Couplet X

The last couplet of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua' is as given below:-

      Kuchh to kahiye ki log kahtey hai.n
      Aaj Ghalib ghazalsaraa na hua.'

The expanation as given in Bad Moon Rising, a site of Rahul Negi is :-

        'Do read something for people are saying. Today ghalib did not become a ghazal-singer. The poet says even in his leisurely hours in company of common folk or when he is not in a particular mood for word-play, people ask him to recite something for they ask how come today ghalib is not at his best (i.e. being a ghazal singer). People have come to expect the best lines from me and If someday I don't give them, they egg me to speak something.'

According to the explanation of Ranjan Banerji in Ghaza-e-Ghalib.com the explanation is as given below:

          'You must compose and recite,it is                   your duty,

Even if you are not in the mood,public opinion should be obeyed "Ghalib".

(Once the King asked Ghalib to recite something even it is out of his style.)'
 
The explanation by both the learned people seems to  lay stress upon public opinion. It seems as if Ghalib used to recite his poetry even in gatherings of common people though he used to get a stipened from the moughal court.

Common people used to ask him to recite his poems even when the poet in Ghalib was not there. In this couplet he admits that paying regard to and honouring public demand he has to bow to the commonfolk and recite one poem or the other, otherwise people would start murmuring  and complaining  that today Ghalib is  not reciting poetry. He usually honours the wishes of the public even if he is not any mood to recite.

Couplet X

The last couplet of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua' is as given below:-

      Kuchh to kahiye ki log kahtey hai.n
      Aaj Ghalib ghazalsaraa na hua.'

The expanation as given in Bad Moon Rising, a site of Rahul Negi is :-

        'Do read something for people are saying. Today ghalib did not become a ghazal-singer. The poet says even in his leisurely hours in company of common folk or when he is not in a particular mood for word-play, people ask him to recite something for they ask how come today ghalib is not at his best (i.e. being a ghazal singer). People have come to expect the best lines from me and If someday I don't give them, they egg me to speak something.'

According to the explanation of Ranjan Banerji in Ghaza-e-Ghalib.com the explanation is as given below:

          'You must compose and recite,it is                   your duty,

Even if you are not in the mood,public opinion should be obeyed "Ghalib".

(Once the King asked Ghalib to recite something even it is out of his style.)'
 
The explanation by both the learned people seems to  lay stress upon public opinion. It seems as if Ghalib used to recite his poetry even in gatherings of common people though he used to get a stipened from the moughal court.

Common people used to ask him to recite his poems even when the poet in Ghalib was not there. In this couplet he admits that paying regard to and honouring public demand he has to bow to the commonfolk and recite one poem or the other, otherwise people would start murmuring  and complaining  that today Ghalib is  not reciting poetry. He usually honours the wishes of the public even if he is not any mood to recite.

Couplet IX

The ninth couplet or sher of the ghazal

                                        'Raahzanee hai ki dil-sitanee hai,
                                         Ley ke dil, dil-sitaa.n ravaa na hua;'

There are two sources from which I have depended upon to try to understand the ghazal myself and then write this article for the group. Let me start with Ranjan Banerji Saahab whose interpretation of the couplet as follows:-

                                         'Is it highway robbery or heart theft
                                         Having taken the heart the heart thief went'

(The beloved steals my heart, it is her right, but then she went with it, instead of staying and tormenting me, what is this.)

According to Rahul Negi Saahab the interpretation of the lines is as given below:-

'Highway robbery is it or is it stealing of the heart? Taking the heart, the stealer of heart moves on!. The poet asks is it highway robbery or the theft of his heart? The beloved stops, steals his heart and then moves away quickly. It does not look like she was here to steal my heart and play with it and torture me. Instead it appears like a crime. This does not look like taking my heart, it felt like a plain highway robbery.'

What actually happens is that the lover and beloved in mundane life usually love each other from the depth of their hearts and if it is true they stay together. But what the poet experiences is that he has fallen for her but the beloved does not reciprocate the gesture but runs away. Is it a case of one sided love.?

What comes to my mind is that here the belief of Sufism comes into play. The beloved is God Himself. No one can make Him to stay at one place, not even Ghalib's devotion. Ghalib realised this plain and simple fact and has poetically expressed this aspect in this beautful verse.

In colloquial Urdu we have a phrase 'ravanaa karna'. The meaning is 'to make someone move'. We often ask in our parlance 'Tumney unko kitney baje ravaanaa kiya ?' -- 'What time did you send them ?' I think the second line if put in the following manner makes the meaning clear

                                 'Ley ke dil, dil-sitaa.n ravaanaa hua'.

After having taken possession of the poet's heart the stealer of the heart went away.

In a nutshell, Ghalib wonders as to what the thief was upto and surprised at the manner of the theft utters this couplet whose meaning is quite simple at the lowest level of conciousness. If we look at it considering it to be at a higher level the meaning is quite spiritual in nature.

Couplet VIII

Zakhm gar dab gaya, lahoo na thama,
                             Kaam  gar  ruk  gaya  ravaa na huaa

The above quoted verse is the next verse of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua. Theintent of this verse is not very clear. Maybe I am unable to see beyond black and white. The meaning also is not very logical. In eveyday life we see that a wound if pressed oozes out blood in plenty. If it is anyhow supressed the question of blood using out does not arise.

According to Rahul Negi the explanation of both the lines is as given below:-

'If the wound was pressed, the blood did not stop. If the work was stopped, then it did not move on. This are not very approachable lines, here is my take on it. The poet says that when I press my wound, the blood should have stopped.  But it does not and the wound keeps bleeding. And if the work (the work of pressing the wound) was stopped then the blood itself stopped flowing through my body. There is no way out of the misery, either I bleed myself to death by pressing the wound or my blood stops flowing when I stop pressing my wound. In either case, I die!'

According to Ranjan Banerji of Ghazal-e-Ghalib.com the interpretation is as given hereunder:-

' If pressure is applied to a wound,the blood should stop flowing,but in this case it does not,

If my task is halted,it is stopped forever.

(I can not get any work done in the world,I can only continue to suffer,such is my destiny.)'

The explanation of Ranjan Banerji Saahab seems to be more plausible though the explanation of Rahul Negi Saahab is detailed.

Whatever the case, it seems to me that Ghalib is ruing over his failures in life alluding to a wound the blood from which does not stop even after pressing it and his inability to get uncompleted tasks completed (may be to the persisting nature of the wound.)

This wound which he has referred to maybe also taken to be the wound of separation from his beloved. Whenever Ghalib thinks of this aspect of his life he is rendered useless and cannot complete the tasks which he would like to be done, completed.

Couplet Vll

'Jaan dee, dee huyi usee ki thi,
                                 Haq yeh hai ki haq ada na hua'

This is the seventh couplet of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua which I would like to elaborate today.

According to Ranjan Bannerji of Ghazal-e-Ghalib.com the interpretation is as follows:-

                        'Life was a trust from Lord, He had given us this
                         trust as a blessings, and confided it to us,

                        I gave my life  on the  path of truth, but what virt-
                        ue of is there in this, the life was not mine.

                        ( We have not fulfilled our responsibility.  If   we
                        had sacrificed something  of  our  own    in  His
                        path, then it  would  have   accomplishment    of
                        our duty.)  [  This thought, these words, this tho-
                        ught,  these words,   this  construction,  they  are
                        all beyond description  ]

What comes to my mind is that Ghalib is pouring forth his emotions and sentiments in this couplet. He is streaming his thankfulness as well as obligation to God. Though Ghalib is shown to be a happy go lucky person, a man for whom liquor was an elixir, in the deepest crevices of his heart he was not an atheist. He did not adhere to old age customs and traditions yet he was aware of the fact that life can be lived only if God wills.

'Jaan dee, dee hui usi ki thi' - here the word 'dee' that has been used is quite significant. Ghalib expresses a sense of obligation to the Lord for having given him a life but at the same time he also points out to what he has done- gave his life up in His servitude and devotion.

In the next line-' Haq yeh hai ki haq adaa na hua' . If we interpolate a slight change in the first 'haq' the meaning, to a great extant becomes a lot clearer. I mean to say that this 'haq', if taken as 'haqeeqat' ekes out a clear meaning.

Ghalib seems to be ruing the fact that though God has bestowed him a life as a human being and he feels obliged to Him it is a fact that he could not repay the debt or obligation by any means. Whatever he has done in the service to God is nothing compared to the gift of the precious life which God granted him.

The two lines of this sher have been used as a means to compare God's bounties on man and what, in return, man does to repay that act of God.

Couplet Vl

I will take up the sixth couplet of the ghazal 'Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua' today, which is as given below:-

                                       'Kya woh namrood ki khudaayee thi ?
                                        Bandagi me tera bhala na hua.'

Namrood was a Quranic tyrant who claimed himself to be God who had the false notion that on his orders men were put to death or set free. He was a contemporary of Hazrat Ibrahim.

Ghalib in this sher refers to Namrood and expresses his dissatisfaction at the outcome of his prayers as these prayers went in vain.

Interpreters have diverse opinions on the question as to whom was he praying. However, in any case, the point is that Ghalib's devotion or servitude had gone in vain as what he expected or longed for did not take place. He seems to be questioning the divinity of God himself.

The same is the case if we assume that Ghalib's servitude was directed towards his beloved as she also failed him and his devotion to her.

In Sufi parlance God is either the lover or the beloved. Here it will be quite appropriate to assume that the Power Ghalib had served with devotion is God himself and he seems to be accusing Him of not heeding to his prayers. As such God's divinity is likened to the divinity of Namrood.

Couplet V

The fifth couplet of Ghalib's ghazal 'Dard minnat-kashey dawa na hua' is as follows

                              'Hai Khabar garm un ke aaney ki,
                               Aaj hi ghar me boriya na hua;'

It is a peculiar situation. It is hot news that Ghalib's beloved is coming. There is no hint as to where is he/she coming.

Everyone must be knowing the fact that Ghalib was a 'happy go lucky' person or a poet of epicurean temperament subsisting on whatever he could get but he gave priority to liquor. A person who is described in urdu literature as a ' faaqa-e-mast' person.

The next line hints at where the beloved is to come-the rendezvous. It is Ghalib's home. The poet rues the fact that he does not even have the minimum of furniture so that the beloved may  comfortably sit on.

The poet refers to the word 'boriya'. In our parlance a 'bora' is a sack made of matted jute and even today this jute sack is spread on the ground in rural homes where people sit cross legged.

Visualize a situation where a person important in the eyes of the protagonist is to visit his home and the host has not even a jute mat for the person to sit. You can easily understand the mental state of the host. He will cut a sorry figure before the guest.

This is what has been said in the couplet.

Couplet lV

My essay continues with the fourth sher in the ghazal starting with ' Dard minnat-kashey dawa na hua'. Ghalib seems to be in surprise in this couplet.

                         'Kitnry sheeree.n hai.n terey lab ? ki raqeeb,
                         Gaaliyaa.n kha ke be-mazaa na hua'.

A slight change in the above sher can make it  clearer. Thus

                         'Kitney sheeree.n hain terey lab ?
                          Ki raqeeb gaaliyaa.n kha ke bhi be-mazaa na hua'

The first line of the couplet is used to appreciate the beauty of the beloved's lips where Ghalib asks the beloved surprisingly 'How sweet are your lips ?' The intensity as well as the effect of the sweetness is explained by the poet in in the next line.

Ghalib's beloved is hurling abuses and invectives at the poet's rivals. Ghalib wonders why the rivals are delighted even after so many invectives were hurled at them.

It is human nature to be angry upon a person bent upon harming another's ego by hurling invectives. But here the case is just the opposite. Rivals of Ghalib, seem to remain delighted even after hearing his beloved's invectives.

'Hai.n aur bhi duniya me sukhanwar bahut achchhey,
Kahtey hain ki Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayaa.n aur.'

Ghalib's manner of expressing  emotions is unique in style and this sher seems to be no exception.

Couplet lll

Continuing my efforts to try to explain Ghalib's ghazal starting with 'Dard-e-minnat kahey dawa na hua' I will try to to put forth the next couplet which runs thus:

                          Jama kartey ho kyo.n raqeebo.n ko,
                           Ek tamasha hua, gila na hua;

                           Why do you collect my rivals,
                            It is a spectacle, not a complaint;

A man who loves his self-esteem and dignity does not want to divulge his secrets in public nor does he like any other person to divulge it. This is true for Ghalib too. In the second couplet he addresses his beloved and enquires from the person why he/she collects Ghalib's rivals, why doesn't he/she complains to him directly and in persona. Ghalib would like if he/she complained to him personally and alone rather.

His beloved was bent upon making a spectacle of the remonstrance by collecting a crowd and expressing her grudge against Ghalib in front of them or in their presence especially because they were Ghalib's rivals or competitors.

The social milieu of those days should also be taken into account as purdah system was in prevalence and free mixing of men and women was not taken in good light. In such circumstances his beloved's complaint in front of a crowd would have made it a talk of the town tarnishing Ghalib's image.

Couplet ll

Continuing my efforts to try to explain Ghalib's ghazal starting with 'Dard-e-minnat kahey dawa na hua' I will try to to put forth the next couplet which runs thus:

                          Jama kartey ho kyo.n raqeebo.n ko,
                           Ek tamasha hua, gila na hua;

                           Why do you collect my rivals,
                            It is a spectacle, not a complaint;

A man who loves his self-esteem and dignity does not want to divulge his secrets in public nor does he like any other person to divulge it. This is true for Ghalib too. In the second couplet he addresses his beloved and enquires from the person why he/she collects Ghalib's rivals, why doesn't he/she complains to him directly and in persona. Ghalib would like if he/she complained to him personally and alone rather.

His beloved was bent upon making a spectacle of the remonstrance by collecting a crowd and expressing her grudge against Ghalib in front of them or in their presence especially because they were Ghalib's rivals or competitors.

The social milieu of those days should also be taken into account as purdah system was in prevalence and free mixing of men and women was not taken in good light. In such circumstances his beloved's complaint in front of a crowd would have made it a talk of the town tarnishing Ghalib's image.

An essay on Ghalib's Dard minnat kashey dawa na hua

Ghalib's verses are difficult to be understood despite the fact that one has mustered the courage to search out the meanings of difficult words from dictionaries and other sources. Ghalib's ghazals are usually long and for one interested in knowing in detail, the meaning as well as the context of a particular ghazal it is a tedious job.

However, I propose to post one verse of the ghazal 'Dard minnat- kashey-dawa na hua' everyday alongwith its explanation for members of the group who are interested in ghazals.

The first verse is

'Dard minnat-kashey-dawa na hua,
Mai na achcha hua bura na hua;'

The pain has not responded to the medicines. Ghalib here personifies pain. It has not obliged the medicines by reducing itself or by altogether vanishing. As a result Ghalib states that it is not bad that he has not recovered. Had he been cured he would have been indebted to the treatment or the medicines. Ghalib was a self respecting person; as such he would have disliked to be in debt.