dard se mere hai tujhko beqarari haaye haayekya hua zaalim teri ghafalatashi’aari haaye haaye
Line 1/2 - From my pain, restless you are, alas! what happened o! cruel one, to your previous attitude of casual indifference. How have things changed! Now, my state of misery and despair makes you restless and anxious. What happened to that previous state of indifference towards my condition. Alas! There is no respite anyways, earlier it your lack of concern to my pain, and now you are anxious and restless for my condition.
tere dil mein gar na tha aashob-e-gham ka hausala
tu ne phir kyun ki thi meri gham-gusaari haaye haaye
Line 3/4 - If in your heart, there was not enough courage for the tumult of the grief. Then why again did you dissipate my grief, alas! The poet says if there no strength in your heart for the brutality or the commotion of grief, then why did you eat my grief. Why did you give me relief only to take it away again. Alas! I was better off earlier when you were indifferent to my state of pain.
kyun meri gham-khwaragi ka thujhko aaya tha khayal
dushmani apni thi meri dostdaari haaye haaye
Line 5/6 - Why did it come to your mind to share my sorrow. Alas! my friendship is akin to enmity with yourself. The poet says why the thought of being my consoler crossed your mind. You have disgraced yourself in the public eye by exposing yourself as my friend. You were better off earlier when you were indifferent to my pain.
umar bhar ka tune paiman-e-vafa badha to kya
umr bhar ko bhi to nahin hai paayadaari haaye haaye
Line 7/8 - You have made a lifelong vow of faithfulness, so what! a lifelong too is not a certainty - alas! The poet says, what good is your promise of faithfulness, if your life itself is faithful. Alas! what am I to do with your lifelong vow, when you are not alive anymore!
zahar lagti hai mujhe aab-o-hawa-e-zindagi
yaani tujhse thi ise nasaazgaari haaye haaye
Line 9/10 - It feels like poison to me, the weather and air of life. That is, because of you, it's in a state of affliction - alas! The poet says because of you (your faithfulness or maybe your death), I am in such a state of distress and affliction that even the climate and air and water around me feels like poison. You died living and breathing this air water of life and I also feel the same poison living every moment.
gulafishaani haaye naaz-e-jalwa ko kya ho gaya
khaak par hoti hai teri laalaakaari haaye haaye
Line 11/12 - What has happened to the shower of flowers that graced on view of the beautiful one! On your dust, it is the tulips now doing their thing. alas! What became of the showering of flowers on sight of the beauty. Alas! now it's just the flowers on your grave.
sharm-e-rusavaa_i se ja chhupna naqaab-e-khaak mein
khatm hai ulfat ki tujh par pardadaari haaye haaye
Line 13/14 - To go from the shame of disgrace or dishonor and hide in the veil of dust! It is the end for you of keeping the veil (secrecy) of love - alas! The poet says, by getting exposed of our friendship and the dishonor that followed, you have hidden behind a veil of dust by dying. With it, the veil of secrecy on our love also finds its end! The wordplay on the 2 lines on paardah and naqaab-e-khaak makes for an interesting reading.
khaak mein naamus-e-paimaan-e-muhabbat mil gayi
uth gayi duniya se rah-o-rasm-e-yari haaye haaye
Line 15/16 - With your death the honor or reputation of the proof of your love is all mixed up in dust. Departed from this world is the ways and the practice of friendship - alas! With your death, not only has our love turned to dust. Also, the ways of friendship have also left this world. Our friendship was turned into dishonor! what will become of the practice of friendship now!
haath hi tegaazama kaa kaam se jaata raha
dil pe ek lagne na paaya zakhmkaari haaye haaye
Line 17/18 - The hand of the sword bearer was itself slowly getting futile and ineffective. The heart managed to not get a single mortal wound - alas! The poet says before I was to be mortally wounded in the heart by the beloved, unfortunately the hand of the sword bearer lost its grip. I would have loved to have that mortal wound that would have stayed with me lifelong! but alas! it was not to be, for she is no more alive to slay us with those glances and gestures!
kis tarah kaate koi shab'ha-e-taar-e-barshigal
hai nazar khu-kardah-e-akhtar-shumari haaye haaye
Line 19/20 - How does anyone pass the dark nights of the rainy season? The eyes are customed to counting of the stars - alas! The poet says earlier during sleep-less nights of longing and separation, he would spend hours habituated to counting of the stars in the night sky. How to pass nights now, in this rainy season for the unrelenting tears (possible word play on rains) in the eyes makes the gaze unclear and unable to decipher the stars in the night!
gosh mahjuur-e-payaam-o-chashm-e-mahrum-e-jamal
ek dil, tis par ye na-ummid-vaari haaye haaye
Line 21/22 - The ear is separated from the message and the eyes are deprived of the beauty. One heart on which this hopelessness - alas! The pet says my ears do not get the exhilarating message of the beloved and my eyes are deprived of her glances. We have just one heart and so much hopelessness to bear indeed!
ishq ne pakda na tha "Ghalib" abhi vahashat ka rang
rah gaya tha dil mein jo kuchh zauq-e-khwaari haye haye
Line 23/24 - Love and passion have not taken hold, Ghalib, the colors of terror yet. Whatever has remained in the heart that some taste of humiliation - alas! The poet says O Ghalib! my passion has still not reached a stage where the state of madness and terror consumes myself. There is some taste of contempt and disdain for myself in my heart, but alas! her death has nipped my chances of total madness.
Meaning of difficult wordsghafalatashi’aari = attitude of carelessness
aashob = tumult / uproar
hausala = strength
gam-gusaari = sympathize, 'sorrow-eating'
gham-khwaaragi = to share in the sorrow
dostadaari = friendship
paimaan-e-vafaa = vow of faithfulness
paayadaari = certainty
naasaazagaari = fault / wrong / inadaptability
gulafishaani = shower of flowers
naaz-e-jalvaa = a view of beauty
laalaakaari = tulips growing, string of flowers
sharm-e-rusavaa_i = shame of getting a bad reputation
naqaab-e-khaak = a veil of mud/ashes
ulfat = love
pardaadaari = secrecy
naamus-e-paimaan-e-mohabbat = honor/reputation of proof of love
rah-o-rasm-e-yari = way and practice/ritual of friendship
tegaazama = sword-bearer, person holding sword
zakhmkaari = deep or mortal wound
shab'ha-e-taar-e-barshigal = black nights of rainy season
khu-kardah-e-akhtar-shumari = habit/custom of counting of stars
mahjuur-e-payaam = separated from message
chashm-e-mahrum-e-jamal = eyes deprived of beauty
vahashat = fear, terror
zauq-e-khwaari = a taste for being humiliated
