Tears of Blood: Selected Verses of Ghalib

By Sunil Uniyal

Tears of Blood contains poetic renderings of selected Urdu verse of Mirza Muhammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869). These sixty-two ghazals and ninety other shers in English translation, present to the reader the amazing richness and beauty of Ghalibs poetry. Acknowledged by many as the King of Urdu Ghazal, Ghalib belonged to a period when the Mughal Empire was crumbling and the British ultimately established their paramountcy all over India. His ghazals mirror the vulnerability of Man, his grief and sense of loss, his unfulfilled longings, and his souls yearning for Eternal Beauty and Love. The strains of Sufi thought are clearly discernible in his poetry. Though a Muslim, he was liberal in his outlook towards other religions but ridiculed all ritualism and sectarianism of the priestly class. His poetry is, indeed, timeless and he remains the most oft-quoted poet of Urdu language and literature. His popularity may also be gauged by the fact that almost all prominent singers in India and Pakistan have sung his ghazals at one time or the other. As Ghalib himself proudly proclaimed:
These verses that I write, descend from some Unseen Power;
The sound that my quill releases, is an angels whisper.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Jul 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482834444

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Sunil Uniyal.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4828-3435-2

      eBook         978-1-4828-3444-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Partridge India

000 800 10062 62

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

Preface

Part I

1

Phir mjhe deed-e-tar yaad aayaa

Those moist eyes have come to my mind once again

2

Arz-e-niyaaz-e-ishq ke kaabil nahin rahaa

Love entreaties I can’t make any more

3

Mahram naheen hai tu hee navaahaa-e-raaz kaa

The voice of His mystery is to you an alien thing

4

Zikr us pareevash kaa, aur phir bayaan apnaa

The mention in my own style of that angelic beauty

5

Yeh na thee hamaari kismet ki visaal-e-yaar hotaa

A union with the Beloved was not in my fate

6

Na thaa kuchch, to Khudaa thaa,

God was when there wasn’t anything

7

Darkhure kahro gazab jab koyi hamsaa na huaa

Slander and torture in love when none has borne like me

8

Balaa se hain ye jo pesh-e-nazar dar-o-deevaar

Trouble bearing before my eyes are these doors and walls

9

Laraztaa hai miraa dil zehmat-e-mehar-e-darakhshaan par

My heart shudders at the rise of Sun at dawn

10

Kyon jal gayaa na taab-e-rukh-e-yaar dekhkar

Why has the glow of Beloved’s face not burnt me?

11

Ghar jab banaa liyaa tere dar par kahe bighair

When without your consent, at your door I’m residing,

12

Laazim thaa ki dekho miraa rastaa koyi din aur

You didn’t consider it necessary to wait a few days more

13

Na gul-e-nagmah hoon, na pardah-e-saaz

I am no musical tone, no song blossoming

14

Rukhe nigaar se hai soz-e-jaavidaani-e-shamma

The face of the Beloved is a candle eternally glowing

15

Zakhm par chhirrken kahaan tiphlaane–beparvaa namak

Where are all the carefree kids who on my wounds can spill salt?

16

Jahaan teraa naqsh-e-kadam dekhte hain

Wherever your footprints I see

17

Maane-e-dashtnavardee koyi tadbeer naheen

Nothing can stop me from desert-wandering

18

Vo firaaq aur vo visaal kahaan?

Where are those meetings and those partings now?

19

Maze jahaan ke apnee nazar men khaaq naheen

In my eyes, the pleasures of the world are nothing at all

20

Kee vafaa hamse to ghair usko jafaa kahte hain

When she shows her love to me, others say she is unfaithful

21

Hairaan hoon dil ko rovoon ki peetoon jigar ko mai

Should I cry my heart out or beat my chest - I am confused

22

Daayim parraa huaa tire dar par naheen hoon main

I wish I were forever lying at Your doorstep,

23

Dono jahaan de ke vo samjhaa yeh khush rahaa

He gifted me both the worlds and thought I would be happy

24

Sab kahaan, kuchh laal-o-gul men numaayaa ho gayeen

Few, very few are as roses or tulips returning

25

Dil hee to hai, na sang-o-khisht, dard se bhar na aaye kyoon?

It’s my heart, no brick or stone, why won’t it be filled with grief?

26

Rahiye ab aisee jagah chalkar, jahaan koyee na ho

Let us go to live where nobody else is there

27

Kisi ko deke dil koyee navaa sanje phugaan kyoon ho?

When my heart I have surrendered, why should I utter cries of pain?

28

Junoon tohmat kash-e-taskeen na ho, gar shaadmaanee kee

Why blame my frenzy in love, if it seeks comfort in rejoicing

29

Aa ki mere jaan ko qaraar naheen hai

Come, Beloved, no peace I’m having

30

Har qadam doori-e-manzil hai numaayaan mujhse

At every step, my goal goes farther

31

Ek jaa harf-e-vafaa likkhaa thaa so bhee mit gayaa

The word ‘love’ in your letter has proved to be false

32

Shabnam ba gul-e-laalah na khaali zi adaa hai

The tear-drop on a poppy has, indeed, some meaning

33

Miri hastee fazaa-e-hairat aabaad-e-tamannaa hai

An open expanse of amazement, full of longing, is my existence

34

Muddat huvee hai yaar ko mehmaan kiye huve

An age has passed since I hosted my Beloved

35

Koyi ummeed bar naheen aatee

My hopes bear no fruit anymore

36

Dil-e-naadaan tujhe huaa kyaa hai?

O naive heart, what the matter is?

37

Har ek baat pe kahte ho tum ki tu kyaa hai?

Whenever I say something, you say ‘Who are you?’

38

Ibn-e-Mariyam huaa kare koyi

Like Mary’s Son, may someone be

39

Us bazm men mujhe naheen bantaa hayaa kiye

In your assembly my self-esteem has no clout

40

Baazeechaa-e-atfaal hai duniyaa, mire aage

This world is a kids’ playground to me,

41

Bahot sahee gham-e- getee, sharaab kam kyaa hai

The world is full of sorrow, but where’s the dearth of wine?

42

Kunj men baithaa rahoon, yoon par khulaa

I wish