Ghazal 151, Verse 7

{151,7}

.su;hbat me;N ;Gair kii nah pa;Rii ho kahii;N yih ;xuu
dene lagaa hai bosah ba;Gair iltijaa kiye

1) may this habit not have been acquired in the company of the Other!
2) she's begun to give a kiss without [my] having pleaded/begged

Notes:

.su;hbat : 'Companionship, society, company; an assembly, meeting, association; a fair; discourse, conversation, intercourse; carnal intercourse, coition, cohabitation'. (Platts p.743)

Nazm:

In 'union', seeing the beloved's affection, the suspicion has arisen that her habit has been spoiled by the Rival. And with this thought, all the happiness of union has turned into dust. In this verse the author has shown the state of the lover who sees the carelessness that has come into the beloved's manner, and for this reason he always remains grief-stricken and has become habituated to grief. Even the affection of the beloved gives him no happiness, and in it too he searches out some aspect of grief. (162)

== Nazm page 162

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, I've developed the suspicion, 'May this habit not have been acquired in the company of the Other-- she gives kisses without [my] pleading!' And this suspicion has turned the happiness of 'union' into grief. (218)

Bekhud Mohani:

Since the beloved is gracious and now the lover is not forced to beg for a kiss, now the suspicion overpowers him: may this habit not have been acquired in the society of the shameless Rival! From this suspicion, all the happiness of 'union' has turned into dust. (292)

FWP:

SETS == CATCH-22

As Nazm points out, there's an enjoyable catch-22 situation here. If the beloved doesn't kiss the lover, he feels the deprivation-- and thus is unhappy. If the beloved does kiss the lover, he imagines that she's learned the trick from the Other-- and thus is unhappy. As usual, the lover has contrived for himself (or has had contrived for him by others?) a no-win situation.

It's rare that the beloved volunteers to kiss the lover, but not unheard-of. For more on such erotic suggestion, see {99,4}.

Note for grammar fans: the second line requires some fancy footwork, doesn't it? Normally we would expect the kiye to have the same subject as the main verb; but here, we have to read it as ba;Gair mere iltijaa kiye for it to make any sense at all. For more on kiye ba;Gair , see {59,1}.