The Hidden Garden, Gopi Narang [cheapest way to read ebooks txt] 📗

Mir than in any other poet. The following couplets have been specially selected to give the reader a flavour of Mir’s characteristic modes of expression. The underlined words below show that it is impossible to ignore the taste and tang of homely Khari and Braj:

kahte n the mat kurha kar1

dil ho n gaya gudaaz tera

Did I not say,

‘Don’t scorch yourself in inner pain.’

Now, you have a molten heart.

ji da-ha jaaye hai sahar se aah

raat guzre gi kis kharaabi se

Alas! My heart is crestfallen

since morning.

I wonder how awful

the night would be.

lazzat se nahien khaali jaanon ka khapa jaana

kab khizr o masiiha ne marne ka maza jaana

Destroying yourself in the agony of love

is not without its delights.

Khizr is destined to live forever,

Jesus was hanged on the cross,

but did they ever enjoy the gratification

and the pleasure of dying.

ek dheri raakh ki thi sub-h jaaye Mir par

barson se jalta tha shaayad raat jal kar rah gaya

In the morning,

it was just a pile of ash at Mir’s place.

He was smouldering for years.

Probably, he went up in smoke last night.

yaaquut koi un ko kahe hai koi gul burg

tuk honth hila tu bhi k ik baat thahar jaaye

Some call them a ruby,

others call them a rose petal.

You need to say something

so that this matter is settled.

kya fikr karuun main k tale aage se gardon

y gaari meri raah mein be-daul ari hai

I have no peace of mind

unless the sky standing in front of me disappears.

This cart of mine, which is out of balance,

is blocking the way.

rukhsaar us ke haae re jab dekhte hain ham

aata hai ji mein aankhon ko in mein giroiye

O God!

When I look at her cheeks,

I have an urge to sink my eyes into them.

kya jaanuun log kahte hain kis ko suruur-e qalb

aaya nahien y lafz to hindi zabaan ke biich

I do not know what people call

the happiness of the heart.

I have not come across this word

in the Hindi language.

kah saanjh ke moye ko ae Mir rooyein kab tak

jaise charaagh-e muflis ik dam mein jal bujha tu

Mir, how long can people cry

for the one who died in the evening?

He was like a poor man’s lamp;

he died suddenly.

nahien visvaas ji ganvaane ke

haae re zauq dil lagaane ke

I don’t care if it is safe to give away the heart.

But alas! There is a passion hidden

in the heart yearning to die for someone.

phuul nargis ka liye bhiichak khara tha raah mein

kis ki chashm-e pur fasuun ne Mir ko jaadu kiya

Carrying a narcissus flower,

he was standing in the way

waiting for someone

whose enchanting eyes

cast a spell on Mir.

jaan ka sarfa nahien hai kuchh tujhe kurhne mein Mir

gham koi khaata hai meri jaan gham khaane ki tarah

When you suffer from inner pain, Mir,

you do not value your life.

Love is suffering indeed,

but must you suffer as suffering does!

tum ne dekha ho ga pakpan Mir ka

ham ko to aaya nazar vo khaam sahl

You may have seen Mir’s ingenious perfection,

but to me it appeared simply raw and not well done.

ab chheriiye jahaan vahein goya hai dard sab

phora sa ho gaya hai tere gham mein tan tamaam

Wherever you touch, it pains everywhere

My entire body has turned into a blister

because of the agony of separation.

mohabbat ne khoya khapaaya hamein

bahut un ne dhuunda n paaya hamein

Love lost me completely.

Love consumed me totally.

They tried to search,

but they never found me.

sada ham to khoye gaye se rahe

kabhu aap mein tum ne paaya hamein

I was in a state of forgetfulness

most of the time.

Did you ever find me in myself?

aah-e sahar ne sozish-e dil ko mita diya

is baav ne hamein to diya sa bujha diya

Alas! The sighs at dawn

comforted the burning of my heart.

The breeze took me for a lamp

and it doused me.

dekha kahaan vo nuskha ik rog mein basa-ha

ji phir kabhu n panpa behteri kiin davaaein

Who did I see and where did I get this malady?

Thereafter, the heart didn’t live long enough,

though I tried all sorts of treatments.

in dars gahon mein vo aaya n nazar ham ko

kya naql karuun khuubi us chehra kitaabi ki

I didn’t see her in places

where they teach.

How can I mirror

her beautiful face

that looks just like a book.

kal baare ham se us se mulaaqaat ho gayi

do do bachan ke hone mein ik baat ho gayi

Yesterday, I had a chance meeting with her.

We exchanged a few words.

What a spellbinding experience it was!

tuk haal-e shikasta ke sunne hi mein sab kuchh hai

par vo to sukhan ras hai is baat ko kya maane

Listening to my tragic story is everything.

But she values refined words.

How can she listen to a heart-breaking tale?

andoh-e vasl o hijr ne aa’lam khapa diya

in do hi manzilon mein bahut yaar thak gaye

The whole world is weary of two things:

the pain of separation and the pleasure of the union.

These two states have enervated many friends,

though love has much more to it.

tarphe hai jab k seene mein uchhle hai do do haath

gar dil yahi hai Mir to aaraam ho chuka

It is suffering and it is jumping

wildly in my chest.

If this is the condition of your heart Mir,

then say goodbye

to any thought of comfort and relaxation.

raushan hai is tarah dil-e viiraan mein ek daagh

ujre nagar mein jaise jale hai charaagh ek

The wounds of my ruined heart

are dimly lit to give the appearance

of a lamp burning in an abandoned town.

Eternally Fresh Language

Mir’s language shows its vintage, but it retains its timeless beauty. Both Urdu and Hindi have progressed a great deal during the last two hundred years, and they have embraced many new features. The days of Nasikh, who had issued strict rules for his disciples not to use certain words of local dialects (matruuqaat), are long over. The inclusion of slang and colloquialisms was somewhat prevalent in Delhi, and poets discovered new ways to express themselves, adding mellowness and sweetness into their expressions. Language mirrors social norms and cultural prerequisites. When social needs change and historic upheavals occur, language changes are inevitable. Every language has its baggage of archaic words and phrases that appear to be old and unsuitable for use in the changing environment. But what is the secret of Mir’s language, that it does not seem old and