Nostalgia is a strange thing. One thought, and the brain immediately re-connects every node in the network and with this emerging network emerges every feeling that you associated with that thought, person, incident.
In the emergence of one such nostalgic network in my head, a few days back, emerged as a node, this poem by Mirza Ghalib . The first half-line having been popularised by a movie that came out two years back and became immensely popular with anyone who wanted to prove they can watch and enjoy meaningful Indian cinema ( despite bollywood) :)
Ghalib's is regarded as one of the most intricate styles in urdu poetry. In something akin to Blake's Tiger, there is a new (possibly deeper) interpretation on every successive reading. What makes it more interesting is how short a sher (couplet) is and how much he manages to pack in. This makes any literal translation, most inadequate and sometimes rather morbid, as will be evident from the lines below!
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is a ghazal. There are rules to the composition of a ghazal but most importantly, it is made up purely of shers. All shers follow one meter, called beher. The last words of the second line of each sher are the same , this is called radif and the essential rhyme that words before the radif must have and is called kaafiya. With that very techinical, and possibly unnecessary description, here's one of the best Ghazals of all time!
Here the radif is simply the word 'nikle' and its easy to see how the kaafiya is maintained with words kam, dam, ham, jam, sitam etc.So here it is, most of it atleast. As usual, it comes with a crude line by line translation, in blank verse ( nostalgic marker no. 2!! sigh , oh well!) Also, comes with commentary on my favorite lines.
The opening sher is my favorite in the whole ghazal. Manages to kindle every nostalgia network that has a marker for something unfulfilled. I don't know about you, gentle reader, but that tends to clutter my head with way too many networks. ( we are greedy like this only!)
The fourth sher here is next in line of my favorites. Much literature exists, in every language known to man, on this dichotomy that love seems to present. Here it is as pithy as it gets :)
1. hazaaroN KHwahishaiN 'eisee ke har KHwahish pe dam nikle
bohot nikle mere armaaN lekin fir bhee kam nikle
A thousand desires, each seeming to take a lifetime to realise.
Try as I might, they don't seem to want to become real . ( like I said, my translation sucks!)
2. nikalna KHuld se aadam ka sunte aayaiN haiN lekin
bohot be_aabru hokar tere kooche se ham nikle
I had heard of Adam being ousted from paradise (khuld),
I find my way out of your street, in big (ger) disgrace.
3. huee jinse tavaqqo KHastagee kee daad paane kee
wo hamse bhee ziyaada KHasta-e-teGH-e-sitam nikle
He, from whom I expect justice for such weakness,
is more injured by the sword of sorrow than I.
4. mohabbat meiN naheeN hai farq jeene aur marne kaa
usee ko dekh kar jeete haiN jis kaafir pe dam nikle
In love, there isn't a difference between living and dying,
I draw life from looking at the traitor I die for.
5. zara kar jor seene par ki teer-e-pursitam nikle
jo wo nikle to dil nikle, jo dil nikle to dam nikle
Try hard to get this arrow of sorrow out of my heart,
It will come out taking my heart with it, my heart will take my life with it.
6. KHuda ke waaste parda na kaabe se uThaa zaalim
kaheeN 'eisa na ho yaaN bhee wohee kaafir sanam nikle
For God's sake, don't remove the veil off of the Kaaba ( religious stone representative of God in Islam)
What if my deceitful lover hides behind it?
( Also representative of a ston hearted lover perhaps!)
A great rendition of the ghazal by Shubha Mudgal can be heard here .
In the emergence of one such nostalgic network in my head, a few days back, emerged as a node, this poem by Mirza Ghalib . The first half-line having been popularised by a movie that came out two years back and became immensely popular with anyone who wanted to prove they can watch and enjoy meaningful Indian cinema ( despite bollywood) :)
Ghalib's is regarded as one of the most intricate styles in urdu poetry. In something akin to Blake's Tiger, there is a new (possibly deeper) interpretation on every successive reading. What makes it more interesting is how short a sher (couplet) is and how much he manages to pack in. This makes any literal translation, most inadequate and sometimes rather morbid, as will be evident from the lines below!
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is a ghazal. There are rules to the composition of a ghazal but most importantly, it is made up purely of shers. All shers follow one meter, called beher. The last words of the second line of each sher are the same , this is called radif and the essential rhyme that words before the radif must have and is called kaafiya. With that very techinical, and possibly unnecessary description, here's one of the best Ghazals of all time!
Here the radif is simply the word 'nikle' and its easy to see how the kaafiya is maintained with words kam, dam, ham, jam, sitam etc.So here it is, most of it atleast. As usual, it comes with a crude line by line translation, in blank verse ( nostalgic marker no. 2!! sigh , oh well!) Also, comes with commentary on my favorite lines.
The opening sher is my favorite in the whole ghazal. Manages to kindle every nostalgia network that has a marker for something unfulfilled. I don't know about you, gentle reader, but that tends to clutter my head with way too many networks. ( we are greedy like this only!)
The fourth sher here is next in line of my favorites. Much literature exists, in every language known to man, on this dichotomy that love seems to present. Here it is as pithy as it gets :)
1. hazaaroN KHwahishaiN 'eisee ke har KHwahish pe dam nikle
bohot nikle mere armaaN lekin fir bhee kam nikle
A thousand desires, each seeming to take a lifetime to realise.
Try as I might, they don't seem to want to become real . ( like I said, my translation sucks!)
2. nikalna KHuld se aadam ka sunte aayaiN haiN lekin
bohot be_aabru hokar tere kooche se ham nikle
I had heard of Adam being ousted from paradise (khuld),
I find my way out of your street, in big (ger) disgrace.
3. huee jinse tavaqqo KHastagee kee daad paane kee
wo hamse bhee ziyaada KHasta-e-teGH-e-sitam nikle
He, from whom I expect justice for such weakness,
is more injured by the sword of sorrow than I.
4. mohabbat meiN naheeN hai farq jeene aur marne kaa
usee ko dekh kar jeete haiN jis kaafir pe dam nikle
In love, there isn't a difference between living and dying,
I draw life from looking at the traitor I die for.
5. zara kar jor seene par ki teer-e-pursitam nikle
jo wo nikle to dil nikle, jo dil nikle to dam nikle
Try hard to get this arrow of sorrow out of my heart,
It will come out taking my heart with it, my heart will take my life with it.
6. KHuda ke waaste parda na kaabe se uThaa zaalim
kaheeN 'eisa na ho yaaN bhee wohee kaafir sanam nikle
For God's sake, don't remove the veil off of the Kaaba ( religious stone representative of God in Islam)
What if my deceitful lover hides behind it?
( Also representative of a ston hearted lover perhaps!)
A great rendition of the ghazal by Shubha Mudgal can be heard here .
6 comments:
I read somewhere the meaning of sher 6 to be thus:
The sher consists of two different thoughts - first line :'for god's sake,O tormentor, remove the veil from your face (naqaabe supposedly being a single word for face).....
the second line, a mischievous contradiction: 'what if that same unbeliever turned out to be my lover (under the veil)?'.... presumably, a non Muslim woman enthralled him while disguisied under a veil
well, kaafir is commonly used by Ghalib not so much as meaning 'traitor' but as a worldly person or lover or the object of desire. Making kaafir as opposed to the all-pious.
If you take into account Ghalib's dissident views, and his own drinking, gambling etc these weren't so much 'wrong' per se, but humanly activities for Ghalib, again as opposed to the unspoilt, of which there is only one.
beautiful ghazal. i'm very new to urdu poetry, and i was looking for this ghazal and its translation for a looong time. very well rendered. thank you.
This is one of my favorite ghazals ... I too love the first and fourth stanza the most in that order ... and was looking for a translation for some other other lines ... glad to have found this page ... Despite your mentioning that one line translations of urdu poetry are akin to murder (which is true BTW) ... you have done a really great job, much better than most I see ... Thanks !
Hey Sarvam, just wanted to correct you in the Translation of the word KAABA( You said "Kaaba is a religious stone representative of God in Islam").
Islam doesn’t not believe in Idol/Stone worshipping and it’s a monotheistic religion, believing in One God (Allah)
The Kaaba is a cube-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are as ordered by God.
We muslims bow down towards the Kaaba, the kabaa is the direction. We do not worship the kaaba, we bow towards the kabaa. In the Salah (Prayer) we only worship Allah and no one else. In Islam we believe in Unity, suppose Muslims wants to offer prayer some where, some may say lets face north, some may say lets face south east or west. So for unitily, all the muslims in the world, have been commanded by Allah to face towards the Kaaba. All muslims face in one direction for unity.
The building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, the first building at the site was built by Ibrahim( Abraham – One of the prophets). The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram.
Hey Sarvam, just wanted to correct you in the Translation of the word KAABA( You said "Kaaba is a religious stone representative of God in Islam").
Islam doesn’t not believe in Idol/Stone worshipping and it’s a monotheistic religion, believing in One God (Allah)
The Kaaba is a cube-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are as ordered by God.
We muslims bow down towards the Kaaba, the kabaa is the direction. We do not worship the kaaba, we bow towards the kabaa. In the Salah (Prayer) we only worship Allah and no one else. In Islam we believe in Unity, suppose Muslims wants to offer prayer some where, some may say lets face north, some may say lets face south east or west. So for unitily, all the muslims in the world, have been commanded by Allah to face towards the Kaaba. All muslims face in one direction for unity.
The building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, the first building at the site was built by Ibrahim( Abraham – One of the prophets). The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram.
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