For those who have joined now, let me say few words about this Ghalib series.

 Mirza Ghalib, his Ghazals, his poems, his genius, and his wits have always fascinated millions of Urdu lovers including myself. Those who want to read my previous work please Ctrl + click  or copy and paste in internet address window, the following link: http://www.mirza-ghalib.org  or, if you choose, you may send me an email request; I will email back my previous explanations just for asking.

 This is my 18th installment.  I have received excellent response from lot of friends; both Urdu and non-Urdu speakers. Please know that this is my own, Asghar Vasanwala’s, work and not a forwarding of someone else’s work as some you thought. Please forward this to your friends. Also please send me your comments/complements. I will appreciate if you forward me emails of your Urdu/non-Urdu friends.

 Here is today’s verse (she'r) in Urdu, Gujarati, and Roman script.

                                                Dhamki meiN mar gaya, jo na bab-e-naburd tha             He, who was weak and didn’t belong to battle field, died just in one threat.                Ishq-e-naburd     pesha,     talbgar-e-mard    tha       Love’s resume is war; it wanted a brave fighter.                            Dhamki = threat,     Baab= gate, chapter       Naburd = Battle, war       Pesha=occupation, Business (resume)

This is the 1st verse of Mirza Ghalib’s 7^th ghazal.  Being the first verse of a ghazal, it is called Matla ­­- the beginning. Its both lines rhyme in Qafiya “rd” & Radif “tha” This ghazal is not popular at street level but it has a Sufi-color; and, I love it.

Meaning: The person who was weak and didn’t belong to battlefield of love, died just in one threat; he couldn’t face love’s demands. Love’s occupation/resume is struggle and war; being so, love demands brave warriors who can conquer and win difficulties and calamities of love. If, a person has no courage then fear will render his love meaningless.

Please notice that Ghalib has used past tense in above verse by using word “Tha”. It means that he is pointing to some thing that happened in the past.  It seems that he is pointing at the great love story of Shirin and Farhad. As we know, Farhad fulfilled the great challenge put forth to him: Dig a canal in rocky mountains, called Koh-e-Besutun, and make milk flow though it, and Shirin will be yours.

However, at the end he was tricked. He was told that Shirin had already married. On this news, Farhad killed him self by striking the very pickaxe that he used in digging the canal, on his own head and died. Ghalib probably wants to ridicule Farhad that he was not brave enough because he ended his fight prematurely.

If we consider “Love” as love of God, then the verse means: Those who leave path of God, when they face difficulties and problems, are like cowards who die just in one threat. Love of God is a great struggle and it demands the brave warriors who would never give-up and fight till finish.

Ghalibologists’ opinions:                                                                                                                 Bekhud: “died just in one threat” points at Farhad. Ghalib says he himself didn’t give up love just in one threat and that he fought bravely at every step.