Date: Mon, 30 Sep 96 17:24:00 PDT
From: Ramesh Hariharan (rameshh@tp.ac.sg)
Subject: Zafar: lagta nahiN hai dil...

Hi
Bahadur Shah Zafar(takkallus - zafar) was the last mughal emperor of India,
in whose court there were famous poets like Momin, Ghalib and Ustaad Zauq
who was the royal court poet. Zafar himself was a very good poet. The
British banished Zafar to Burma (around 1857), where he died, remembering his
beloved India to the end. Here is a famous ghazal, which Zafar wrote during
his exile in Burma.

1. lagta nahiN haiN dil mera ujhre dayyar meiN
kiski bani hai aalam-e-napaaydar meiN

[My heart is not happy, In this barren land
Who has ever felt fulfilled In this temporary world]

2. keh do inn hasratoN se kahiN aur ja baseN
itni jagah kahaN haiN dil-e-daagdar meiN

[Please tell my wishes/emotions to go away somewhere else
there is not enough room for them in my sad heart]

3. umr-e-daraaz maang kar laaye the chaar din
do aarzu main kat gaye do intezaar mein

[I had requested for a long life of four days
Two were spent in praying/wishing and two were spent in waiting]

4. kitna haiN badnaseeb 'zafar', dafn ke liye
do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-e-yaar main

[How unlucky/ill-fated Zafar is ! For his own burial
he could'nt even get two yards of earth in his beloved country.]

Dictionary : dayyar - durbaar, normally a place where one goes everyday, a frequently visited place where the heart feels good, here however, it means Burma, which Zafar says is like a barren land to him;
napaaydar - inconsistent/frail/temporary; daagdar - sad/hurt/full of sorrows; daraaz - long/tall/extended;
koo-e-yaar - street of lover, here it means streets/land of my beloved country, since the 'yaar' here is India for Zafar.