The Treasure: A Modern Rendition of Ghalib's Lyrical Love Poetry

By Surinder Deol

Mirza Ghalib, Indias most loved poet, lived at a time of great political and cultural transformation when the established order, the mighty Mughal Empire, was falling apart around midnineteenth century and the new regime spearheaded by the East India Company was not yet fully in place. There are multiple lenses that can be used to look at Ghalibs work. At the surface, he is a romantic poet par excellence. But if we dig deeper, Ghalib is much more than a romantic poet. He expressed ideas that came from conflicting philosophical traditions, namely the concept of shunyata (nonexistence) that is a core belief in Buddhist philosophy and the concept of Maya that is at the center of Vedantic philosophy. This book contains lyrical free verse English translation of 235 ghazals contained in Ghalibs Urdu Divan, popularly known as Divan-e Ghalib. One reason that makes the second revised and expanded edition of the book unique and extremely valuable is the addition of original Urdu text in an easy-to-read Romanized format. According to distinguished literary critic and leading Ghalib scholar Professor Gopi Chand Narang, Ghalib was never so close to the reader as he is now with this work. Surinder has succeeded in his creative transformation of Mirzas ghazals into poetic English where others have failed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Aug 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543703559

Surinder Deol

SURINDER DEOL served as a senior specialist at the World Bank in Washington, DC. He is author of Endless Life, a novel, and A Moment in the Universe, a collection of poems He has translated Professor Gopi Chand Narangs seminal work on Ghalib into English which was published as Ghalib: Innovative Meaning and the Ingenious Mind by the Oxford University Press in 2017.

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Copyright © 2018 by Surinder Deol.

ISBN:                Softcover                  978-1-5437-0356-6

                          eBook                        978-1-5437-0355-9

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Contents

FOREWORD Prof. Gopi Chand Narang

PREFACE Prof. Satyapal Anand

INTRODUCTION

GHALIB’S PREFACE

Part One

naqsh faryaadi hai kis ki shokhi-e tahriir ka [1]

jiraahat tohfa almaas aarmughaan daagh-e jigar hadiya [2]

juz qais aur koi n aaya b ruuekaar [3]

kahte ho n dein ge ham dil agar para paaya [4]

dil mera soz-e nihaan se be muhaaba jal gaya [5]

shauq har rang raqiib-e sar o saamaan nikla [6]

dhamki mein mar gaya jo n baab-e nabard tha [7]

shumaar-e sub-h marghuub-e but-e mushkil pasand aaya [8]

dahr mein naqsh-e vafa vajh-e tasalli n hua [9]

sitaaish gar hai zaahid is qadar jis baagh-e rizvaan ka [10]

n hoga yak bayaabaan maandgi se zauq kam mera [11]

saraapa rahn-e i’shq o naaguziir-e ulfat-e hasti [12]

mahram nahien hai tu hi nava haae raaz ka [13]

bazm-e shaahanshaah mein ash’aar ka daftar khula [14]

shab k barq-e soz-e dil se zahrah-e abr aab tha [15]

naala-e dil mein shab andaaz-e asar naayaab tha [16]

ek ek qatre ka mujhe dena para hisaab [17]

baske dushvaar hai har kaam ka aasan hona [18]

shab khumaar-e shauq-e saaqi rastkhez andaaza tha [19]

dost ghamkhvaari mein meri sa’i farmavein ge kya [20]

y n thi hamaari qismat k visaal-e yaar hota [21]

havas ko hai nishaat-e kaar kya kya [22]

dar khor-e qahr-o ghazab jab koi ham sa n hua [23]

asad ham voh junuun jaulaan gada-e be sar o pa hain [24]

pae nazr-e karam tohfa hai sharm-e naarsaai ka [25]

Part Two

gar n andoh-e shab-e furqat bayaan ho jaae ga [26]

dard minnat kash-e davaa n hua [27]

gila hai shauq ko dil mein bhi tangi-e ja ka [28]

qatra-e mai baske hairat se nafas parvar hua [29]

jab b taqriib-e safar yaar ne mahmil baandha [30]

main aur bazm-e mai se yuun tashna kaam aauun [31]

ghar hamaara jo n rote bhi to viiraan hota [32]

n tha kuchh to khuda tha kuchh n hota to khuda hota [33]

yak zarrah zamiin nahien bekaar baagh ka [34]

voh meri chiin-e jabiin se gham-e pinhaan samjha [35]

phir mujhe diida-e tar yaad aaya [36]

hui taakhiir to kuchh baa’is-e taakhiir bhi tha [37]

lab-e khushk dar tashnagi murdagaan ka [38]

tu dost kisi ka bhi sitamgar n hua tha [39]

shab k voh majlis furoz-e khilvat-e naamuus tha [40]

aaiina dekh apna sa munh le ke rah gae [41]

a’rz-e niyaaz-e i’shq ke qaabil nahien raha [42]

rashk kahta hai k us ka ghair se ikhlaas haif [43]

zikr us pariivash ka aur phir bayaan apna [44]

surma-e muft-e nazar huun meri qiimat y hai [45]

ghaafil b vahm-e naaz khud aara hai varna yaan [46]

jaur se baaz aae par baaz aaein kya [47]

latafat be kasaafat jalvah paida kar nahien sakti [48]

ishrat-e qatra hai darya mein fana ho jaana [49]

phir hua vaqt k ho baal kusha mauj-e sharaab [50]

Part Three

afsos k dandaan ka kiya rizq falak ne [51]

raha gar koi ta qayaamat salaamat [52]

mund gaien kholte hi kholte aankhein ghalib [53]

aamad-e khat se hua hai sard jo baazaar-e dost [54]

gulshan mein band o bast b rang-e digar hai aaj [55]

lo ham mariiz-e i’shq ke biimaar daar hain [56]

nafas n anjuman-e aarzu se baahar khainch [57]

husn ghamze ki kashaakash se chhuta mere ba’ad [58]

bala se hain jo b pesh-e nazar dar o diivaar [59]

ghar jab bana liya tere dar par kahe baghair [60]

kion jal gaya n taab-e rukh-e yaar dekh kar [61]

larazta hai mera dil zahmat-e mahr-e darakhshaan par [62]

hai baske har ik un ke ishaare mein nishaan aur [63]

safaae hairat-e aaiina hai saamaan-e zang aakhir [64]

junuun ki dastgiri kis se ho gar ho n u’ryaani [65]

sitam kash maslahat se huun k khuubaan tujh p a’ashiq hain [66]

laazim tha k dekho mera rasta koi din aur [67]

faarigh mujhe n jaan k maanind-e sub-h o mahr [68]

harif-e matlab-e mushkil nahien fusuun-e niyaaz [69]

vus’at-e sa’i-e karam dekh k sar ta sar-e khaak [70]

kion kar us but se rakhuun jaan aziz [71]

n gule-e naghma huun n pardah-e saaz [72]

muzhda ai zauq-e asisri k nazar aata hai [73]

n leve gar khas-e johar taraavat sabzah-e khat se [74]

jaadah-e rah khor ko vaqt-e shaam hai taar-e sh’ua [75]

Part Four

rukh-e nigaar se hai soz-e jaavedaani-e sham’a [76]

biim-e raqiib se nahien karte vida’a-e hosh [77]

zakhm par chhirkein kahaan tiflaan-e be parva namak [78]

aah ko chaahiye ik u’mr asar hote tak [79]

gar tujh ko hai yaqiin-e ijaabat dua’a n maang [80]

hai kis qadar halaak-e fareb-e vafaae gul [81]

gham nahien hota hai aazaadon ko besh az yak nafas [82]

b naala haasil-e dil bastagi faraaham kar [83]

mujh ko dayaar-e ghair mein mara vatan se duur [84]

luun vaam bakht-e khufta se yak khwaab-e khush vale [85]

voh firaaq aur voh visaal kahaan [86]

ki vafa ham se to ghair is ko jafa kahte hain [87]

aabru kya khaak us gul ki k gulshan mein nahien [88]

o’hde se madh-e naaz ke baahar n aa saka [89]

mehrbaan ho ke bula lo mujhe chaaho jis vaqt [90]

ham se khul jaao b vaqt-e mai parasti ek din [91]

ham par jafa se tark-e vafa ka gumaan nahien [92]

maan’a-e dasht navardi koi tadbiir nahien [93]

mat mardomak-e diidah mein samjho y nigahein [94]

bar shikaal-e girya a’ashiq hai dekha chaahiye [95]

i’shq taasiir se naumiid nahien [96]

jahaan tera naqsh-e qadam dekhte hain [97]

milti hai khuue yaar se naar iltihaab mein [98]

kal ke liye kar aaj n khissat sharaab mein [99]

hairaan huun dil ko rouun k piitun jigar ko main [100]

Part Five

zikr mera b badi bhi use manzuur nahien [101]

naala juz husn-e talab ai sitam iijaad nahien [102]

donon jahaan de ke voh samjhe y khush raha [103]

ho gaii hai ghair ki shiriin bayaani kaargar [104]

qayaamat hai k sun laila ka dasht-e qais mein aana [105]

dil laga kar lag gaya un ko bhi tanha baithna [106]

y ham jo hijr mein diivaar o dar ko dekhte hain [107]

nahien k mujh ko qayaamat ka i’tiqaad nahien [108]

tere tausan ko saba baandhte hain [109]

zamaana sakht kam aazaar hai b jaane asad [110]

daaim para hua tere dar par nahien huun main [111]

sab kahaan kuchh laal o gul mein numaayaan ho gaaiin [112]

diivaangi se dosh p zunnaar bhi nahien [113]

nahien hai zakhm koi bakhye ke dar khuur mere tan mein [114]

maze jahaan ke apni nazar mein khaak nahien [115]

dil hi to hai n sang o khisht dard se bhar n aae kion [116]

ghuncha-e naa-shagufta ko duur se mat dikha k yuun [117]

hasad se dil agar afsurdah hai garm-e tamaasha ho [118]

ka’abe mein ja raha to n do ta’ana kya kahien [119]

vaarasta us se hain k mohabbat hi kion n ho [120]

qafas mein huun gar achha bhi n jaanein mere shevan ko [121]

dhota huun jab main piine ko us siim tan ke paaun [122]

vaan us ko haul-e dil hai to yaan main huun sharmsaar [123]

vaan pahunch kar jo ghash aata pae ham hai ham ko [124]

tum jaano tum ko ghair se jo rasm o raah ho [125]

Part Six

gaii voh baat k ho guftagu to kion kar ho [126]

kisi ko de ke dil koi navaasanj-e fughan kion ho [127]

rahiie ab aisi jagah chal kar jahaan koi n ho [128]

az mahr taa b zarrah dil o dil hai aaiina [129]

hai sabza zaar har dar o divaar ghamkadah [130]

sad jalvah ruu ba ruu hai jo mizhgaan uthaaiie [131]

masjid ke zer-e saaya kharaabaat chaahiye [132]

bisaat-e i’jz mein tha ek dil yak qatrah khuun voh bhi [133]

hai bazm-e butaan mein sukhan aazurdah labon se [134]

taa ham ko shikaayat ki bhi baaqi n rahe jaa [135]

ghar mein tha kya k tera gham use ghaarat karta [136]

gham-e duniya se gar paaii bhi fursat sar uthaane ki [137]

haasil se haath dho baith ai aarzu khiraami [138]

kya tang ham sitam zadgaan ka jahaan hai [139]

dard se mere hai tujh ko beqaraari haae haae [140]

sar-gashtagi mein a’alam-e hasti se yaas hai [141]

gar khaamshi se faaida ikhfaae haal hai [142]

tum apne shikve ki baatein n khod khod ke puuchho [143]

ek jaa harf-e vafa likkha tha so bhi mit gaya [144]

piinas mein guzarte hain jo kuuche se voh mere [145]

meri hasti fazaa-e hairat aabaad-e tamanna hai [146]

reham kar zaalim k kya buud-e charaagh-e kushta hai [147]

chashm-e khuubaan khaamshi mein bhi nava pardaaz ha [148]

i’shq mujh ko nahien vahshat hi sahi [149]

hai aarmiidgi mein nikuhish baja mujhe [150]

Part Seven

zindagi apni jab is shakl se guzri ghalib [151]

us bazm mein mujhe nahien banti haya kiiye [152]

raftaar-e u’mr qata’-e rah-e iztiraab hai [153]

dekhna qismat k aap apne p rashk aa jaae hai [154]

garm-e firyaad rakkha shakl-e nihaali ne mujhe [155]

kaargaah-e hasti mein laala daagh saamaan hai [156]

ug raha hai dar o diivaar se sabzah ghalib [157]

saadgi par us ki mar jaane ki hasrat dil mein hai [158]

dil se teri nigaah jigar tak utar gaaii [159]

taskiin ko ham n roein jo zauq-e nazar mile [160]

koi din gar zindagaani aur hai [161]

koi ummiid bar nahien aati [162]

dil-e naadaan tujhe hua kya hai [163]

kahte to ho tum sab k but-e ghaaliya mu aae [164]

phir kuchh ik dil ko beqarari hai [165]

junuun tohmat kash-e taskiin n ho gar shaadmaani ki [166]

nikuuhish hai saza firyaadi-e bedaad-e dilbar ki [167]

be i’tidaalyon se subuk sab mein ham hue [168]

jo na naqd-e daagh-e dil ki kare sho’la paasbaani [169]

zulmat kade mein mere shab-e gham ka josh hai [170]

aa k meri jaan ko qaraar nahien hai [171]

hujuume gham se yaan tak sar niguuni mujh ko haasil hai [172]

paa b daaman ho raha huun baske main sahra navard [173]

jis bazm mein tu naaz se guftaar mein aave [174]

husn-e mah garche b hangaam-e kamaal achha hai [175]

Part Eight

n hui gar mere marne se tasalli n sahi [176]

a’jab nishaat se jallaad ke chale hain ham aage [177]

shikve ke naam se be mahar khafa hota hai [178]

har ek baat p kahte ho tum k tu kya hai [179]

main unhein chheruun aur kuchh n kahein [180]

ghair lein mahfil mein bose jaam ke [181]

phir is andaaz se bahaar aaii [182]

taghaaful dost huun mera damaagh-e i’jz a’ali hai [183]

kab voh sunta hai kahaani meri [184]

naqsh-e naaz-e but-e tannaaz b aagosh-e raqiib [185]

gulshan ko teri sohbat az baske khush aaii hai [186]

jis zakhm ki ho sakti ho tadbiir rafuu ki [187]

siimaab pusht garmi-e aaiina de hai ham [188]

hai vasl hijr a’alam-e tamkiin o zabt mein [189]

chaahiye achhon ko jitna chaahiye [190]

har qadam duuri-e manzil hai numaayaan mujh se [191]

nukta chiin hai gham-e dil us ko sunaaye n bane [192]

chaak ki khwaahish agar vahshat b u’ryaani kare [193]

voh aa ke khwaab mein taskiin-e iztiraab to de [194]

tapish se meri vaqf-e kash-makash har taar-e bistar hai [195]

khatar hai rishtah-e ulfat rag-e gardan n ho jaave [196]

faryaad ki koi lae nahien hai [197]

n puuchh nuskha-e marham jiraahat-e dil ka [198]

ham rashk ko apne bhi gavaara nahien karte [199]

kare hai baadah tere lab se kasb-e rang-e furogh [200]

Part Nine

kion n ho chashm-e butaan mahv-e taghaaful kion n ho [201]

diya hai dil agar us ko bashar hai kya kahiye [202]

dekh kar darpardah garm-e daaman afshaani mujhe [203]

yaad hai shaadi mein bhi hangama yaarabb mujhe [204]

hazuur-e shaah mein ahl-e sukhan ki aazmaaish hai [205]

kabhi neki bhi us ke ji mein gar aajaaye hai mujh se [206]

z baske mashq-e tamaasha junuun a’laamat hai [207]

laaghar itna huun k gar tu bazm mein jaa de mujhe [208]

baaziicha-e atfaal hai duniya mere aage [209]

kahuun jo haal to kehte ho muddua’a kahiiye [210]

rone se aur i’shq mein bebaak ho gaye [211]

nasha haa shaadaab-e rang o saaz haa mast-e tarab [212]

a’rz-e naaz-e shokhi-e dandaan baraaye khanda hai [213]

husn-e beparva khariidaar-e mat’a-e jalvah hai [214]

jab tak dahaan-e zakhm n paida kare koi [215]

ibn-e maryam hua kare koi [216]

bahut sahi gham-e giiti sharaab kam kya hai [217]

baagh paa kar khafqaani y darata hai mujhe [218]

raundi hui hai kaukabah shahryaar ki [219]

hazaaron khwaahishein aisi ki har khwaahish p dam nikle [220]

koh ke huun baar-e khaatir gar sada ho jaaiiye [221]

lab-e iisa ki junmbish karti hai gahvaarah junbaani [223]

aamad-e sailaab-e tuufaan-e sada-e aab hai [224]

huun main bhi tamaashai-e nairang-e tamanna [225]

siyaahi jaise gir jaave dam-e tahriir kaaghaz par [226]

hujuum-e naala hairat a’ajiz-e arz-e yak afghaan hai [227]

khmoshiiyon mein tamaasha ada nikalti hai [228]

jis jaa nasiim shaana kash-e zulf-e yaar hai [229]

aaiina kion n duun k tamaasha kahein jise [230]

shabnam b gul-e laalah n khaali z ada hai [231]

manzuur thi y shakl tajalli ko nuur ki [232]

gham khaane mein buuda dil-e naakaam bahut hai [233]

muddat hui hai yaar ko mahmaan kiye hue [234]

naviid-e amn hai bedaad-e dost jaan ke liye [235]

A Chronology of Ghalib’s Life Events

Acknowledgements

Further Reading

About the Author

For my father

Sardar Kandhar Singh Shaida

With Love and Gratitude

varaq tamaam hua aur madh baaqi hai

safiina chaahiye is bahr-e be-karaan ke liye

The paper is finished

but the song to be sung

is not yet finished.

To travel across this ocean

of beautiful words

a new fleet is needed.

adaa-e khaas se ghalib hua hai nukta sara

salaa-e a’am hai yaraan-e nukta daan ke liye

Ghalib, I’ve sung many songs

in my distinctive style.

The rest is for the critics

to turn over in their heads.

Ghalib

Foreword

G halib towers above scores of Mughal poets like a victor as his nom de plume suggests. In the realm of oriental poetry, he rubs shoulders with Rumi and Hafiz. His world is too vast and varied to fit into any one category. His ghazals are unique, not only for the intensity of the emotions and the inventiveness of thoughts they express, but also for their exquisite charm, and for revealing profound feeling for the beauty of the world. He was endowed with a passionate appreciation of life, yet he deeply questioned the very fundamentals of faith and dogma, and he agonized over the nature of joy and sorrow and the lot of a human being in the world. His broodings are of the nature of personal discovery and are fresh and profound with a mystic healing touch.

Interest in Ghalib’s poetry has steadily grown in recent times. In Ghalib the contemporary mind sees someone who is iconoclastic but who also cherishes the power of human intellect while drawing attention to the need for a spiritual center.

Surinder Deol has dwelled deep into Ghalib and has struck a chord with the core of his creativity. He believes in inner transformation and ecstasy of poetry, and being a poet himself he has done a tremendous job in unraveling the magical world of Ghalib’s charm and his joy and zest for life. Ghalib comes through alive and pulsating in this rendering. The reader might be familiar with his extremely competent translation of the formidable book, Ghalib: Innovative Meanings and the Ingenious Mind, published by the Oxford University Press. His annotations of exotic words and phrases and the Roman transliteration of Ghalib’s Divan are of added value. Ghalib was never so close to the reader as he is now with this work. Surinder has succeeded in his creative transformation of Mirza’s ghazals into poetic English where others have failed.

Gopi Chand Narang, Ph.D.

Former President, Sahitya Akademi

Professor Emeritus, Jamia Millia Islamia

Professor Emeritus, Delhi University

Preface

O scar Wilde once said, If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use reading it at all. I must have read Divan-e Ghalib a hundred times, if not more. Each time I find some part of the hidden meaning of a word or phrase that I had missed before, lurking to be discovered in every nook and cranny. I share this experience with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the scholar statesman of India, who had said that each time he dipped his bucket into Ghalib’s wellspring of meaning, he drew fresh water, the elixir of life.

Ghalib is a category apart in Urdu poetry. His couplets pack a multitude of intertextual references side by side with literal meanings. Even a serious reader might be led astray if he chose the straight path of literality. On the other hand, in some couplets he is so simple and straightforward that to find a meaning well below the surface might not be possible because, except for the literal meaning, there is nothing else. In between these two extremes lie the multitudes of the gems of his couplets woven into the tapestry of his ghazals.

To my mind, the only English poet who can be compared with Ghalib is John Donne, a 17th century poet whom T.S. Eliot gave the sobriquet of a metaphysical poet. The reason behind this unsuitable label was not because Donne was of a philosophical bent of mind or a mystic, but exactly like Ghalib, he also connected images, similes and metaphors to create paradigms of unmatched beauty. We know that Ghalib probably never heard of Donne and that he did not have a role model in either Urdu or Persian in metaphor formation to draw inspiration from. In this aspect of his poetry, therefore, he sought guiding light from within and achieved great success.

Do we translate or transcreate a complex poet like Ghalib? Poetry is untranslatable, say those, who have tried their hand on it and failed. So, what is the alternative? Professor V. K. Gokak, a renowned Indian poet of English, wrote in his Preface to one of my collection of poems, The poet himself has no qualms of conscience if he tries his hand on translation of his own verse, because trans-creation is a legitimate exercise with him: however, if others attempt it there are numerous pitfalls to avoid. Now the pitfalls are many and some just cannot be avoided. One way is to convey the kernel of the meaning in the recipient language and garnish only the most communicable appurtenances of added trimmings. The other way is to give a literal translation and then write a paragraph or two (or even a whole page) as explanatory add-ins.

Surinder Deol has walked a middle path between these two extremes. Meandering from one to the other (and sometimes back), he traverses the untranslatable terrain but does not avoid it. A limited (but a sure) success is what he achieves, but given the bad translations done by Ghalib pedagogues that we already have, his effort is noteworthy. Let us see his system and how it works. We will cite the paramount couplet of Ghalib’s Divan.

naqsh faryaadi hai kis ki shokhi-e tahriir ka

kaaghzi hai pairhan har paikar-e tasviir ka

The literal meanings apart, the far-fetched mytho-historical referential context is of a petitioner in a king’s court wearing a dress made of papier-mâché presenting his petition and appealing for mercy. In this case, the petitioner is the ‘man’, the ‘word written by God’, who is wearing the traditional paper dress and presenting his plea. Layers and layers of added meaning are visible. Shokhi would point a finger to the beloved who is playful, paikar-e tasviir, likewise would present the beloved (God in Sufi terminology), tahriir is reminiscent of the fate God has written for each one of His creation – and so on. Now let us see Surinder’s four-line free verse interpretation.

Words are prayerfully complaining

about whose playful writing?

Beautiful images are seen

wrapped in paper clothing

Skillful as the poetic interpreter he is, Surinder has avoided one pitfall by not referring to proto-mythical references and the other by overlooking the literal meaning altogether. Thus, as I said earlier, the kernel has been preserved, but the layers upon layers of subterranean meaning have been ignored. This, it seems, is not the only trick up Surinder’s sleeve; he has many others as well. Let’s take one more example.

shauq har rang raqiib-e sar o saamaan nikla

qais tasviir ke parde mein bhi u’ryaan nikla

This is how the couplet is presented in free verse.

Passionate love has dissipated my fortune.

But it is not me alone.

Look at Majnun in the painting –

trying to cover his nakedness with rags.

Simple presentation, some might say. I would say superbly condensed–simple, straightforward and easy to understand. Particularly for those who do not know Urdu, its alphabet and its poetry, the full linguistic-cultural import could never be understood unless the translator wrote a full page or more. Let us see what Surinder has avoided by way of ignoring a dozen or more branches growing out of the basic structure. Shauq means desire, craving, longing, and yearning. Majnun, a symbol of the proverbial crazy lover pining for his beloved Laila, who is presented as naked (not nude, but stripped of camouflaging dress), even in a picture of him. The reach of this connotation is that love is such a crazy costume that it deprives its wearer of any other dress. It is, indeed, very well abridged. I would say that stripped of all but one of the denotative meanings, this couplet hides much in its thick outer shell but the interpreter has chosen the softest inner edible pulp and presented it to the reader.

The biggest hurdle before any translator who dares to touch Ghalib’s verse is the poet’s choice in using a particular shade of meaning attached to it. For example, researchers’ method of frequency count tells us that Ghalib has used the word dil as many as 2,207 times in his Urdu and Persian verse. Dil simply means heart, but in Urdu poetry in general and in Ghalib in particular, it has a myriad connotative shades of meaning. Over centuries of its use in Persian and Urdu,

Reviews for The Treasure

[carol420 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In 1196 Syria Jabber Al-Nasim knows his power is waning and knows what he needs to do to regain what he is losing. He directs Captain Ali Balki to go to Scotland and bring home former assassin Kadar Ben Arnaud. If he refuses to come home, Ali is to inform him that Sinan King of the Assassins demands he pay the price of freeing the foreigners. Jabber knows Kadar will honor his pledge. Ali fears Kadar but does the bidding because he is even more afraid of Jabber. In Scotland Kadar looks forward to a long quiet life with his beloved former slave Selene Ware. However his years of respite end when Ali arrives with the summoning; Kadar is honor bound to go home. To be totally free he learns he must find a King Arthur relic possessed by the mystical Tarik in Tuscany. Selene insists on going with him. Danger accompanies them every step of the way.

There was no character chemistry, and repetition of the story of this big bad guy, that went no where. The heroine was whiny and got on my last nerve. But then she was 17 years old. Kadar must have been a saint. He should have locked her in the tower.

[tuffsme · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite. There wasn't enought contention between the main characters to make there eventuall pairing remotely satisfactory. There wasn't enough drama to be a thriller. Everything just seemed to happen too effortlessly.

[eael_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A disappointing book. The dialogue between the main characters was far too contrived. I usually enjoy this author's works. She's much better with plots that are set in modern day.

[jeannemarkert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lady Selene, strong willed lady whose out to prove she can take care of herself with out the help from her lover, Kadar. Their encounters lead them on a search for an powerful religious relic of all time. If you like lovers, treasure hunters & mystery you'll like this book.

[kysmom02 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Definately not my favorite. It was okay, and I didn't have a problem finishing this book. I'm actually having a harder time trying to write my review.This was much different that I expected. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Selene and Kadar are interesting characters, but the whole plot was just hard to digest. The being safe at their home castle, but not safe outside the castle walls, and then Selene's bravery in the face of danger didn't really work. Considering her upbringing I expected her to be a little more timid.Then, Kadar's easy acceptance of Tarik and his role in the locating of the treasure was too easy. While I actually liked Tarik, and his eventual role in the story, I think Kadar and Selene really went there too easily.The ending was actually a little similar to Deadlock's end. It had a christian twist that actually worked better in this one than in Deadlock. (That was a complaint of mine in my review of Deadlock.) Overall it was okay, but don't put down anything else that you're reading to pick this up. Even if you're a fan of this author! Hang on for the next Eve Duncan coming out in October...Blood Game.