Daag Dehlvi - IV

Agiyaar ke naale to bahut tumne sune hai.n
Mazloom ki taasiir-e-dua ko nahin dekha
[agiyaar=enemy/rival; mazloom=victim]

You listened attentively to the cries of my rival
Have you seen the effect of a victim's (my) prayers?

***

Zindagi mei.n paas se dam bhar na hote the juda
Kabr mei.n tanha mujhe yaaro.n ne kyun rakh diya

In my lifetime my friends didn't leave me for a moment
Why did the put me in my grave all alone

***

tu na kar nakhwat-e-shabaab bahut
hamne dekhe hai.n inqilaab bahut
[nakhwat-e-shabaab=proud of beauty; inquilab=changes]

Do not take so much pride in your beauty
I have seen a lot of drastic changes happen

***

Jis qadar maine tujhse khwahish ki
Usse mujh ko siva diya tune

Mujh gunahgaar ko jo bakhsh diya
Phir jahannum ko kya diya tune

O lord! As much as I asked of you
You always bestowed much more upon me

You pardoned a sinner like me
Then what did you give to the hell

***

Rahti hai kab bahaar-e-jawani tamaam umr
Maanind-e-bu-e-gul idhar aayi udhar gayi

The bloom of youth does not stay the entire life
Its like flower's fragrance - comes and goes away

***

Tangi-e-gosh-e-zinda.n ke ham khugar the
Gor mei.n bhi na kabhi paanv pasaare hamne
[Tangi-e-gosh-e-zinda.n=scarcity of a cell;khugar=used to; gor=grave]

I was so used to the lack of space in a cell
That even in the grave I never stretched my feet

Daag Dehlvi - III

Now for some couplets from some of his Ghazals ...


Baad muddat ke ye ai Daag samajh mei.n aayaa
Woh hi dana hai jis ne na mana dil ka
[dana=intelligent]

It was after a long time that I understood this
He is intelligent, who didn't listen to his heart

***

Marg-e-dushman ka jyada tumse hai mujhko malaal
Dushmani ka lutf shikwe ka mazaa jata raha

The death of my rival saddens me more than you
The thrill of enmity, and the joy of complaints are lost

***

Hazaaro.n hasratei.n wah hai.n ki roke se nahi.n rukti
Bahut armaan aise hai.n ki dil ke dil mei.n rahte hai.n

There are thousands of desires that cannot be controlled
There are many wishes that do not leave the heart

This 'sher' always reminds me of Ghalib's
'Hazaaro.n khwaahishein aisee ki har khwaahish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mere armaan, magar phir bhi kam nikle'
Apart from the choice of words, which is astoundingly similar, I think both try to convey the same thing.

***

Bemahal baat bhali bhi to buri hoti hai
Shukra karte hue darta hoo.n shikayat kaisi
[Bemahal=untimely]

At inappropriate time, even a nice thing sounds bad
I am afraid even to thank you, complaint is out of question

***

Kya us badgumaa.n se baat karei.n
Jo sataaish ko bhi gilaa jaane
[badgumaa.n=suspicious; sataaish=praise]

Tum na paaoge saadaa dil mujh sa
Jo tagaful ko bhi haya jaane

What to talk about with that suspicious one
Who considers praise to be criticism

You will not find another simple-hearted person like me
Who mistakes neglect for shyness

Daag Dehlvi - II

Sharing another ghazal by Daag Dehlvi. It is nice, but I find it amusing more than anything else, specially because of the second couplet.


Jab jawaani ka mazaa jata raha
Zindagaani ka mazaa jata raha

Woh kasam khaate hai.n ab har baat par
Badgumani ka mazaa jata raha

Gair par lutf-o-karam hone laga
Meherbaani ka mazaa jata raha

Daastaan-e-ishq jab thahri galat
Har kahaani ka mazaa jata raha

Daag hi ke dam se tha lutf-e-sukhan
Khushbayaani ka mazaa jata raha


When the joy of youth was lost
The joy of life was gone

She now swears about everything
There is no pleasure in doubting now

She has started bestowing favors on rivals
I no longer enjoy her attentions

When the story of our love became untrue
Every tale lost its joy

It was Daag who made poetry enjoyable
Without him, there is no beautiful verse


The last sher of this ghazal reminds me of one of Ghalib's couplets -

Yuu.n to hai.n duniya mein sukhanwar kaii achhe
Kahte hai.n ki Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayaan aur

There are many good poets in this world
But Ghalib's style has a class of its own

Daag Dehlvi - I

Daag Dehlvi was a close relative of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and a very well known poet. I had bought a Ghazal collection by Daag, quite some time back, but had not had a chance to post on it earlier. The time factor apart (it was quite a while before I finished reading it), I did not like it much - Of the 100+ ghazals in this collection, I could find relatively few ghazals/couplets I enjoyed. At places, his work seems to be inspired by Ghalib.

In this post, I am sharing a ghazal, that I had come across a long while back. It is a lovely one, and I think it has been sung by one of the contemporary singer, though I am not sure about this.

tumhaare Khat me.n nayaa ik salaam kis kaa thaa
na thaa raqiib to aaKhir vo naam kis kaa thaa

vo qatl kar ke har kisii se puuchhate hai.n
ye kaam kis ne kiyaa hai ye kaam kis kaa thaa

vafaa kare.nge nibhaaye.nge baat maane.nge
tumhe.n bhii yaad hai kuchh ye kalaam kis kaa thaa

rahaa na dil me.n vo be-dard aur dard rahaa
muqiim kaun huaa hai maqaam kis kaa thaa

na puuchh-paachh thii kisii kii na aav-bhagat
tumhaarii bazm me.n kal ehatamaam kis kaa thaa

hamaare Khat ke to purze kiye pa.Dhaa bhii nahii.n
sun jo tum ne baa-dil vo payaam kis kaa thaa

i.nhii.n sifaat se hotaa hai aadamii mashahuur
jo lutf aap hii karate to naam kis kaa thaa

guzar gayaa vo zamaanaa kahe.n to kis se kahe.n
Khayaal mere dil ko subah-o-shaam kis kaa thaa

har ek se kahate hai.n kyaa "Daag" bevafaa nikalaa
ye puuchhe in se ko_ii vo Gulaam kis kaa thaa


Whose greeting was there in your message ?
Whose name was it, if not my rival's ?

After killing me, she asks everyone -
Who was it who did this act ?

I'll be faithful, I'll do what you wish
Do you remember whose words were these?

That hearless one didn't stay in my heart, only the pain remained
Whose destination it was, and look, who resides here

There was neither warm reception, nor weclome
Who made arrangements at your gathering yesterday?

You tore off my letter without even reading it
Whose message was it that you listened to whole-heartedly?

That time has gone past, now who do I tell
Whose thoughts filled me day and night

She asks everyone, was "Daag" unfaithful?
Let someone ask her, whose slave he was.