;xaan-maan-e ((aashiqaa;N duukaan-e aatish-baaz
hai
shu((lah-ruu jab ho ga))e garm-e tamashaa jal gayaa
1) the house-and-household of lovers is the shop of
a fireworks-maker
2) when the flame-faced one became hot/eager for a spectacle, it burned
khaan-maan : 'House and home, household furniture, everything belonging to the house; household, family'. (Platts p.486)
SETS == WORDPLAY
TAMASHA: {8,1}
Raza p. 129; Raza p. 130. S. R. Faruqi's choices. Ghalib composed a ghazal of ten verses, and published in his divan the first five verses, and the last one. This is the eighth verse of that ghazal.
It's preeminently a verse of wordplay, with an invigorating way of 'reactivating' petrified metaphors. To call the beloved a 'flame-faced one' is unsurprising, and to speak of her as being 'hot' or enthusiastic for something is also absolutely commonplace. But then to turn her into a lighted match, and the lover's world into a fireworks-shop, is something enjoyable!
Did the lover's fireworks-shop make itself available on purpose to be set on fire by the beloved, in order to humor her desire for a spectacle? Or was the great explosion an accident-- the beloved just came for a tour of the shop, but then things got out of control? Either way, the result must certainly have entertained her. Another such attempt at entertainment, though a much less successful one, is reported in {5,5}.
Also, what wonderful alif and nuun effects in the first line! It's truly irresistible to recite.
Note for meter fans: duukaan is a variant spelling of dukaan ; it accommodates the meter.
Gyan Chand:
In the shop of a fireworks-maker, if a spark would be touched, then everything will explode at once. The state of the property and wealth of lovers too is just like this. The beautiful ones cast a glance in their direction-- and everything burned. It's not as if it would burn by itself! Having fallen into the snare of beautiful ones, the lover himself will become a destroyed house and household. (110)