Aah ko chahiye explanation?

November 4, 2007 at 4:14 pm falstaff 21 comments

Mirza Ghalib

Listen (to Begum Akhtar sing) [1]

aah ko chaahiye ik umr asar hone tak kaun jiitaa hai tirii zulf ke sar hone tak

daam-e har mauj mein hai halqah-e sad kaam-e nihang dekhein kyaa guzre hai qatre pah guhar hone tak

aashiqii sabr-talab aur tamannaa betaab dil kaa kyaa rang karuun khun-e jigar hone tak

ham ne maanaa kih tagaaful na karoge lekin khaak ho jaaeinge ham tum ko khabar hone tak

partav-e khur se hai shabnam ko fanaa ki taaliim main bhii huun ek inaayat kii nazar hone tak

yak nazar besh nahiin fursat-e hastii gaafil garmii-e bazm hai ik raqs-e sharar hone tak

gam-e hastii kaa asad kis se ho juz marg ilaaj shamma har rang mein jaltii hai sahar hone tak

Translation (by Sarvat Rahman):

The sighs of love a life-time need, their object to attain, Who lives long enough for your dark mysteries to attain?

In the net of each ocean-wave open a hundred dragon mouths, To be a pearl, a water-drop what ordeals must sustain!

True love calls for patience, desire’s of impatience made, Till suffering consumes me quite, how should my heart remain?

You will not be indifferent, I know, but nevertheless, Dead and in the dust I’ll be when news of me you obtain.

The morning sun’s ardent rays spell death to each dew-drop, I, too, exist only until, to glance at me you deign.

A single glance, no more, is the space of life, unaware! For no longer than the spark’s dance does the gathering’s warmth remain.

The suffering that is life, ASAD, knows no cure but death, All through the night must the candle burn, no matter what its pain.

Translation (mine) :

It takes a lifetime for a sigh to take effect Who lives to see your hair perfectly arranged?

A hundred mouths whisper the net of every wave Look what the speck endures till it becomes a pearl.

Love demands patience, desire is restless What color shall I paint the heart, until you savage it?

You shan’t ignore me when the time comes, I know, but I may turn to dust before the news reaches you.

Each drop of dew learns death from the rays of the sun I too await release at a glance from you.

One glance, no more, fills the span of my life The dance of a single spark that keeps the company warm.

Life is suffering, Asad, and has no cure but death The flame burns in every color until the dawn.

The problem with posting Ghalib is a problem of translation. So compressed is Ghalib’s imagery, so rich in sound and nuance his language, that it is almost impossible to render his ghazals in English without mauling them beyond recognition. I admire Sarvat Rahman’s courage in taking on the entire Diwan-e-Ghalib – translating all 234 ghazals while retaining their form – but I have to say that the results, as with the translation above, make me cringe. I’ve tried to provide my own rendition, but even that doesn’t come close to the original. How does one begin to translate a line as brilliant as “dil ka kya rang karoon, khoon-e-jigar hone tak”? How does one convey the richness of its color (the word incarnadined springs to mind), the quality of the sentiment, the sense of quasi-paradox – all without losing the shortness, the simplicity of Ghalib’s original?

Trying to translate Ghalib, I am always reminded of these lines from Byron:

“To such as see thee not my words were weak; To those who gaze on thee what language could they speak?”

Still, here it is. For those of you who speak Urdu, this ghazal should require no introduction, and its gloriousness should sing from every line. For those who don’t know the language, hopefully there’s enough in these butchered translations of ours to convey the exquisite intelligence that moves through this poem, the sheer lyricism of a master whose every couplet stands as a poem in its own right, and whose words, a century and a half after they were written, continue to be quoted by millions.

[falstaff]

[1] Begum Akhtar only sings couplets 1,3,4 and 7. Another, perhaps more familiar version of the same couplets as sung by Jasjit Singh can be found (also on YouTube) here.

I will try to explain the meaning in mixed, Hindi + Englishlanguage.

Original: Aah Ko Chahiye Ik Umar Asar Hone Taq Kaun Jeeta Hai teri Zulf Ke Sar Hone Taq

It takes a long time for the lover's wishes to be acknowledged by the beloved

(The lover) But I am not going to wait that long (i.e: Kaun Jeeta Hai) for you to be 'Mehrban' (respond) (i.e: Zulf Ke Sar Hone Taq)

Original: Hum Ne Mana Ki Tagaful Na Karoge Lekin Khak Ho jayenge Ham Tum Ko Khabar Hone Taq

I know your won't reneg. on your promise

But, I will be dead (i.e: khak = dust to dust, Ho Jayene Hum) before you fullfil it + You come to know my desires (i.e: Tum Ko Khabar Hone Taq)

The second half of the second line (i.e: Tum Ko Khabar Hone Taq), has two references, one to the first line (Hum Ne ..Lekin) + also to the first line of first para (Aah Ko ... Taq)

Please note the above para, is the 2nd para of this ghazal

I will try to write a follow-up for the balance two paragraphs,at a later date - Insha Allah

# 1: Ashiqi Sabar Talab Aur Tamanna Betaab Dil Ka Kya Rang Karoon Khoon-e-Jigar Hone Taq

# 3: Gham-e-Hasti Ka 'Asad' Kis Se Ho Juzmarg Ilaaz Shama Har Rang Mein Jalti Hai Sahar Hone Taq

'Asad' was an alternate 'Takhalus' for Ghalib Saheb

The best rendering of this Ghazal is by Suraiya for film: Mirza GhalibMusic: Ghulam Mohd. It is available on CD + Tape

Hain Aur Bhi Duniya Mein Sukhanwar Bahut Achchhe Kahte Hain Ki Ghalib Ka Hai Andaz-e-Bayan Aur

Sudhir

P.S.: Please post a message if you need examples of 'Fair Usage'

In many Hindi / Urdu films, Ghalib's couplets (sometimes only one line) have been used as dialogues. One of the most popular one was: