takalluf ;xaar-;xaar-e iltimaas-e
be-qaraarii hai
kih rishtah baa;Ndhtaa hai pairahan angusht-e sozan par
1) courtesy is the disquietude/anxiety of the entreaty
of restlessness
2) {for / in that} the shirt binds a string/thread on the finger of the
needle
takalluf : Taking (anything) upon oneself gratuitously or without being required to do it, gratuitousness; taking much pains personally (in any matter); pains, attention, industry, perseverance; trouble, inconvenience; elaborate preparation (for); profusion, extravagance; careful observance of etiquette, ceremony, formality'. (Platts p.331)
;xaar ;xaar : 'Disquietude'. (Platts p.483)
iltimaas : 'Prayer, petition, supplication, entreaty, request'. (Platts p.74)
be-qaraarii : 'Restlessness, uneasiness, anxiety, discomposure, disquietude; instability, inconstancy, variableness, fluctuation'. (Platts p.203)
pairaahan : 'Covering, mantle; a long robe; a kind of loose vest, a shirt or shift (resembling the qabaa , but having buttons instead of strings at the neck and navel, and between the two)'. (Platts p.298)
SETS == IZAFAT;
WORDPLAY
CHAK-E GAREBAN: {17,9}
CLOTHING/NAKEDNESS: {3,5}
Raza p. 139; Raza p. 140. S. R. Faruqi's choices. Ghalib originally composed a ghazal of nine verses, from which he chose six for publication in his divan. In the original nine-verse ghazal, this verse was the second one.
Here's a verse that without wordplay and what might be called image-play, would hardly even exist. The playful claim that the shirt 'ties a string around the finger' (it's interesting that we have exactly the same idiom in English) of the needle is based on an evocation of the movements of sewing. And of course, the ;xaar ;xaar that means 'anxiety, disquietude' literally means 'thorn, thorn', thus elegantly reminding us of a sewing needle (in both its shape and its piercingness).
The shirt apparently feels a commitment to courtesy or formality; it wishes to be decorously sewn up. Why is it torn in the first place? Obviously, because of the lover's well-known habit of ripping open the collar of his kurta; on this see {17,9}. The mad lover's passion is in any case associated with nakedness: remember the classic nakedness of Qais in {6,1}.
In addition, the i.zaafat constructions that appear in ;xaar-;xaar-e iltimaas-e be-qaraarii offer complex pleasures of their own. The meaning of ;xaar-;xaar is 'disquietude', which is also one of the basic meanings of be-qaraarii . So does courtesy consist of the 'disquietude of the entreaty of disquietude'? This makes courtesy sound just as restless, in its own way, as 'restlessness' itself. Or are we to reflect on the subtle differences between ;xaar-;xaar and be-qaraarii -- and if so, what are they?
Even more conspicuously, 'the entreaty of restlessness' is wildly multivalent. It can mean an entreaty made by restlessness (to someone else); or an entreaty made to restlessness (by someone else); or an entreaty that itself is restlessness; or an entreaty that pertains to restlessness in some other, unspecified way. By no coincidence, all these possibilities work enjoyably with the second line, bringing out from it a remarkably varied array of interpretations.
Gyan Chand:
;xaar ;xaar = To desire. To tie a string on the finger is what people do in order to remember something....
Ghalib says, in his special style, that courtesy is a repeater of invitations to restlessness. For example. to wear clothing is courtesy, nakedness is discourtesy. In order to sew up a kurta, the thread wraps around the needle again and again, as if the kurta ties a thread around the finger of the needle. The pricking of the needle creates restlessness. The garment, having wrapped thread around the finger of the needle, reminds it, 'Prick again and again in my body'; and this is as if it's a summons to restlessness. In this way the kurta became a treasury of restlessness. It itself is restlessness, and it will also give a share of restlessness to the wearer. This is also a mark of courtesy; thus courtesy is nothing beyond a desire for restlessness. (209)