===
1094,
10
===
 

{1094,10}

pesh kuchh aa))o yihii;N ham to hai;N har .suurat se
mi;sl-e aa))iinah nahii;N chho;Rte ham ghar apnaa

1) just come before us, we are only/emphatically here, through every aspect/situation/'face'
2) like the mirror, we do not leave our home

 

Notes:

.suurat : 'Form, fashion, figure, shape, semblance, guise; appearance, aspect; face, countenance; prospect, probability; sign, indication; external state (of a thing); state, condition (of a thing), case, predicament, circumstance' (Platts p.747)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

S. R. Faruqi:

The second line can have two interpretations. One is that the mirror leaves its own home, but we don't leave our home, we remain firmly planted there. The idea is that the mirror, through excessive amazement, takes departs from itself (doesn't remain in itself-- leaves its house, so to speak). But we, in the face of the glory/appearance of the beloved, remain firmly planted.

The other interpretation is that the way the mirror doesn't leave its home (that is, remains established in its place), in the same way we too don't leave our home. Here the similitude between us and the mirror becomes meaningful-- that is, the way the glory/appearance of the beloved is reflected in the mirror, in the same way our identity too expresses the glory/appearance of the beloved; and the way clarity and luster are in a mirror, in the same way in us too are clarity and luster.

FWP:

SETS == MIDPOINTS
MOTIFS == HOME; MIRROR
NAMES
TERMS

The two readings that SRF points out are based on the adverbial phrase 'like the mirror', which is positioned to be what I call a 'midpoint'. It can be read either to create a contrast ('We do not leave our home, like the mirror'-- that is, the way the mirror does leave its home), or to create a resemblance ('We, like the mirror, do not leave our home'-- that is, the way the mirror does not leave its home).

The multivalent wordplay of .suurat , which includes the literal meaning of 'face', is especially enjoyable when combined with the mirror imagery.