was so much that it exceeded all limits.  Do not ask about faani’s condition.  Every breath is a funeral of an ineffective sigh.

The post koii paikaaN tiir ka – faani badayuni appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pjs-rutba-meri-taqsiir-ka-audio.mp3

Recitation

رتبہ  میری  تقصیر  کا  ۔  پنڈت  جیمنی  سرشارؔ

۱

دیکھتا  ہوں  رنگ  اپنی  گردشِ  تقدیر  کا

آنکھ  رکھتا  ہے  ہر  اِک  حلقہ  مری  زنجیر  کا

۲

کیا  کہوں  کتنا  زمانے  کی  نگاہوں  میں  بلند

ہو  گیا  تعزیر  سے  رتبہ  مری  تقصیر  کا

۳

بڑھتے  بڑھتے  یہ  شبِ  تارِ  الم  کی  تیرگی

دھار  لے  گی  روپ  آخر  صبح  پُر  تنویر  کا

۴

میری  خاموشی  سے  تم  سمجھے  ہو  میں  خاموش  ہوں

درحقیقت  یہ  بھی  اک  اسلوب  ہے  تقریر  کا

۵

اس  طرح  سے  ڈالتے  ہیں  روئے  زیبا  پر  نقاب

ہر  طرف  شہرا  ہے  تیرے  حسنِ  عالمگیر  کا

۶

شرم  کی  جا  ہے  خُلوص  و  مہر  و  اُلفت  کے  لیے

بول  بالا  ہو  جہاں  میں  خنجر  و  شمشیر  کا

۷

کس  میں  ہِمّت  تھی  کہ  یوں  دامن  تمہارا  تھام  لے

دیکھتے  ہو  حوصلہ  خارِ  گریباں  گیر  کا

اے  خرد  مندو  یہی  ہیں  آپ  کی  آزادیاں

ہے  جنوں  پابند  اب  بھی  آہنی  زنجیر  کا

۹

تم  نے  معمارو  جسے  تخریب  کا  بخشا  ہے  نام

ہم  سمجھتے  ہیں  اسی  کو  سلسلہ  تعمیر  کا

۱۰

اس  کی  بھی  سرشارؔ  کچھ  تدبیر  ہونی  چاہیے

راستہ  تقدیر  نے  روکا  اگر  تدبیر  کا

रुत्बा मेरी तक़्सीर का – पंडित जैमनी सरशार

१

२

३

४

५

६

७

८

९

१०

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jaimini sarshaar (1905-1984). Born and raised in rural muzaffar gaRh. He worked as editor of various magazines, but it is not clear if he had any college education, job or lands. He migrated to sonipat, punjab in the middle 1940s. shaagird of tilok chand mahroom. Started composing in 1920, his urge to compose triggered by the jaaliaaNvala baaGh massacre. He wrote patriotic and national nazm with a strong dose of communal harmony. His Ghazal and nazm were published in local magazines, and eventually took the shape of four collections. This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘shooKhi-e tahriir ka’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

jaimini sarshaar (1905-1984).  Born and raised in rural muzaffar gaRh.  He worked as editor of various magazines, but it is not clear if he had any college education, job or lands.  He migrated to sonipat, punjab in the middle 1940s.  shaagird of tilok chand mahroom.  Started composing in 1920, his urge to compose triggered by the jaaliaaNvala baaGh massacre.  He wrote patriotic and national nazm with a strong dose of communal harmony.  His Ghazal and nazm were published in local magazines, and eventually took the shape of four collections.  This Ghazal in the style of Ghalib’s ‘shooKhi-e tahriir ka’ is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.

1.colour, style, character, shenanigans 2.rotation, turn 3.fate 4.circle, link

The poet/lover has been chained because of his madness and intense passion.  Each link of his chain is like an eye which can see.  What it sees is the gardish-e taqdiir – the twists and turns of his fate.  The implication is that each twist offers a worse deal.  He is totally helpless.  Alternatively, this is not about mad passionate love like majnuN but about life itself.  The poet is chained to life, is helpless against fate and the eyes in his  chain watch each turn of fate.

1.world 2.eyes 3.elevated, respected 4.punishment, reprimand 5.status 6.offense, guilt

How can I describe how much in the eyes of the world the status of my offense has been elevated because of the reprimand that I have received.  Who has reprimanded him and why should this reprimand elevate the status/respect of the offense.  It could be the beloved.  Normally, she ignores offenses with disdain.  But punishment shows that she has noticed and is interested.  It is this that elevates the status of his offense.

1.night 2.dark 3.sorrow 4.darkness 5.assume, take on 6.shape, form, nature 7.finally 8.light-filled, bright

It is the night of separation, so it is sorrowful.  It is dark and its darkness is increasing i.e., the intensity of sorrow keeps increasing.  But the poet/lover is hopeful that finally this dark night will end and take on the form of the bright dawn.  If this were interpreted in a progressive spirit the darkness here could represent not separation from the beloved but the darkness of injustice or ignorance.

1.in reality 2.way, method, style 3.speech, speaking

You think that because I am silent, I am not saying anything.  But the poet claims that he is saying something that silence is another way of speaking.

1.way, style 2.face 3.adorned, beautiful 4.veil 5.direction 6.fame 7.beauty 8.world conquering

She covers her adorned face in such a way that the fame of her world conquering beauty spreads in every direction.  The implication is that the face is only tastefully covered and displays enough of beauty to cause it to become famous.

1.shame 2.place, occasion, reason 3.selflessness, regard for others 4.kindness 5.love 6.fame, reputation 7.world 8.sword

It is an occasion of shame for the qualities of selflessness, kindness, and love that in the world there is such a high reputation of the sword and dagger.

1.courage 2.hem of the garment 3.daaman thaamna is an expression meaning ‘to stop someone, to appeal’ 4.daring 5.thorn 6.holding collar, demanding justice

The beloved is walking in the garden and the hem of her garment gets snagged by thorn.  Who else could have had the courage to stop you.  Do you see the daring of the thorn that it demands your attention/justice.  Perhaps this implies that there is as much inherent beauty in the thorn as in the rose and it feels that it has been neglected and is therefore demanding justice.

1.wise, rational, materialist 2.freedoms 3.madness, passion 4.bound 5.iron, steel

This is a traditional comparison between material knowledge/rationality and spiritual love/passion.  O wise ones is this what you call freedom!  Passion/love is bound/circumscribed in an iron chain.  This could be about rigid rationality or societal conventions that prescribe strict limits to passion/love.

1.architects, builders 2.destruction 3.granted, given 4.series, continuation 5.building, creating

O architects, that which you call destruction, we know to be a step in the series of construction/building.  In this she’r the me’maar is similar to the Khiradmand in the previous she’r.  This could be a declaration of defiance … the poet/revolutionary wants to keep building upon the ruins made by the powerful.  It could also be a sufiyaana sentiment with taKhriib symbolizing death and taa’miir symbolizing rejuventation or immortality.

1.pen-name 2.plan of action, remedy, counter 3.fate

This is the classic competition between taqdiir and tadbiir – fate and intent.  Thus, O sarshaar, if fate blocks the path of intent, then there ought to be a counter plan ready.

The post rutba meri taqsiir ka-panDit jaimini sarshaar appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

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Recitation

مری  تقدیر  کا  ۔  محمد  صادق  رازؔ  چاند  پوری

۱

حدّ  اِمکاں  تک  تو  بے  شک  کام  ہے  تدبیر  کا

اُس  سے  آگے  جو  مُقدّر  ہو  مِری  تقدیر  کا

۲

الاماں  یہ  جوش  اے  آہِ  رسا  بس  رحم  کر

معترف  ہوں  روزِ  اوّل  سے  تِری  تاثیر  کا

۳

اللہ  اللہ  یہ  خودی  یہ  خود  سری  یہ  خود  روی

کامیابِ  آرزو  قائل  نہیں  تقدیر  کا

۴

کون  ہے  یہ  سر  بہ  سجدہ  آستانِ  غیر  پر

غالباً  کوئی  مسافر  منزلِ  تدبیر  کا

۵

مرحبا  یہ  جوشِ  جانبازی  خدارا  صبر  کر

آ  رہا  ہے  وقت  قصرِ  عشق  کی  تعمیر  کا

۶

بندۂ  تسلیم  ہوں،  جائے  ادب  ہے  کیا  کہوں

جائزہ  لیتے  ہیں  اب  وہ  دفترِ  تقسیر  کا

۷

رازؔ  یہ  دشت  و  جبل  اور  میں  اب  کیا  کہوں

اِک  کرشمہ  ہے  نگاہِ  شاہدِ  تقدیر  کا

मेरी तक़्दीर का – मोहम्मद सादेक़ राज़ चांदपूरी

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Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. mohammed saadiq raaz chaandpuri (1892-1969). Received traditional education in urdu and faarsi in local maktab/madrasa. Continued his education in English and urdu in muradabad high school. He started composing early, but took it up seriously only after he got steady employment in a clerical/administrative position with the government. He was shaagird of seemab akbarabadi. In addition to Ghazal, rubaaii and nazm he wrote critiques, biographies and short stories. This is linked to ‘shooKhi-e tahriir ka’-Ghalib naqsh-e qadam on the Theme Index page.

mohammed saadiq raaz chaandpuri (1892-1969).  Received traditional education in urdu and faarsi in local maktab/madrasa.  Continued his education in English and urdu in muradabad high school.  He started composing early, but took it up seriously only after he got steady employment in a clerical/administrative position with the government.  He was shaagird of seemab akbarabadi.  In addition to Ghazal, rubaaii and nazm he wrote critiques, biographies and short stories.  This is linked to ‘shooKhi-e tahriir ka’-Ghalib naqsh-e qadam on the Theme Index page.

1.limit 2.possibility 3.doubtless 4.plan, effort 5.beyond, past 6.luck, fate 7.destiny

The poet draws a clear boundary: human effort (tadbiir) is effective only up to the limit of possibility (hadd-e imkaaN). Beyond that, destiny (taqdiir) takes over. This she’r balances free will and fate, suggesting that we can strive, but ultimate outcomes rest with destiny.

1.may god protect 2.passion 3.sigh 4.far reaching 5.mercy 6.convinced 7.day 8.first 9.effect

The poet calls upon god to protect him.  His own deep and far reaching sigh (aah-e rasaa) is causing a (perhaps destructive) effect taa’siir on him.  He begs it for mercy saying that from the very first day he has been convinced of its effect, reflecting the inner turmoil that his unreciprocated love causes him.

1.self-hood, ego 2.willfulness, strong opinion 3.self-direction 4.successful 5.yearning 6.accepting, convinced 7.fate

There are some who have been successful in achieving their desires – kaamyaab-e aarzu.  They seem to be egotistic, willful, opinionated and going their own way.  They don’t seem to concede that fate had any part in their success.   This may be a reflection on human arrogance.

1.head bowed in prostration 2.threshold, door 3.other 4.perhaps 5.traveler, seeker 7.plan, action, effort

Here Ghair – the ‘other’ could be someone or some force other than god or fate.  The poet observes someone bowing in submission at the door of the ‘other’.  He wonders who it could be.  He suspects this person is a traveler on the path of mere planning, human effort (tadbiir), not one guided by fate or spiritual truth, suggesting that ego should be forsaken and trust placed in god or fate.

1.felicitations, congratulations 2.passion 3.putting life on the line, offering sacrifice of life 4.for god’s sake 5.patience 6.palace 7.building, constructing

The poet praises/congratulates the passionate spirit of sacrifice (josh-e jaaNbaazi) but urges patience, as the time to build the palace of love (qasr-e ishq) is approaching. It suggests that after hardship, there comes a moment of constructive beauty. Passion must mature into patience.

1.servant, slave 2.acceptance 3.place, occasion 4.respect, reverence 5.examine, review 6.book, record, account 7.faults, sins

In the second misra the word voh probably refers to the beloved.  Alternatively, it could also be angels who report to god on the day of judgment.  In either case, the record of his sins is being examined/evaluated and as a submissive servant (banda-e tasleem), the poet stands in humility and awe at a loss for words. He refrains from speaking out of reverence because this is the place/occasion of respect (jaa-e adab), as ‘they’, perhaps divine forces, or the beloved, are reviewing the record of his faults (daftar-e taqsiir).

1.pen-name 2.wilderness 3.mountains 4.miracle, mystery 5.eyes, glance 6.witness, one who can vouch for, attestor

The poet raaz is confronted with hurdles in his journey – hurdles of wilderness and mountains (dasht o jabal) – symbols of hardship or spiritual trial.  Here the ‘aur maiN’ is an expression his own inadequacy when faced with these obstacles.  He attributes this to the miracle/mystery of the gaze of the attestor of fate shaahid-e taqdiir, suggesting that whatever is happening is a miracle or mystery under divine watch. He doesn’t attempt to explain – he simply acknowledges the unseen hand of destiny.

The post meri taqdiir ka-mohammed saadiq raaz chaandpuri appeared first on UrduShahkar.

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

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/haa-paaband-ek-zanjiir-ka-audio.mp3

Recitation

پابند  اک  زنجیر  کا  ۔  حیدر  علی  آتشؔ

۱

تیری  کاکُل  میں  پھنسا  ہے  دل  جوان  و  پیر  کا

سیکڑوں  آزاد،  ہے  پابند  اِک  زنجیر  کا

۲

وصفِ  چشمِ  یار  میں  یارا  نہیں  تقریر  کا

جائے  خاموشی  ہے  عالم  سُرمہ  کی  تحریر  کا

۳

کس  خوشی  سے  دوڑ  کر  عاشق  کٹاتے  ہیں  گلے

نقشِ  حُب  اے  تُرک  جوہر  ہے  تری  شمشیر  کا

۴

جانبِ  چرخِِ  مقوس  آہ  ہوتی  ہے  رواں

یہ  گماں  اِک  دن  نشانہ  ہے  ہمارے  تیر  کا

۵

اِس  قدر  بے  تاب  ہوں  تیرے  بغیر  اے  بحرِ  حُسن

پیرہن  دیتا  ہے  دھوکا  دامِ  ماہی  گیر  کا

۶

دولتِ  دنیا  سے  مُستغنی  طبیعت  ہو  گئی

خاکساری  نے  اثر  پیدا  کیا  اِکسیر  کا

۷

باغ  میں  شب  باش  ہو  کر  لالہ  رُو  جلوا  نہ  شمع

داغ  بلبل  کو  نہ  دے  دکھلا  کے  منہ  گلگیر  کا

۸

جو  کہ  لِّکھا  خوب  لِکّھا  دسترس  ہوتا  اگر

چومتا  میں  ہاتھ  اپنے  کاتبِ  تقدیر  کا

۹

روز  و  شب  پیشِ  نظر  چشمِ  سیاہِ  یار  ہے

کام  لیتا  ہوں  تصوّر  سے  میں  آہو  گیر  کا

۱۰

عمر  بھر  مضموں  طلائی  رنگ  کے  بندھتے  رہے

سر  نوِشت  اپنی  بھی  نسخہ  تھا  کوئی  اِکسیر  کا

۱۱

حیف  کی  جا  ہے  نہ  ہووے  نرم  و  چرب  اُس  کی  زباں

پرورش  پایا  ہوا  یہ  آدمی  ہے  شیر  کا

۱۲

گوش  گُل،  رُخسار  لالہ،  چشم  نرگس،  سرو  قد

باغ  کا  تختہ  بھی  صفحہ  ہے  کوئی  تصویر  کا

۱۳

عاشقوں  کے  خون  سے  رہتی  ہے  بس  وہ  سرخ  پوش

دیدۂ  مِرّیخ  جوہر  ہے  تری  شمشیر  کا

۱۴

کارواں  تک  روز  واماندوں  کو  پہنچایا  کیا

اے  جرس  شاہد  ہوں  تیرے  نالہ  کی  تاثیر  کا

۱۵

فِکرِ  قصرِ  چرخ  میں  کیا  موجزن  ہوتے  ہیں  اشک

سیل  اِرادہ  کر  رہا  ہے  کِس  کہن  تعمیر  کا

۱۶

اُس  پری  رُو  طفل  کا  دیوانہ  ہوں  آتشؔ  جسے

کھیل  ہے  اک  توڑنا  سودائی  کی  زنجیر  کا

पाबंद एक ज़ंजीर का – हैदर अली आतिश

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Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. Khwaaja haider ali aatish (1777-1847), born faizabad, sufi family, disciple of mus’hafi and wrote both in faarsi and urdu. aatish wrote more explicitly than most about the pleasures of flesh. Refused all patronage because he wanted to be independent. He was about 20 years Ghalib’s senior but it is not clear if Ghalib’s naqsh faryaadi hai kis ki shooKhi-e tahriir ka (written 1816) predates this Ghazal or not. In any case, this radeef/qaafiya was also used by mohammed raf’ii sauda much earlier. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib peshrau-ham asr and also to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam for completeness.

Khwaaja haider ali aatish (1777-1847), born faizabad, sufi family, disciple of mus’hafi and wrote both in faarsi and urdu. aatish wrote more explicitly than most about the pleasures of flesh.  Refused all patronage because he wanted to be independent.  He was about 20 years Ghalib’s senior but it is not clear if Ghalib’s naqsh faryaadi hai kis ki shooKhi-e tahriir ka (written 1816) predates this Ghazal or not.  In any case, this radeef/qaafiya was also used by mohammed raf’ii sauda much earlier.  This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib peshrau-ham asr and also to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam for completeness.

1.curls 2.trapped, caught 3.old 4.restrained, feet tied 5.chain

Independently read, each misra makes literal sense.  The first misra can read … the hearts of both old and young are caught in your (beloved’s) curls.  The second misra can read … thousands are free but one is restrained/feet tied in the chain.  It is implied that the ‘one’ is the poet.  Read this way, the two misra appear to contradict each other.  In the first misra old and young alike have their hearts trapped.  But the beginning of the second misra says that thousands are free.  One way to reconcile this contradiction is to interpret dil phaNsnaa as a lustful act not sincere love while paaband hona to have feet tied/chained is true love/commitment.  Thus, thousands of hearts may be ensnared, but they remain free because their attraction is shallow, driven by lust. I alone am truly bound – chained not by beauty alone, but by the weight of love and devotion.

1.merits, praise 2.eyes 3.beloved 4.strength, capability 5.speech 6.place, occasion, realm 7.collyrium, kohl 8.writing

The glory of the beloved’s eye is beyond the scope of speech.  It is the realm of silence, like the line/writing of kohl on the eye.  Here, the poet claims that speech fails in describing the beloved’s eyes – their beauty surpasses the power of words. Even poetry, usually the medium of praise, falls short.  Instead of speech, there is ‘the realm of silence’ – and within that silence, a metaphor is born: the kohl-lined eye becomes a written page of mystical beauty, one that doesn’t need to be spoken but only beheld. surma ki taḥriir (the writing of kohl) implies that the beloved’s eye silently inscribes its message on the soul of the observer. The couplet exalts non-verbal expression, suggesting that some truths are beyond articulation, and reside in the aesthetics of stillness.

1.sketch, mark 2.love 3.referring to the beloved as Turkish 4.shine, sharp edge 5.sword

With what joy lovers run to offer their necks to be slain!  O Turk (beloved), the sharp edge of your sword is the mark of love.  Lovers rush joyfully to have their throats cut – a startling image, but one grounded in sufi metaphors of ecstatic surrender. Death by the beloved’s sword becomes a desired fate.  In the second misra, the poet says this willingness to die is not madness but proof that love itself is the essence (jauhar) of the beloved’s sword. The beloved’s charm isn’t just destructive – it creates devotion so intense that the beloved’s ‘violence’ is actually proof of her spiritual power. The she’r fuses passion, death, and beauty, making the act of destruction an act of divine intimacy.

1.towards 2.sky, fate 3.arched 4.sigh 5.departs 6.suspicion, expectation, hope 7.target

The sigh flows upward toward the curved sky, in the hope that one day it will be struck by our arrow.  I read two different ways … the lover’s sigh is an arrow that is supposed to strike its target – fate i.e., some day he will be overcome his fate and get to the beloved.  Alternatively, the arrow, his sigh, is meant for the beloved and is sent to the arch of the sky (a bow) that will shoot the arrow back at the beloved.

1.so much 2.restless 3.without 4.ocean of beauty 5.clothes 6.deception 7.net 8.fisherman

The poet is so restless/distressed without the beloved (the ocean of beauty) that he has rent his clothes into shreds.  He is restless, thrashing about like a fish out of water and his clothes are threads like a fisherman’s net.  His clothes deceptively feel like a net.  On top of all of that, the fish has been taken out of the ocean … the ocean of beauty, separated from the beloved.  In this reading, daam-e maahigiir ka is not just a passing simile but a soul-state: the poet identifies completely with the fish – once free in the beloved’s ocean, now trapped in the cruel net of longing.  Another possible layer could be that the bahr-e husn be interpreted as the divine and the sufi separated from the divine beloved is restless for union.

1.wealth 2.indifferent, uncaring 3.nature, temperament 4.humility, penury 5.effect 6.created 7.elixir, philosopher’s stone-turning base metal to gold

My nature has grown indifferent to worldly wealth, humility has created the effect of turning base metal into gold – penury into wealth.

1.spending the night 2.tulip faced 3.see notes 4.lamp 5.wound 6.see notes

Normally the word jalvah is used to mean manifestation, appearance, glory.  It is pronounced much the same as jalvaa which can be used to mean jalvaanaa-to cause to be lit/burned.  Similarly the word gulgiir means a tool to snip the burnt wick of a candle.  But it can also be used to mean gul-giir meaning overcoming or overwhelming, overshadowing the rose.  Now consider the nuances of the she’r – the beloved, described as tulip-faced has come to the garden at night.  This is causing a candle to be lit up – either she is getting one lit up or she is herself shining like a candle.  In any case, the presence of a candle makes it necessary to bring a gulgiir, to snip the burnt wick of the candle.  But gulgiir can also mean one who overshadows the rose; it is no longer just a tool, it conquers the rose.  The bulbul is traditionally a lover of the rose.  If the rose is overshadowed, the bulbul will be wounded.

1.well, good 2.within reach 3.if 4.kiss 5.writer

Whatever is written in my fate is well written; if only it were within reach, I would kiss the hand of the writer of my destiny.  Resignation to fate, and a grudging admiration of its perfect but unreachable logic.

1.day and night 2.in front of, before 3.eyes 4.eye 5.dark 6.beloved 7.imagination 8.gazelle-hunter

Day and night, the beloved’s dark eyes are before me, and I draw upon the imagination to become a gazelle-hunter – gazelle because the eyes of the gazelle are symbolic of beauty.  Thus the lover is both the hunted and the hunter but a hunter using only his imagination.  This way he can have his ‘prey’ before him day and night.

1.life-long 2.themes 3.golden 4.written on the forehead, destiny, fate 5.formula, recipe 6.turning base metal to gold

All my life I composed golden themes, even my fate seemed like a recipe for alchemy – making my lowly existence ‘golden’.  Two possibilities … (a) his life, though ordinary, was an elixir that turned everyday thoughts into poetic gold.  (b) he was day-dreaming all his life, weaving golden dreams which turned out to be nought like alchemy.

1.sorrow, regret 2.place, occasion 3.sweet and articulate 4.raised, nurtured

I am not sure but this she’r appears to be contextual … perhaps about another poet who was a rival of aatish.  aatish and naasiKh were known to have had a lively rivalry with sharp exchanges.  Thus, it is an occasion of pity/regret that this man does not have a tongue that is sweet and articulate in spite of his lion-like upbringing.

1.ears 2.rose 3.cheeks 4.tulip 5.eyes 6.narcissus 7.cypress 8.stature 9.plot, patch 10.page

The beloved’s beauty is described by comparing ears-rose, cheeks-tulip, eyes-narcissus, and stature-slender, tall and supple like the cypress.  The plot of the garden that contains the rose, tulips, narcissus and the cypress is like a picture painted on a page … the picture of the beloved.

1.wearing red 2.eye 3.Mars 4.sharp edge 5.sword

The sharp edge of the beloved’s sword is dressed in red only with the blood of martyred lovers.  Even the eye of Mars (red planet) is but a reflection of your sword’s brilliance.

1.every day 2.tired, weary 3.caravan bell 4.witness 5.wail, cry 6.effect, impact

The caravan bell jaras is symbolic of calling, urging, guiding seekers along the path.  In this case, it is possible that the jaras is the heart.  It is the call of the heart-love or conscience that is being acknowledged.  Every day you help the weary reach the caravan and continue on their path, O bell (jaras), I bear witness to the power/impact of your lament.

1.thoughts, worry 2.palace 3.sky, heaven 4.swelling 5.tears 6.flood 7.intention 8.ancient 9.construction, building

The poet is thinking of the celestial palace – the throne of god.  It is possible that the implication here is that god has been indifferent to his needs.  This has set off swelling tears which result in a flood.  The flood is intent towards some ancient structure.  I am not sure what this ancient building symbolizes.  The Ghazal itself is not dated, but aatish died in 1847.  I am not sure if this refers to some conflict between the British and the oudh kingdom and the wiping out of the old regime.  Not sure at all.

1.fairy faced 2.child, young beloved 3.pen-name 4.madman, seeker 5.chain

The beloved is characterized as tifl – child to reflect her playfulness and casual treatment of the depth of the lover’s feelings.  Thus the poet aatish is madly in love with the playful fairy-faced beloved for whom, breaking the mad lover’s chain is child’s play.  The chain here symbolizes the depth and lasting ties/commitment of the lover.  It is child’s play for the beloved to casually disregard this.

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