Ghazal 4, Verse 7

{4,7}

shor-e pand-e naa.si;h ne za;xm par namak chhi;Rkaa
aap se ko))ii puuchhe tum ne kyaa mazaa paayaa

1a) the clamor/disturbance of the counsel of the Advisor sprinkled salt on the wound
1b) the bitter/sharp/brackish counsel of the Advisor sprinkled salt on the wound

2a) let someone ask him, 'What relish did you find [in tormenting me]?'
2b) let someone ask him, 'What relish did you find [while I found so much]?'

Notes:

shor : 'Cry, noise, outcry, exclamation, din, clamour, uproar, tumult, disturbance'; as an adjective, 'disturbed, mad; salt, brackish; very bitter; unlucky'. (Platts p.736)


aap : 'Self, himself, oneself, itself; he himself, you yourself, they themselves'. (Platts p.7)

 

mazah is here spelled mazaa to fit into the rhyme.

Nazm:

aap refers to the Advisor, and gives an air of respect; and the purpose is reproach. And relish and bitterness are among the qualities suitable to salt. (4)

== Nazm page 4

Vajid:

Urdu text: Vajid 1902 {4}

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, the Advisor's inappropriate advice sprinkled salt on the wound, the pleasure of which the heart alone is receiving. Let someone ask him-- that is, Hazrat the Advisor-- what pleasure he received. (14)

Bekhud Mohani:

In the second line first he says [the polite] aap, then [the familiar] tum. The word aap is not only for ostentation; rather, its point is perhaps that he considers the Advisor worthy of respect, so that he considers it disrespectful for him himself to ask, so he says to others, 'You ask'. Or else he fears that his heart is sore and that at the time of asking he might not be able to maintain respect before the Advisor, and the matter might escalate for no reason. (9)

FWP:

SETS

Faruqi says, 'The verse can also be read with the invented compound shor-pand , meaning sharp, pungent, alkaline advice. This is in fact a better reading, because it becomes more versatile' (July 2000). I've suggested this excellent possibility in (1b). This reading also provides a direct source for the salt that is sprinkled on the wound, since the advice itself is 'salty' (see the definition above).

The question asked of the Advisor is usually read as expressing scarcely veiled resentment (2a). But consider {17,7}, in which the lover's wounds revel in salt. So perhaps the question is a solicitous one (2b): 'Your salt/advice-sprinkling was great for me, but could you find any relish in it?' ('Was it good for you too?')

For other verses that connect wounds and salt, see {77,1}.