Home | July'98 Index

Our first 'nazaraanaa' is a ghazal by the king of Urdu poetry - Meer Taqi Meer. 

mere sa.ng-e-mazaar par Farahaad
rakh ke teshaa kahe hai 'yaa ustaad' 

[sa.ng = stone; mazaar = tomb; Farahaad = of Shirin-Farhad fame;teshaa = axe] 

(The great lover Farhad acknowledges me as a master and seeks my blessings. The poet is 
implying that he himself was a great lover who died for his love) 

ham se bin marg kyaa judaa ho malaal
jaan ke saath hai dil-e-naashaad 

[marg = death; malaal = sorrow/life's difficulties; dil-e-naashaad = wretched heart] 

(How can we be free of sorrow as long as we are alive? A similar sentiment is expressed by 
Ghalib in:

Gam-e-hastii kaa 'Asad' kis se ho juz marg ilaaj 
shammaa har ra.ng me.n jalatii hai sahar hone tak ) 

fikr-e-taamiir me.n na rah muniim 
zi.ndagii kii kuchh bhii hai buniyaad 

[fikr = worry; taamiir = construction; muniim = rich person;buniyaad = foundation] 

(the poet is referring to the accumulation of wealth/obsession with status that the rich have. 
He points out that it is pointless worrying about building mansions when the foundation of 
life itself is shaky) 

Khaak bhii sar pe Daalane ko nahii.n 
kis Kharaabe me.n ham huye aabaad 

[Khaak = dust/ashes; Kharaabe = wasteland] 

sunate ho tuk suno ki phir mujh baad 
na sunoge ye naalaa-o-fariyaad 

[tuk = moment(here it means 'for a little while'); naalaa-o-fariyaad= wails and pleas]

har taraf hai.n asiir ham-aavaaz
baaG hai ghar teraa to ai sayyaad 

[asiir = prisoner; ham-aavaaz = in one voice/in chorus; sayyad =hunter] 

ham ko maranaa ye hai ke kab hove 
apanii qaid-e-hayaat se aazaad 

[qaid = prison; hayaat = life] 

(The poet knows that we all have to die some day. But by worrying about when we are going to 
die, we die every minute of our lives)  

Hope you enjoyed the ghazal.  

Please direct all your queries to moderator@urdupoetry.com.  

For more information, check our web-site: 
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/6631/today.html