Date: Wed, 24 Jul 96 13:45:00 PDT
From: Ramesh Hariharan (rameshh@tp.ac.sg)
Subject: Ghalib: daayam paDa huaa tere...

Hi
It is another who-else-but Ghalib ghazal!

1. daayam paDa huaa tere dar par naheeN hooN maiN
KHaak 'eisee zindagee pe ke patthar naheeN hooN maiN

[I am not always lying/present at your doorsteps
Let this life get grounded in dust, for I am not a stone(Damn this life! for I am not a stone)]

Ghalib is expressing his regret at the fact that he is not a stone, for if
he had been one, he would always be at the doorsteps of his beloved, unmoved.

2. kyooN gardish-e-mudaam se ghabra na jaaye dil ?
insaan hooN, pyaala-o-saaGHar naheeN hooN maiN

[Why should not the heart get scared of never ending bad luck?
I am a human, not a cup (for alcohol) or a winde goblet]

Ghalib says "I am after all a human! Even I need some change, from this
monotony of continuous-bad-luck! I am not a wine goblet, in whose life there
is nothing but alcohol being poured into it, and it being emptied - again a
monotony." In saying so, Ghalib reflects on what a person would actually
feel, when there is nothing much happening in one's life - namely feeling fear!

3. kis waaste 'azeez naheeN jaante mujhe ?
laal-o-zumarrud-o-zar-o-gauhar naheeN hooN maiN

[For what reason does she not consider me dear?
I am not some precious stone or gold or a gem]

Ghalib is considering himself to be his sweetheart's beloved. A beloved of
course is much more precious(to a sweetheart) than anything else in the
world. So he says, "Why does she not consider me dear? After all I am her
beloved(in Ghalib's and thoughts). I am not some precious stone or gem or gold!"

4. karte ho mujhko man'a-e-qadam_bos kis liye ?
kya aasmaan ke bhee baraabar naheeN hooN maiN ?

[Why does she disallow me from kissing her feet?
Am I not on par(in status) with the sky?]

Ghalib has placed his beloved on par with Khuda (God). The sky, of course,
kisses God's feet. So he is asking his beloved, "Am I not even on par with the sky?".

5. 'GHalib' wazifaa_KHwaar ho, do shaah ko duaa
woh din gaye ki kehte the, "naukar naheeN hooN maiN"

['Ghalib', you are a pensioner; bless/praise/respect the king
Those days have gone, when you used to say "I am not a servant"]

Dictionary : daayam = always; gardish = bad time/luck; mudaam = always;
laal = a kind of gem; zumurrud = green colored gem; zar = gold; gauhar = gem;
bosa = kiss; wazifaa_KHawaar = pensioner