QUOTE(bigger_than_bollywood @ Jun 13 2005, 08:02 PM)
So I just asked for the explanation of a few shers in the Asha Bhonsle forum and got 2 superlative expositions. Im hoping someone will be able to explain the Shimona Roy ghazal to me as well. Bibhasji or Inaam Saab-- agar aap yeh padhein to ise meri humble request samajhiye.
Manoneet,
You seem to love asking for the tough ones. Let me give it a try though.
QUOTE
zikr us pariivash kaa, aur phiir bayaa.N apanaa
ban gayaa raqiib aaKhiir thaa jo raazadaa.N apanaa
The topic of the fairy-faced one (refers to ghalib's beloved) came up and the way I described her
My friend who was listening to this became my rival thereafter (by falling in love with my beloved)
(Notice how subtly Ghalib veils his self-praise (his poetic ability to describe his beloved) into a sher that appears to be about the beauty of his beloved. This sher is as much about the former as about the latter.)
QUOTE
mai vo kyo.N bahut piite bazm-e-Gair me.n yaarab
aaj hii huaa ma.nzuur un ko imtihaa.N apanaa
Oh God, why does she drink so much wine in the gathering of the Stranger?
Of all days, today she has decided to test herself!
( There are two "kaabil-e-gaur" aspects here: 1- Ghalib is jealous that his beloved chose to drink in someone else's company. He'd much rather have her drink in his presence so she could be "playful" and "informal" with him rather than with the "Gair". 2- He doesn't want his jealousy to show or he doesn't want to admit that he has any suspicion on his beloved, so he makes the excuse that she's only trying to test her limit of drinking !)
QUOTE
ma.nzar ik bula.ndii par aur ham banaa sakate
arsh se idhar hotaa kaash ke makaa.N apanaa
We would have been able to have a view from a higher plain
If only our house was on this side of the sky !
( This sher is a satire on how we live in a world beyond the heavens these days, i.e., we are unaware of the reality on earth. He laments that if only he could build another floor on his house, he would go past the heavens to "this" side i.e., towards the earth, to be able to see the true reality. Notice also, by saying that his house is already sky-high, he is saying how lost we are in our unreal worlds).
QUOTE
de vo jis qadar zillat ham ha.Nsii me.n Tale.nge
baare aashna nikalaa unakaa paasabaa.N apanaa
however much he abuses us, we'll take it in jest
After all, her Gatekeeper became our friend!
(Ghalib goes back to the theme of making excuses in this sher as in mai vo kyon... What he's really saying is that his beloved's gatekeeper abuses him and won't allow him to enter his beloved's house. But to save his pride and dignity, he won't accept this and instead says that the gatekeeper is Ghalib's friend and is troubling him only in jest !)
QUOTE
dard-e-dil likhuu.N kab tak? Jaauu.N un ko dikhalaa duu.N
u.Ngaliyaa.N figaar apanii KhaamaaKhuu.N_chakaa.N apanaa
how long will I go on writing the pain of the heart? Let me go and show her
my wounded fingers, my blood-dripping pen
(I like this sher for its sheer intensity. The point Ghalib is trying to make is that no amount of writing, even with his wounded blood-dripping fingers is enough to narrate his dard-e-dil, he is better off going and showing his beloved personally.)
QUOTE
ghiisate ghiisate miT jaataa aap ne abas badalaa
na.ng-e-sajdaa se mere sang-e-aastaa.N apanaa
You changed the stone at your doorstep unnecessarily,
it would have worn away with the constant rubbing of my prostration.
(A sher made for a mushaira with excellent use of words and a fine punch line. The suspense is kept until the last word appears).
QUOTE
taa kare na Gamaazii, kar liyaa hai dushman ko
dost kii shikaayat me.n ham ne ham-zabaa.N apanaa
so that he wouldn't go and do backbiting,
In complaining about the friend, I have made the enemy my confidant
(Another sher with lovely word play and I just love the sound of "ham ne ham-zabaaN apnaa". Is this a veiled critique at the superficial nature of some friendships by Ghalib ? What kind of a friend is he who listens to complaints about his friend from an enemy and then befriends the enemy so that the enemy won't go and tell his friend about his remarks on the friend !!!)
QUOTE
ham kahaa.N ke daa.Naa the kis hunar me.n yaktaa the
be_sabab huaa 'Ghalib' dushman aasmaa.N apanaa
What kind of a learned was I ? In what skill was I unique?
without cause, Ghalib, the sky became my enemy
(Yet another gem in this ghazal. Ghalib is lamenting that he faced the wrath of the heavens for no reason, for he is neither a learned [daaNaa] nor uniquely skilled. And by saying that he also points out that human wisdom and skill make the heavens jealous and bring down their enmity. And look at the intelligent use of his false claim for every one knows how much of a literary daaNaa he was and how uniquely skilled he was ! )
