Ghazal 185, Verse 2

{185,2}

vaa;N kungur-e isti;Gnaa har dam hai bulandii par
yaa;N naale ko aur ul;Taa da((vaa-e rasaa))ii hai

1) there the crest/plume of independence/indifference is, at every moment, on [more of] a height
2) here the lament has a claim of access/penetration that is [at every moment] more contrary/perverse

Notes:

isti;Gnaa : 'Ability to dispense with, independence (in point of fortune), opulence; content'. (Platts p.49)

 

kungur or kungurah : 'A pinnacle, spire, turret, tower; --a crest, plume (upon a helmet, &c.); jewel, or ornament (in a crown)'. (Platts p.855)

 

ul;Taa : 'Reversed, turned back; inverted, head-downwards, upside-down, topsy-turvy; reverse, perverse; contrary, opposite; stupid; wrong'. (Platts p.75)

 

rasaa))ii : 'Arriving; entrance, access; accessibleness; reach, compass; —quickness of apprehension, sharpness, acuteness, penetration, cleverness, skill, talent, ability, wisdom; propriety, fitness'. (Platts p.592)

Nazm:

That is, her crest of the summit of independence keeps becoming farther away; and the lament makes a reversed claim of access. (206)

== Nazm page 206

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, her crest of independence keeps becoming loftier 'twofold in the day, fourfold by night'. And day by day our lament keeps becoming lower. That is, now it doesn't even more from the heart to the lips. It loses courage and remains only in the breast. (267)

Bekhud Mohani:

The meaning is that at every lament her indifference keeps becoming even greater. Thus the lament has the claim, 'We obtain access'. Since the beloved, considering that the present indifference can't endure the effect of that lament, has made an effort and adopted even more indifference. The lament with this claim, the beloved in this state-- our life is leaving us. (365)

FWP:

SETS == HERE/THERE; OPPOSITES

There's an enjoyable range of wordplay and meaning-play between bulandii and ul;Taa . Here are some of the contrasts: at every moment (or, with every breath),

=Her indifference becomes loftier and more high-headed; the lament's claim of access becomes more topsy-turvy and head-downward.
=Her indifference becomes more successful; the lament's claim of access becomes more foolish and wrong.
=Her indifference becomes more overpoweringly apparent; the lament's claim of access becomes more perverse and contrary.

As Bekhud Mohani observes, it's also possible that it's the lament itself that's working in reverse and increasing her high-headedness with every breath [dam] the lover puts into his lament.

The unusual word kungur is so striking in itself that it certainly counts as a 'fresh word'. This is its only appearance in the divan.