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For those who have joined
now, let me say few words about this Ghalib series.
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 27th 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) & its explanation in
Urdu, Gujarati, and English
To listen to this Ghazal sung
by Lata, please click here:
http://lists.elistx.com/archives/blank/200507/mp3EITZJjRNcv.mp3
Note: About two weeks back I had sent you all the explanation of the
following verse. My learned friend Rajkumar Qais who is an Urdu Pundit
and who has written several scholarly research papers on Urdu poets and
Urdu literature thinks that in this verse “Razi Na hua” means
“Raza-manad na Hua” meaning “She didn’t permit”. I had explained the
word “Razi Na hua” as she was not pleased. On this basis I wrote that
Ghalib dies to get out the perpetual misery and that his sweetheart was
not pleased even in his death. Now I realize that Rajkumar Qais’ meaning
makes a better sense. I have, therefore, rewritten my explanation. You
will find that the new explanation makes the verse more beautiful.
MeiN ne chaha tha ke andoh-e-wafa
se chhuTuN
I had desired
to end my pain caused by the need to prove my loyalty continuously
Woh sitamgar mere marne pe bhi
razi na hua But, that
tormenter, my beloved, did not agree to my idea of ending my life.
Andoh= grief, pain
Wafa=loyalty, devotion
Sitam-gar = tormenter, torturer
Razi= agree, permit
This is the
3rd verse of Ghalib’s 9th ghazal.
This ghazal is a popular ghazal. It has 7 verses and all of them are
beautiful and are bursting with great thoughts. It has been sung by many
artists including Lata. For audio, please click here
http://lists.elistx.com/archives/blank/200507/mp3EITZJjRNcv.mp3
Meaning:
Ghalib is
down with pain of love. He is distressed because in return of his
intense love, his beloved, whom he calls tormentor, lose no opportunity
to reprimands him and always remains unmoved to his requests. He has
reached to a point where he can’t take any more. Fed up of this grief
and pain, the poet Ghalib, asks for his sweet heart’s permission to end
his life and get freedom from daily suffering. He was sure that his
death proposal will please her as there will be no one around to bother
her anymore. However, his sweetheart was not agreeable to his death
wish. She was worried that if Ghalib dies, where can she find a loyal
lover like him? Ghalib, therefore, complaints that he is forced to live
a life of daily torture.
Finer
aspects of this verse:
The subject of this verse is very interesting. For example, pain
bursting the limit; even while enduring the torture, remaining steadfast
to love; these aspects of love are treated beautifully.
Ghalibologist
“Be-khud”, “Taba-Tabai”, and “Saeed” opinions:
His sweetheart rejected Ghalib’s death wish because she was worried that
the incident will fuel a juicy story in Bazaar & town. It is a beautiful
thought! Beloved would not allow Ghalib to die just to save her own
reputation.
Ghalib’s this verse
is probably an answer to Daagh Dehlvi’s dilemma.
Zeest se tang ho ae
Gaagh! To jeete kuoN ho? If
you are so tired of living, oh Daagh! Why do you live?
Jaan pyari
bhi nahiN, Jaan se jaate bhi nahiN!
You
don’t love life, and also you don’t want to leave living. Strange!
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Zeest=life |
