ham ne va;hshat-kadah-e
bazm-e jahaa;N me;N juu;N sham((a
shulah-e ((ishq ko apnaa sar-o-saamaa;N samjhaa
1) we, in the {desolation/wildness}-chamber of the
gathering of the world, like a candle
2) considered the flame of passion to be our equipment/effects
va;hshat : 'A desert, solitude, dreary place; --loneliness, solitariness, dreariness; --sadness, grief, care; --wildness, fierceness, ferocity, savageness; barbarity, barbarism; --timidity, fear, fright, dread, terror, horror; --distraction, madness'. (Platts p.1183)
bazm : 'Assembly, company, party, entertainment, feast, banquet'. (Platts p.154)
sar-o-saamaa;N : 'Apparatus, necessaries, requisites, effects, goods and chattels'. (Platts p.649)
SETS
CANDLE: {39,1}
GATHERINGS: {6,3}
Raza p. 226. S. R. Faruqi's choices. Ghalib originally composed a ghazal of nine verses, from which he chose eight for publication in his divan. In the original nine-verse ghazal, this verse was the third one.
The first line, in proper mushairah performance style, is tantalizingly complex and incomplete. For why should there be such a thing as a 'desolation-chamber of a gathering'? After all, the qualities of va;hshat -- desolation, loneliness, dreariness, wildness, barbarism, horror, madness (see the definition above)-- are entirely the opposite of the qualities of a bazm or gathering, which include companionship, civilized behavior, sophistication, the enjoyment of beautiful people, attire, decorations, food and drink, music, perfumes, poetry.
Only after hearing the second line can these two settings be fully appreciated. In whatever situation we found ourselves we, like a candle, considered our basic stock in trade, our essential property, to be the flame of passion. And really, in both of those settings a candle-flame (or a candle-flame-like flame of passion) is equally crucial. In a state of desolation, dreariness, wildness, horror, madness [va;hshat], the symbolic and/or literal power of a lighted candle would make all the difference to one's chances of survival. And in a gathering, not only is the candle a symbol of brightness, illumination, and joy, but it's also the uniquely potent (and passionately self-consuming) emblem of the transitoriness of exactly such gatherings (as most beautifully in {169,12}.
There's also the piquancy of amalgamating these two seemingly opposite environments: the speaker experiences the 'gathering of the world' as a 'desolation-chamber'. Thanks to the flexibility of the i.zaafat , we can't quite tell whether the gathering of the world itself takes place in a 'desolation-chamber', or whether it owns or is linked to a related 'desolation-chamber' of some kind (an isolation cell for madmen?). Nor can we tell whether the speaker's description applies only to himself (everybody else enjoyed the gathering, but he experienced it as a chamber of horrors), or offers a general description of life in the world (it seems to be glittering and enjoyable, but in truth it's a nightmare of desolation).
Gyan Chand:
What is the equipment of a candle? Only a flame. We too understood it to be the equipment of our life in the desolation-filled gathering of the world, to keep burning with the flame of passion. Besides this, we had nothing, nor did we need anything. Although finally this flame will extinguish our very self, the way the flame of a candle devours the candle. (91)