Ghazal 191, Verse 4

{191,4}

;Gair phirtaa hai liye yuu;N tire ;xa:t ko kih agar
ko))ii puuchhe kih yih kyaa hai to chhupaa))e nah bane

1) the Other wanders around carrying your letter casually/'like this', such that if
2) anyone would ask, 'What's this?', then it wouldn't be able to be hidden

Notes:

Nazm:

Urdu poets have used ;Gair as the name for the Rival.... otherwise, in the idiom it is an adjective, nor is it especially reserved for the Rival.... He taunts the beloved: 'Since you wrote the Other an ardent letter, he doesn't take care about hiding it-- he'll disgrace you'. This theme is very new and true. (214)

== Nazm page 214

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, 'My Rival wanders everywhere carrying your letter, in such a way that if anyone would ask him, "What is this in your hand?" then he can't even hide it. The meaning is that one day or another the Rival will surely disgrace you. (274)

Bekhud Mohani:

It is an attempt to make the beloved disaffected with the Rival. It shows the Rival's small-mindedness [tang-:zarfii], that he goes strutting around. The Rival has absolutely no respect for your honor. (375)

FWP:

SETS == DIALOGUE
WRITING: {7,3}

On the idiomatic grammar of nah bane expressions, see {191,8}.

Just when the three previous verses have lulled us into expecting a pattern-- setup in the first line, amusing show of word-play and sound-play and script-play in the second line-- we suddenly confront something completely different. We are now given a most unusual verse-- one that apparently has no wordplay, sound-play, or script-play at all.

This is the kind of verse that the commentators delight in; basically, they try their best to convert almost all verses into this kind. It's also, for the same reason, the kind of verse that I don't much care for.

It's a single clear, plain, prose statement, in normal prose order, with minimal complications. I simply can't think of anything interesting to say about it.

For an example of an equally selfish and exploitative use of public spaces by the beloved herself, see {201,5}.

For more on yuu;N , see {30,1}.