Ghazal 177, Verse 12

{177,12}

mai;N jo gustaa;x huu;N aa))iin-e ;Gazal-;xvaanii me;N
yih bhii teraa hii karam ;zauq-fizaa hotaa hai

1) if I am presumptuous/audacious in the rules/customs of ghazal-recitation
2) this too is only/especially your {taste/relish}-enhancing generosity

Notes:

gustaa;x : 'Presumptuous, arrogant, insolent, audacious, impudent, saucy, uncivil, rude; cruel; abrupt'. (Platts p.910)

 

aa))iin : 'Body of laws, code; enactment, edict, ordinance, canon, decree, rule; custom, manner'. (Platts p.116)

Nazm:

The meaning of the verse-set is clear. (200)

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, if I break the rules of ghazal-recitation and become a praiser of you, this is because of your generosity; that is, your generosity keeps increasing the taste for praise-recitation. (258)

Bekhud Mohani:

If in ghazal recitation I do shameless things, then this too is your blessing especially/alone. (350)

FWP:

SETS == POETRY

This is the fourth and final verse of a four-verse verse-set that begins with {177,9}. For discussion of the verse-set as a whole, see {177,9}.

What is the gustaa;x behavior to which the verse refers, and what ghazal 'laws' or 'norms' are being violated? S. R. Faruqi proposes (Nov. 2005) that while Ghalib ought to have composed a whole ode to the King, the King's generous encouragement has moved him simply to insert a few verses in a ghazal, then to return to the ghazal's normal themes of passion.