The Great Urdu Poetry & The Present Generation
The going out of vogue of Persian script, ( in which Urdu was traditionally written), after 18th April 1900 when the British Government of United Provinces passed the orders for Hindi, written in Devnagari script,
to take the position which Urdu had occupied in government offices, was the turning point in the history of Urdu.
The middle class families started opting for Devnagri script in school for their children. The sad result was that in a couple of decades most of the educated young people could not decipher the Persian script and therefore were deprived of exposure to the great composite Hindustani culture contained in the rich Urdu literature. An entire generation
of Indians, to which I belong too, was completely cut off from it’s traditional cultural roots and hence failed to pass on that legacy to it’s successors too.
The present article is being written for the benefit of those who can not read the Urdu script. I am using the Roman English Script here and have also given meanings of difficult Urdu words.
Coming to appreciation of Urdu poetry, let us adopt an intelligent layman’s approach towards first learning the meanings of important Urdu words used in a couplet, and then proceeding into the depths of ideas and poetic virtuosity as dictated by our own individual sensibilities. Just like great classical music, great Urdu poetry too evokes widely different responses from listeners/readers depending on their different inner most mind sets.
One of the most interesting features of Urdu poetry is the allegorical use of mundane imagery of romantic hide- and- seek between lovers , for conveying extremely subtle and abstract metaphysical, philosophical and
spiritual ideas and themes which could never be conveyed so effectively in any prose.
An Appreciation Of Spirituality In Ghalib:
Khudaaya , jazba-e-dil kee magar taasseer ultee hai/
Ki jitnaa khenchtaa hooN, aur khiNchtaa jaaye hai mujhsse/
(Oh God ! the effect of my heart’s feelings is just the reverse ! My beloved recedes as much away as I pull her towards myself.)
Ssambhalne de mujhe, aye naaumeedee, kyaa qayaamat hai/
Ki daamaan-e-khayaal-e-yaar, chhootaa jaye hai mujhsse/
(O hopelessness ! Let me collect myself. Is it the end of the world ! That the thought of my beloved is slipping out from my hand like the corner of her shirt.)
Udhar vo badgumaanee hai, idhar ye naatawaanee hai/
Na poochhaa jaaye hai uss se, na bola jaaye hai mujhsse/
(That misunderstanding on her side, and
this helplessness on my side ! Neither she is able to ask, nor I am able to speak up !)
HooN garmi-e-nishaat*-e-tassavvur* sse naghma-ssanj*/
MaiN andaleeb* gulshan-e-naa’aafreedaa* hooN/
(I sing as a result of the warmth of the bliss of my imagination.
I am [ bird] ‘andaleeb’! of the thankless
garden .)
Ghalib is perhaps the most well known and often quoted Urdu poet. Though fondly, and indulgently, his name is associated with the themes of romanticizing beauty of womankind, atheism, drinking, and largely a life of profligacy,rather than any serious depths or school of thought.
Most of his critics are convinced that he was self-admittedly not spiritually inclined. His often quoted couplet to bolster this view is:
“Ye massaail-e-tassavvuf* ye teraa bayaan Ghalib/
Tujhe ham walee* ssamajhte jo na baadaakhwaar* hotaa/
-------------------------------------------------
*massaail-e-tassavvuf = themes of Sufism
*walee = a Sufi saint who has attained the state of ‘walaayat’i.e. exclusivity from all falsehood.
*baadaakhwaar = drunkard
However, this couplet is the key to understanding the real Ghalib. Here the meaning of ‘walee’ is in the terminology of Tasavvuf. It means a Sufi aspirant who has reached the state of self- oblivion, that is, the state of ‘walaayat’.
What therefore is meant in the above couplet is that “from your subject- matter of tassavvuf, and your style of saying it, we would have taken you for a person (speaking during a spell of ‘ghalba’) in a state of ‘walaayat’,(a walee),but for the doubt, that you could be in this state of self- oblivion, due to drunkenness, as you havea solid reputation of being a drunkard.”
True, that Ghalib was a proud habitual drinker who reviled in his enjoyment of good liquor.
Mai sse gharaz nishaat* hai kiss roossiyaah* ko
Ik goonaa* bekhudee mujhe din raat chaahiye/
*nishaat = enjoyment, mauj-masti
*roossiyaah = kalmuhaa
*goonaa = a measure of
“Dete haiN jannat hayaat-e-deh* ke badle/
Nashaa b’andaaz-e-khumaar* naheeN hai/”
Vo cheez , jiske liye hamko ho, bahisht azeez/
Ssiwaaye baadaa*-e-gulfaam-e-mushkboo* kyaa hai?/
JaaN-fizaa* hai baadaa, jiske haath mein jam aa gayaa/
Ssab lakeereN haath kee, goyaa rag-e-jaaN* ho gayeeN/
Qarz kee peete the mai lekin ssamajhte the ki haaN/
raNg laayegee hamaaree faqaamastee* bhi ek din/
---------------------------------------------------------
*hayaat-e-deh = existence in mortal frame
*nashaa b’andaaz-e-khumaar = intoxication
according to the capacity of the drinker.
*Jaan-fizaa = life giving
*rag-e-jaan = the mainstay of one’s life
*faqaamasti = uncaring like a medicant (faker).
But unfortunately Ghalib was grossly misunderstood in the society, mainly because he did not believe in the activities and rituals merely for show of religiosity. He would not perform nimaaz mechanically at
prescribed times, or go to the mosque just to mark his attendance there with the community. He says in a couplet, that he would come away
even from the door of a mosque if it was closed at the time he visited it. He would consider it below his dignity to request for the opening of the mosque gate for him.
But to conclude from this that he was a non-believer, would be wrong.He was a believer all right. But the God he believed in was not the one sequestered by any community to the exclusion of those
who believed in another faith. His God was a universal God. Like the One Allah in Sufism or One Brahma in Vedant.
“Waa* kar diye haiN shauq ne band-e-naqaab-e-husn*/
Ghair az nigaah* koee bhee haayal* naheeN rahaa/”
-----------------------------------
*waa = khol diye
*band-e-naqaab-e-husn = khoobsoorati per pade
naqaab ke button
“Laao usse bhi rakh deN uthaa kar shab-e-vissaal/
Haayal jo ek khafeef *ssaa pardaa nazar kaa hai/
“MillateN* jab mit gayeeN ajzaa-e-eemmaaN* ho gaeeN/”
“ YaaN imtiaaz-e- naaqiss-o-kaamil naheeN rahaa/”
----------------------------------------
* Millaten = communal factions
* ajzaa-e-eemaan = eemaan kaa ek hissaa ho gaeen
*khafeef = insipid
So, the“Vo massaail-e-tassavvuf”, about which Galib has made a bold mention in his couplet quoted above, is not to be found in his poetry in the conventional Sufi connotation.
Ghalib’s tassavvuf, that is if we, like he himself has done, insist on calling it ‘tassavvuf’ only, is quite different. This makes one wonder as to
why he considered his poetry pregnant with “massaail-e-tassavvuf”.
A clue to the answer to this question is discernible in the Ghalib couplets concerning ishq which is the backbone of tassavvuf:
ishq sse tabeeyat ne zeest* kaa mazaa paayaa/
dard kee dawaa paaee , dard be-dawaa paayaa/
--------------
*zeest = life, zindagi
Garche hai tarz-e-taghaaful*, pardaadaar-e-raaz-e-ishq*/
Per ham aisse khoye jaate haiN, ki vo paa jaaye hai/
Hoke aashiq, vo paree-rukh*, aur naazuk ban gayaa/
RaNg khultaa jaye hai, jitnaa ki udtaa jaaye hai/
Ishq ne Ghalib nikammaa kar diyaa/
Vernaa ham bhee aadmee the kaam ke/
---------------------
*tarz-e-taghaaful = dokhaa dene kaa andaaz yaa style
*pardaadaar-e-raaz-e-ishq = muhabbat ke raaz ko chhupaa kar rakhne
waalaa
*paree-rukh = the one with a fairy-like face
Ishq is the common factor as well as the most significant point of difference between conventional tassavvuf and Ghalib’s brand of tassavvuf.
But before we proceed further on ‘ishq’, it is useful to understand Ghalib’s self indictment of being a nikammaa, in order to get an insight into his psyche. This feeling of ‘nikammaapan’, uselessness, must be based on his aversion to taking up any body’s ‘naukaree’, which must have come to him with the mind-set developed during his early life of zameendaaree and raeessee at his Nana’s place at Agra. And he must have had a hard time at his unappreciative and basically incompatible wife’s hands, who must have been using this as a favorite club to hit him with.
Since at the time of his marriage he was only 13, and not old enough yet to go to work, his in-laws must have presumed that following in the tradition of his father and grandfather he too would eventually get settled in a high position in the Mughal army. Later therefore, his aversion to going into any kind of routine employment just to earn livelihood,( like most men in genteel society do), must have gravely disappointed his wife and in-laws, who all, in turn , must have victimized him by taunting him about it, in various ways on various occasions, to the extent that he got persuaded that non-conformance with the mundane customary ways of thinking and living, was a defect in him.
Ghalib did not fit at all in the artificial and strictly tradition and convention bound world of his in-laws, and precipitately admits candidly his uselessness , nikammaapan, in this context.
It was not that he shied away from his duties in the mundane world. He fought valiantly for his rights to his ancestral pension. And he traveled right up to Calcutta, met British officials at gubernatorial levels, argued his case vehemently, and after 14 years of hard pleading managed to win it too, with help from an intellectual of the caliber of Sir Sayyad Ahmad.
But yes, he admitted his being a man lost in his own different world of ‘ishq’.
Ham wahaan hain jahan sse hamko bhee
Kuchh hamaaree khabar naheen aatee/
(I am at the stage from where even I get
no news of myself)
Ishq per zor naheen, hai ye vo aatish Ghalib/
Ki lagaaye na lage aur bujhaaye na bane/
(No one has control over love. It is a fire that neither be kindled at will nor can be extinguished at will.)
This rendered him useless for the down-to-earth limited -vision society in which it was his destiny to live most of his family life. Although in deference to their wishes he pursued his pension case and eventually after incurring heavy debts in the long struggle, did manage to get his pension revived.
His own attitude towards it is clear from the following couplet.
Ghalib wazeefaa-khwaar ho, do shaah ko duaa/
Vo din gaye ki kehte the, naukar naheeN hooN maiN/
Coming back to ‘ishq’, it is indeed a common factor, as observed herein above, between conventional tassavvuf and Ghalib’s tassavvuf.
But the ‘ishq’ that ghalib is talking about is not the ‘ishq’ as conceived in conventional ‘Tassavvuf’.
In the conventional tassavvuf, there are two states of vissaal (union with the beloved). One is ‘wahdat’l wujood’, the other is ‘wahdat’l shuhood’.In the wahdat’l wujood state, the aspirant loses his own identity totally in the identity of ‘Maashookh’, that is, God. And after realization
he looks upon the world as a ‘falsehood’, a deception,a mirage, not to be taken for real, and therefore not to be allowed to sully or influence in anyway one’s pure and true identity with the almighty.
On the other hand in the state of wahdat’l shuhood, the aspirant, after realization of his oneness with God , returns, so to say, to his identity as an individual, but only as a shaahid, that is, as a witness, as an observer, of the creation, and activities in phenomenal world, created by God.
The aspirant lives and acts with the conviction that whatever is getting accomplished through his agency is the will of God. And he happens to be just an observer of whatever is going on around him.
Ghalib does not buy either of the above positions. He accepts oneness with the ‘Absolute ONE’, but Ghalib thinks that, that One God is equally the manifest (the physical world) and the unmanifest ( the subtle or the imperceptible world ,Ghaib,God),‘both at the same time’.
Hai pare ssarhad-e-idraak* sse apnaa masjood*
Qible* ko ahl-e-nazar* qiblaanumaan* kehte hain/
-------------------------------------------
• ssarhad-e-idraak = gyaan kee seemaa
• masjood = upaasya, object of worship
• qible = masjid, or place of offering prayer
• ahl-e-nazar = gyaan drishti rakhne waale
• qiblaanumaan = dishaa dikhaane waalaa
There is no such thing as ‘falsehood’ in Ghalib’s world. God is one. And the world too is ‘genuine He’ only. The world and God are one and the same thing. If we consider world to be a reflection of God, then how can the ‘genuine’ cast a ‘false’ reflection?
(‘ Poornamidah poornamidam Poornaatpoornamudachyate’
Brihadaranyak Upnishad,
---‘this is whole, and that is whole, whole can give birth to whole only.)
ishq mein ssab lut gayaa to jaaniye ssab mil gayaa
aik sse bachtaa hai ik he aik ke jaane ke baad/
-- ‘Gobind’
It is true that from Ghalib’s earlier poetry it appears that he too was prone towards the ‘jaganmithyaa’ (the world is illusion)concept as propounded by Adi Shankaracharya.
Hastee ke mat fareb meiN aa jaaiyo ‘Asad’/
Aalam tamaam halqaa-e-daam-e-khayaal hai/*
HaaN, khaaiyo mat fareb-e-hastee/
Harchand kaheN ki hai, naheeN hai/
Hastee hai na kuchh adam hai ‘Ghalib’.
Hai aadmee b’jaa-e-khud ik mehshar-e-kheyaal/
Ham anjuman ssamajhte haiN, khilwat hee kyoN na ho!/
------------------------------------
*halwaa-e-daam-e khayaal= belonging to the realm of imagination only
*mehshar-e-khayaal= doom’s day of thought
But later when he got the exposure of the intellectual ambience in Delhi at his father-in-law’s house he seems to have drastically matured out of his shallowness and frivolity he had acquired earlier at his filthy rich Nana’s place at Agra.
Add to this intellectual exposure the shock of nightmarish grief in his personal life, resulting from the series of deaths of his seven children one after the other, all dying within one or two years of their births; his younger brother going mad at the age of 28 only , his wife taunting him as ‘nikammaa’ all the time, creditors hounding him day in and day out, his only lady-love, a singer (domini) dying sudden premature death when he was just 22 years old; and you get some idea of his traumatic disillusionment with God’s scheme of things.
Rahiye ab aissee jagah chalkar jahaaN koee na ho/
Ham-ssukhan* koee na ho aur ham-zubaaN koee na ho/
Be-dar-o-deewaar ssaa ek ghar banaayaa chaahiye/
Koee hamssaayaa na ho aur paasbaaN* koee na ho/
Padiye gar beemaar, to koee na ho teemaardaar/
Aur agar mar jaaiye to nauaa-khwaaN* koee na ho/
KyooN gardish-e-mudaam* sse ghabraa na jaaye dil/
inssaan hooN piyaalaa-o-ssaaghar naheeN hooN maiN/
yaarab zamaanaa mujhko mitaataa hai kiss liye/
lauh-e-jahaaN* pe harf-e-muqarrar* naheeN hooN maiN/
-----------------------------------------------------
*ham-ssukhan = baat karnewaalaa
*passbaan = khayaal rakhnewaalaa
*nauaa-khwaan = pallbearer
*gardish-e-mudaam=the inertia of annihilation
*lauh-e-jahaan = duniyaa kee takhtee, stone plate
of the universe
*harf-e-muqarrar = inscribed word
A weaker individual might have gone out of his mind. The great thing about Ghalib is the fortitude and temperamental forbearance with which he faced his immense misfortune.
Zindagee apnee jab iss shakl sse guzaree, Ghalib/
Ham bhee kyaa yaad kareN ge ki Khuda rakhte the !/
But Ghalib’s insight into the basic truth of existence finds new depths in personal misery. He gets a unified vision of the seemingly variegated forms in the universe.
Hai aadamee b’jaa-e-khud ek mahshar-e-khayaal
Ham anjuman ssamajhte hain, khilwat hee kyon na ho/
Saaqiyaa de ek hee ssaaghar mein ssabko mai ki aaj
Aarzoo-e-bossaa-e-lab haai maigoon hai mujhe/
Hai tajallee* teree ssaamaan-e-wujood*
Zarg* be-partao-e-khursheed* naheen/
Bakhshe hai jalwaa-e-gul* zauq-e-tamaashaa* ‘Ghalib’
Chashm ko chaahiye har rang mein waa* ho jaanaa/
Neend uskee hai, dimaagh uskaa hai, raaten uskee hain
Teree zulfen jiske baazoo par pareeshaan ho gayeen/
------------------------------------------
*tajallee = beauty
*ssaamaan-e-wujood = constituents of existence
*jalwaa-e-gul = the splendor of the flower
*zauq-e-tamaashaa = anxiety to see
*waa = open, khula
Naqsh* ko uske mussavvir* par bhee kyaa kyaa naaz hai
Khainchtaa hai jiss qadar, utnaa hee khinchtaa* jai hai/
jitnaa apne aaine ke ssaamne aataa hai vo
Utanaa apne aaine mein deekhtaa jaataa hoon main/
‘Gobind’)
Garche hai tarz-e-taghaaful pardaadaar-e-raaz-e-ishq
Par ham aisse khoye jaate hain, ki vo paa jaaye hai/
*naqsh = roop
*mussavvir = chitrakaar
*khinchtaa = here beauty lies in double meaning,
1)khinchnaa meansgetting sketched,
2) khinchnaa means getting away
or withdrawing oneself.
Kaanton kee zabaan ssookh gaee pyaas sse yaarab
Ek aablaapaa* waadiye purkhaar* mein aave
*aaqblaapaa = jiske talvon mein chhaale hon
*purkhaar = kaanton sse bharee huee
Waa kar diye hain shauq mein band-e- niqaab-e-husn
Ghair az nigaah ab koee haayal naheen rahaa/
We happen to be body and soul at the same time. There is no separateness between the two. The part of soul that is within the grasp of the senses we call the body, and the body that is not in the grasp of the senses we call soul. So obviously for our complete emancipation both the aspects of our ‘being’ are to be purged equally.
Shab ko kissee ke khwaab mein aayaa na ho kaheen
Dukhte hain aaj uss naazuk badan ke paanv/
Ssunte hain jo bahisht kee taareef ssab durust
Lekin Khuda kare vo teree jalwaagaah ho/
Dekhnaa qismat ki aap apne pe rashq aa jaaye hai
Main usse dekhoon bhalaa kab mujhsse dekhaa jaaye hai/
Munh na dikhlaave, na dikhlaa, per b’andaaz-e-itaab*
Kholkar pardaa, zaraa aankhen hi dikhlaa de mujhe/
Karne gaye the uss sse taghaaful* kaa ham gilaa
Kee aik hee nigaah, ki bass khaak ho gaye/
Jabtak dahaan*-e-zakhm na paidaa kare koee
Mushkil, ki tujhsse raah-e-ssukha* waa* kare koee/
Muhabbat mein naheen hai farq jeene aur marne kaa
Ussee ko dekh kar jeete hain jiss qaafir pe dam nikle/
Partav-e-khur* sse hai shabnam* ko fanaa* kee taaleem
Main bhee hoon ik inaayat* kee nazar hone tak/
Phir bekhudee* mein bhool gayaa raah-e-koo-e-yaar*
Jaataa vagarnaa aik din apnee khabar ko main/
Girnee thee ham pe barq-e-tajallee*, na toor* per/
Dete haiN baadaa, zarf-e-qadah khwaar* dekh kar/
Laraztaa hai meraa dil zehmat-e-mehr-e-daraqshaaN* per/
MaiN hooN vo qatraa-e-shabnam jo ho khaar-e-bayaabaaN per/
*b’andaaz-e-itaab = ghusse ke andaaz mein
(aankhen dkhaane kaa
double meaning mazaa hai)
*taghaaful = dhokhaa
*dahaan = mouth, munh
*partav-e-khur = sooraj kaa prakaash
*shabnam = dew,oss
*fanaa = destroyed, khatam
*inaayat = meharbaanee
*bekhudee = self-oblivion
*raah-e-kooy-e-yaar = the street of beloved
*zarf-e-qadah khwaar= capacity of the drinker
*barq-e-tajalli = husn kee bijlee
*toor= is a holy hillock
*zehmat-e-mehr-e-daraqshaaN= sooraj kee meharbaanee kee takleef
*khaar-e-bayaabaan par = jangal ke kaante kee
nok par, yani on teterhooks.
Ghalib talks now about the infinity of God’s potential manifestations, which necessitates an unmanifest state of ‘being’ too (much vaster perhaps then the manifest one) , besides His manifest being in the form of the phenomenal world (which includes us humans too).
Ssab kahaaN! Kuchh laala-vo-gul meiN numaanyaaN* ho gaeeN/
khaak meiN kyaa ssoorateiN hoNgee ki pinhaaN* ho gaeeN./
*numaayaaN= MANIFEST/ JO DIKHAAEE DE
*PinhaaN= CHUPAA HUAA/ Unmanifest
(‘His’ images are infinite and are impossible of manifestation to our limited sensibilities all at the same time; so only a few get manifested
(numaayaaN), the remaining keep hidden in oblivion (pinhaaN). It is His will how much to reveal and how much not to reveal.)
jab vo Jamaal-e-dilfaroz*, ssoorat-e-mehar-e-neemroz*/
aap hee ho nazaaraassoz*, parde mein muNh chhupaaye kyooN?/
(agar dekhnewaalaa bhee vo tez roshnee khud hee hai to chamak sse bachne kee kyaa zaroorat hai, iss liye usse apneaap sse munh chhupaane
kee zaroorat naheen.)
dashnaa-e-ghamzaa* jaaN-ssitaam*, naavak-e-naaz* be-panah*/
teraa hee aks-e-rukh* ssahee, ssaamne tere aaye kyooN?/
(He is the beauty, the beholder, and the vision, then from whom and why would he hide his face? And similarly, even though it be His own reflection only why should He expose Himself to you, when He knows fully well the menacing sharpness of your love glances.)
waaN vo ghuroor-e-izz-o-naaz*, yaaN ye hijaab-e-paass-e-vaz’a*/
raah meiN ham mileN kahaaN , bazm meiN vo bulaaye kyooN?/
*Jamaal-e-dilfaroz = dil lubhaa lenewaalaa
saundarya
*meher-e-neemroz = tez chundhiyaa denewaalee
roshni waalaa
*nazaaraassoz = nazaaraa dekhnewaalaa
*dashnaa-e-ghamzaa = teeth of the glance (like
those of some cutting instrument)
*jaan-ssitam = endangering life
*naavak-e-naaz = naaz ke teer
*be-panah= jinse koee bhchne kaa thikaanaa
naheen
*asks-e-rukh = reflection of face
vaz’a= ssamaaj/society
But Ghalib does not preclude the possibility that we can widen our vision and see and experience more in the manifest forms.
dekho mujhe, jo deedaa-e-ibratnigaah* ho/
meree ssuno, jo gosh-e-nasseehat niyosh* hai/
yaaN shab ko dekhte the, ki har goshaa-e-bissaat*/
daamaan-e-baaghbaan*-o-kaf-e-gulfarosh* hai/
However, thinks Ghalib, it is natural for nature to delude us.
ssaaqee, b’jalwaa dushman-e-eeman-o-aagahee*/
mutrib*, b’naghmaa*, rehzan-e-tamkeen-o-hosh* hai/
*ibratnigaah= sabaq pehchaanlenewaalee
nigaah
*gosh-e-nasseehat niyosh = sabaq per
dhyaan rakhnewaale kaan
*goshaa-e-bissaat
*daamaan-e-baaghbaan
*kaf-e-gulfarosh
Ghalib’s new all-inclusive vision finds fault with both the conventional philosophies of tassavvuf. He criticizes Shuhoodies (advocates of Wahdat’l Shuhood) as follows:
Hai ghaib-e-ghaib* jisko ssamajhte haiN ham shuhood*/
HaiN khwaab meiN hanoz* jo jaage haiN khwaab meiN/
Asl-e-shuhood-o-shaahid-o-mashahood ek hai*/
Hairaan hooN phir mushaahidaa* hai kiss hissaab meiN !/
Hai mushtamil* namood-e-ssubar* per wujood-e-bahr*/
YaaN kyaa dharaa hai qatraa-vo-mauj-o-habaab meiN*/
Dil-e-har qatraa* hai ssaaz-e-analb’hr*/
Ham uske haiN hamaaraa poochhnaa kyaa?/
Jab ki tujh bin naheeN koee maujood
Phir ye haNgaamaa-e-‘khuda’* kyaa hai?
And he rejects the contention of the wujoodies (the advocates of wahdat’l wujood) in following terms:
Juz* naam naheeN ssoorat-e- aalam* mujhe maNzoor/
Juz wahem* naheeN hasti-e-ashiyaa* mere aage/
Ye paree-chehraa log kaisse haiN?
Ghamzaa*-o-ishq-o-adaa kyaa hai?
Shikan-e-zulf-e-ambaree* kyon hai?
Nigah-e-chashm-e-ssurmassaa* kyaa hai?
Ssabzaa-o-gul kahaaN sse aaye?
Abra* kyaa cheez hai hawaa kyaa hai?
Hai tajallee* teree ssaamaan-e- wujood*/
Zarg* be-partao-e-khursheed* naheeN/
*juz = only
*aalam = world
*wahem= illusion
*ashiyaa = matter, padaarth
*ghamzaa = nain-baan, kataakchh
*shikan-e-zulf-e-amberee =
*chashm-e-ssurmassaa =
*abra = baadal
*tajallee =brilliance, chamak
*wujood = existence
*zarg = zarraa, particle
*partao-e-khursheed= light of the sun
For Ghalib God is looking at Himself in His own creation like some one looking at his own face in a mirror.
Aaraaish-e-jamaal* sse faarigh* naheeN hanoz*/
Pesh-e-nazar* hai aainaa daaim* naqaab meiN/
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*aaraaish-e-jamaal = apani sundartaa kee ssajaavat
*faarigh= not yet through
*pesh-e-nazar =nigaah ke ssaamne
*daaim = eternal
And then Ghalib goes further to say that the mirror reflection of the world, and we, being a part of the world, does not only go to show our oneness with God, it has to be our ‘duality’ too, in His unity.
Dehr* juz jalwaa-e-yaktaai-e-maashooq* naheeN/
Ham kahaaN hote agar husn na hotaa khudbeeN*?/
*dehr= world
* juz jalwaa-e-yaktaai-e-maashookh= only the ‘show’ of the all-inclusive
‘Oneness’ of the beloved (God)
It is true too that Ghalib is fascinated, perhaps more than anything else, by God’s manifestations as the beautiful woman with all her antics, flirtatiousness,haughtiness, mysteriousness, and sensuousness. For him God is all-inclusive. He sees all the attributes of the beloved beautiful woman as manifestations of God only.
His andaaz-e-bayaaN is largely molded , so to say, by his liberal use of the imagery of romance and seduction.
True, his ‘andaaz-e-bayaaN’ owes a lot too, to his keen sense of humor and his command over,and witty use of the vernacular, that is the
‘aam bolchaal kee zabaan in qilaa-e-moallaa, (that is ‘Rekhtaa or Urdu ).
dil aapkaa, ki dil meiN hai jo kuchh sso aap kaa/
dil leejiye, magar mere armaaN nikaal ke/
hogaa koee aissaa bhi, ki Ghalib ko na jaane/
shaayar to vo achhhaa hai, pa badnaam bahut hai/
Ghalib, gar iss ssafar meiN mujhe ssaath le chaleN/
Haj kaa ssawaab* nazr karooNgaa huzoor kee/
KahaaN maikhaane kaa darwaazaa Ghalib, aur kahaaN waaiz/
Per itnaa jaante haiN, kal vo jaataa thaa, ki ham nikale/
Zaher miltaa hi nahee mujhko, ssitamgar vernaa/
Kyaa qassam hai tere milne kee ki khaa bhee na ssakooN/
Jaate hue kehte ho, qayaamat ko mileN ge/
Kyaa khoob, qayaamat kaa hai goyaa koee din aur/
Kare hai qatl lagaawat meiN teraa ro denaa/
Teree tarah koee tegh-e-nigah* ko aab* to de/
Aashiq hooN per maashooq-farebee* hai meraa kaam/
Majnoo ko buraa kehtee hai Laila mere aage/
Unke dekhe sse, jo aa jaatee hai muNh per raunaq/
Vo ssamajhte haiN ki beemaar kaa haal achchhaa hai/
Deke khat, muNh dekhtaa hai naamaabar/
Kuchh to paighaam-e-zabaanee* aur hai/
*ssawaab = punya
*tegh-e-nigah = sword-like glance
*aab denaa= sharpen the edge
*maashookh-farebee = befooling the beloved
*paighaam-e-zabaanee = oral message
. But the factor that makes Ghalib’s andaaz-e-bayaan ‘aur’ is , precisely and primarily his frequent, dexterous but nimble use of the imagery of romance with beautiful women, their sly side glances, mizgaan, ghamzaa, ssurmassee aankhen, the mehfil and bazm with them, and the burning of the shamaa etc. to convey most subtle of psychological and philosophical thoughts.
This is accomplished so skillfully and unobtrusively by him that many an eminent critic of his, is convinced that Ghalib’s poetry had no serious psychological or philosophical undertones, worth the mention. It is just plain and simple romantic poetry.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Just look at the deep undertones of the following couplets.
Nazzaare ne bhee, kaam kiyaa whaaN naqaab kaa/
Mastee sse har nigah tere rukh per bikhar gaee/
Dam liyaa thaa na qayaamat ne hanoz*/
Phir teraa waqt-e-safar* yaad aayaa/
ZiNdagee yooN bhi guzar hee jaatee/
KyooN teraa raah-e-guzar* yaad aayaa/
Iss naamuraad dil kee tassallee ko kyaa karooN/
Maanaa ki tere rukh sse nigah qaamiyaab hai/
Mat pooch ki kyaa haal hai meraa tere peechhe/
Too dekh ki kyaa raNg hai teraa mere aage/
MuNh na khulne per hai vo aalam ki dekhaa hee naheeN/
Zulf sse badh kar niqaab uss shokh ke muNh per khulaa/
Sharm ik adaa-e-naaz* hai, apne hee sse ssahee/
Hain kitne be-hijaab*, ki haiN yooN hijaab meiN/
*hanoz = abhee tak, as yet
*waqt-e-ssafar = the time of your departure
*raah-e-guzar = your street, where you reside
*adaa-e-naaz = nakhraa dikhaane kaa andaaz
*be-hijaab = unveiled
Vo shokh apne husn per maghroor hai ‘Asad’/
Dikhlaa ke usko aainaa todaa kare koee/
Mujhe nargiss kaa dastaa
ghair ke haathoN sse kyoN bhejaa/
Agar aankheN dikhaaneeN theeN
dikhaate apnee aankhoN sse/
Saaqiyaa de ek hee ssaaghar meiN ssabko mai, ki aaj/
Aarzoo-e-bossaa-e-lab haai maigooN* hai mujhe/
Kiss muNh sse shukr keejiye, iss lutf-e-khaass kaa/
Purssish hai aur paa-e-ssukhan* darmiyaaN* naheeN/
Bossaa* naheeN, na deejiye, dushnaam* hee ssahee/
Aakhir zubaaN to rakhte ho tum, gar dahaan* naheeN/
JahaaN teraa nkhsh-e-qadam dekhte haiN/
KhiyaabaaN-khiyaabaaN* iram* dekhte ha
Duality is the basic requirement of the existence of the phenomenal world. And if one takes the world as His variegated forms only, then one realizes that attaining Him is the same thing as attaining ones own self with all its strengths and drawbacks. Just as they say ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’; ‘ugliness ‘ too lies in the eyes of the beholder only. Ghalib would say:
Wahee ek baat hai jo yaaN nafass* waaN nakhat*-e-gul hai/
Chaman kaa jalwaa baaiss* hai meree raNgeenwaaee* kaa/
Laao usse bhi rakh deN uthaa kar shab-e-vissaal/
Haayal jo ek khafeef ssaa pardaa nazar kaa hai/
Nazar meiN hai hamaaree jaada-e-raah-e-fanaa* Ghalib/
Ki ye sheeraazaa* hai aalam ke azazaa-e-pareeshaaN* kaa/
*nafass = ssaanss, breath
*nikahat = khushboo
*baaiss = result, effect
*rangeenwaaee = colourfulness
*jaadaa-e-raah-e-fanaa =
*sheeraazaa =
*azazaa-e-pareeshaan = bikhare hue elements
Our sight is constantly noticing destructive forces, butwe do not see that these act as the unifying adhesive for the inherently dispersing elements of the creation.
Once we imbibe the functional indispensability of duality in the actualization of creation, we become ‘at peace’ as a part of the whole system.
Ghalib says:
Partav-e-khur* sse hai shabnam ko fanaa* kee taaleem*/
MaiN bhee hooN ek inaayat* kee nazar hone tak./
Waa kar diye haiN shauq ne band-e-naqaab-e-husn/
Ghair az nigaah koee bhee haayal nahee
rahaa/
But this realization does not lead Ghalib towards a life of inactivity. His mentality is that
instead of an inactive passive existence, life’s noise and clamor is more interesting. Be it crying or mourning only, doesn’t really matter.
Ek haNgaamaa pe mauqoof hai ghar kee raunaq/
Nauha-e-gham hee ssahee naghma-e-shaadee na ssahee/
Maqtal* ko kiss nishaat* sse jaataa hooN maiN ki hai/
Purgul kheyaal zakhm sse daaman nigaah meiN/
*maqtal = slaughter house
*nishaat = khushi
*purgul = phoolon sse bharaa huaa
*daaman = kurti kaa nichlaa hissaa
That is why Ghalib’s misery has an attraction.
This misery too is of several types. ‘gham-e-dauraan’, ‘gham-e-kaarobaar’, ‘gham-e-ishq’.
Amongst these his ‘gham-e-ishq’ is most magnificent.
Because it has the elixir of life in it, and because it carries in it the pain and its cure both simultaneously.
Zeest sse tabeeyatan-e-zeest kaa mazaa paayaa/
Dard kee dawaa paaee dard be-dawaa paayaa/
The ‘cure’ of pain being claimed discovered here, is paradoxically the realization that pain is incurable.
Somewhat in the nature of Albert Camus’ ‘absurd’.
Gham agarche jaan-gussil* hai
p kahaaN bacheN, ki dil hai/
Gham-e-ishq gar na hotaa,
gham-e-rozgaar hotaa/
*jaan-gussil = jaanlevaa
Bakhshe hai jalwa-e-gul, zauq-e-tamaashaa Ghalib/
Chashm ko chaahiye har raNg meiN waa ho jaanaa/
In a famous ghazal he says:
Ye na thee hamaaree qismat ki vissaal-e-yaar hotaa/
Agar aur jeete rehte yahee intezaar hotaa/
He is not complaining. He is just plainly accepting with all grace at his command , his plight, his condition, his destiny as a human being in God’s scheme of things. This does not mean that he loves to wait perpetually, or that he would not like ‘vissaal’ with the beloved. But he wants to continue struggling ,( in the manner of Camus’ Sysiphus repeatedly rolling the stone uphill) knowing fully well that he is not destined to succeed.
Ghalib appears to be a most befitting example of Sartre’s existentialist.
And here is Ghalib’s attitude towards the ‘given’ impossibility of his condition as a human being in the cosmos.
He has learnt to live with it. But not in
‘submission’or surrender. Only, as an inseparable part of the overall scheme of things, for which he can not, and does not have an ‘other’ to blame.
He doesn’t say he is enjoying his plight. But he accepts the fact of his pain and misery indulgently as a necessary price for his
‘aliveness’. This is the crux of Ghalib’s philosophy.
Naghmahaa-e-gham ko bhee, aye dil ghaneemat jaaniye/
Be-ssadaa ho jaayegaa yeh ssaaz-e-hastee ek din/
In aablon sse paaon ke ghabraa gayaa thaa main/
jee khush huaa hai raah ko purkhaar dekh kar/
Koee mere dil sse poochhe tere teer-e-neemkash* ko/
Ye khalish kahaan sse hotee jo jigar ke paar hotaa/
Tere wade per jiye ham, to ye jaan jhooth jaanaa/
Ki khushee sse mar na jaate agar aitbaar hotaa/
Ishrat-e-paaraa-e-dil* zakhm-e-tamannaa* khaanaa/
Lazzat-e-reesh-e-jigar* ghark-e-namakdaan* honaa/
Haif uss chaar girah kapde kee qeemat Ghalib/
Jiskee qismat mein ho aashiq kaa girebaan honaa/
*neemkash = aadhaa ghussaa huaa
*ishrat-e-paaraa-e-dil = pare kee tarah
bikharnewaale dill kee
moksh/mukti/salvation
*zakhm-e-tamannaa = naakaam khwaahishon
ke ghaav
*reesh-e-jigar = jigar sse khoon kaa rissnaa
*ghark-e-namakdaan = immersed in the salt
celler
Aah ko chaahiye ek umra assar hone tak*/
Kaun jeetaa hai teree zulf ke ssar hone tak*/
* The problem is that ‘aah’ requires a ‘life’ of some duration
to have an effect on the beloved. But who has that kind of
longevity?
*zulf ke ssar hone tak = there are many interpretations. One is : “ssar honaa” as an idiom, meaning ‘being crazy about’.
The other is that it denotes the image of the beloved with her
hair down covering her face, and that the poet is referring to
the ‘ages’ it may take for the beloved to sweep the hair back
on to her head.
Hamne maanaa ki taqghaaful na karoge lekin/
Khaak ho jaayeNge ham tumko khabar hone tak/
Partao-e-khur sse hai shabnam ko fanaa kee taaleem/
MaiN bhee hooN ek inaayat kee nazar hone tak/
*(the dew drops are trained to expect annihilation by the sun light. ‘Ghalib’ is giving the simile of this phenomenon to denote
the expected impact of his beloved’s glance of grace on him.)
Gham-e-hastee kaa ‘asad’ kissasse ho juz margh ilaaj/
Shamaa har raNg meiN jaltee hai sehar hone tak/
Ishrat-e-qataraa hai dariyaa meiN fanaa ho jaanaa/
Dard kaa had sse guzarnaa hai dawaa ho jaanaa/
Hai mujhe abr-e-bahaaree kaa barass kar khulnaa/
Rote-rote gham-e-furqat meiN fanaa ho jaanaa/
RaNj sse khoogar huaa inssaan, to mit jaataa hai raNj/
MushkileN mujh per padeeN itneeN ki aassaaN ho gaeeN/ `
Shab ko kissee ke khwaab meiN aayaa na ho kaheeN/
Dukhte haiN aaj uss but-e-naazuk badan ke paaNv/
Ssunte haiN jo bahisht kee taareef, ssab durust/
Lekin khudaa kare, vo teree jalwaagaah ho/
It is from this point of view that one gets to
appreciate his ‘ishq’ as reflecting his brand of ‘massaail-e-tassavvuf.
He is aware that this is not the way that most Sufis would express their ishq. Hence his lines ‘Ghalib kaa hai andaaz-e-bayaan aur’
Ghalib had zest and acute passion for life and the world with all its shortcomings. He was
perpetually thirsty and hungery for things of the world. And that insatiable thirst and hunger shows prominently in his mid-life poetry.
Ghalib ‘s sense of unfulfilment was perpetual, not because off deprivations or financial paucities, which came later only in his life, it was
a sense of ‘incompleteness despite having a lot’. It gave him a restlessness like that of Vincent Van Gogh.
B’qadr-e-shauq naheeN, zarf-e-taNgnaa-e-ghazal/
Kuchh aur chaahiye vuss’at* mere bayaaN ke liye/
* vussat = vastness, expance
That life of his is a flow, a perpetual movement, a constant journey, is borne out by his couplets after couplets.
Chaltaa hooN thodee door, har-ik tez-rau ke ssaath/
Pehchaantaa naheeN hooN abhee raahbar ko maiN/
Chhodaa na rashq ne, ki tere ghar kaa naam looN/
Har-ik sse poochhtaa hooN, ki jaaooN kidhar ko maiN/
Phir be-khudee meiN bhool gayaa, raah-e-koo-e-yaar/
Jaataa wagarnaa ek din apnee khabar ko maiN/
Death is a stop, a halt, a destination, a lack of movement. That is why he was a poet of the state of flux, ‘marching on’, the journey, life ,not of the destination (death). Ghalib’s is a perpetually non-committal state of mind. Free!
Here life is dancing without fetters. There is no restriction of any kind on it.
Rau meiN hai rakhsh*-e-umr kahaaN dekhiye thameN/
Na haath baab* per hai na paa hai rakaab meiN/
*rakhsh= horse
*baab = lagaam
Ghalib’s concept of life has no place for ‘rest’ or lack of movement or dynamism. No sooner than he recovers even slightly from setbacks he starts hankering for his habitual ways of indulgent life and romance. His zest for life is unstoppable. An incurably romantically indisposed person, that is Ghalib.
Muddat huee hai yaar ko mehmaaN kiye hue/
Josh-e-qadah sse, bazm charaaghaaN kiye hue/
Phir vaza-e-ahtiyaat sse rukne lagaa hai dam/
BarssoN hue haiN chaak girebaaN kiye hue/
Phir purssish-e-jaraahat-e-dil ko chalaa hai ishq/
Ssaamaan-e-ssad-hazaar namakdaaN kiye hue/
MaaNge hai phir, kissee ko lab-e-baam per hawass/
Zulf-e-ssiyaah rukh pe pareeshaaN kiye hue/
Ik naubahaar-e-naaz ko take hai phir bahaar/
Chehraa farogh-e-mai sse gulistaaN kiye hue/
Jee dhooNdhtaa hai phir wahee furssat, ki raat-din/
Baithe rahen tassavvur-e-jaanaan kiye hue/
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