Date: Tue, 22 Oct 96 12:31:00 PDT
From: Ramesh Hariharan (rameshh@tp.ac.sg)
Subject: Ghalib: bus ki dushwaar haiN...

Hi
Another beauty from who-else-but Ghalib!

1. bus ki dushwaar haiN har kaam ka aasaaN hona
aadmee ko bhee muyassar nahiN insaaN hona

[It is just too difficult for every job to be easy
It is not possible for a man to be human]

Shows the frustrations of Ghalib and the problems in his life. He is not
able to act as a normal human being, thanks to the ways of the world.

2. giriya chaahe hai KHaraabee mere kaashaane ki
dar-o-deevaar se Tapke haiN bayaabaaN hona

[(My) weeping is seeking the destruction of my house
The doors and walls are being adorned with wilderness]

When you are so depressed, you will not want to do anything with life and
will sit in one corner crying and ruing one's own fate. In such a condition,
the house is left unattended and not looked after. Dust and decay starts to
set in. In Ghalib's case, the problems are such that he has not bothered
about his house for a very long time. So the creepers and the shrubs start
to come into the house. Just using symbolism to show the extent of his grief.

3. kee mere qatl ke baad usne jafa se tauba
haay us zood_pashemaaN ka pashemaaN hona

[After my murder, he/she repented and atoned with oppression
My! as usual how quickly he/she became ashamed]

I used oppression for "jafa" for lack of any other word. "jafa" also means
disloyalty. There always is an alternative interpretation for any sher. I
leave it to the IDDers.

4. haif us chaar girah kapDe ki qismat 'GHalib'
jis ki qismat meiN ho aashiq ka girebaaN hona

[Alas, the fate of the "sixteenth of a yard" cloth "Ghalib"
in whose fate, it is to be a lover's collar/shirt]

So beautiful. A lover's plight always is unfulfilment of love. And when that
happens he roams the gullies and lanes like a madman (deewana) or Majnu, in
clothes that have been torn. Ghalib says that the fate of that cloth piece
is so pathetic, if it were to be a lover's shirt, bcos it is going to be
torn anyway.

Dictionary : dushwaar = difficult; muyassar = possible; giriyaaN = weeping;
kaashaana = house; bayaabaaN = wilderness; jafa = oppression;
zood = quickly; pashemaaN = ashamed/embarrassed; haif = alas!;
girah = one sixteenth of a yard; girebaaN = collar;