chaak-e jigar se jab rah-e pursish nah vaa
hu))ii
kyaa faa))idah kih jeb ko rusvaa kare ko))ii
1) when from the tearing of the liver the road of inquiry
did not become open
2) what benefit, that anyone would disgrace the collar/heart/bosom?
jeb : 'The opening at the neck and bosom (of a shirt, &c.); the breast-collar (of a garment); the heart; the bosom; (the Arabs often carry things within the bosom of the shirt, &c.; and hence the word is now applied by them to) 'a pocket'. (Platts p.412)
He says, in passion we had torn our liver so that she would see our situation and inquire about us. This did not occur. Now what's the benefit of tearing our collar, and making it disgraced and notorious? (301)
From this verse there necessarily emerges the meaning that the real thing is what's important, and a mere display is nothing. (435)
CHAK-E GAREBAN: {17,9}
JIGAR: {2,1}
ROAD: {10,12}
This enjoyable little verse is energed by several different kinds of wordplay, image-play, and meaning-play. The idea of something long and straight, and its 'becoming open', unites the otherwise incongruous comparison between a torn collar-opening (meaning of course the kind of collar that a kurta has, not the kind with lapels) and the 'road of inquiry'-- the process of making friendly, or at least polite, inquiries about a sick person. (Compare the 'road of speech' in {214,1}.) The lover in the ghazal world conventionally tears open his collar (for discussion see {17,9}); but here not even the tearing of his liver has had any effect on the cruel beloved, so why would he, or anyone, bother with a small thing like a collar?
The word jeb also has a secondary meaning of 'heart' or 'bosom'. This sense yields another enjoyable reading: when tearing the liver brings no results, it is proper to renounce the practice: why would anyone bother to rip open, and thus 'disgrace', his heart or bosom any further, when the extravagant public gesture is so clearly a failure?
There's also the enjoyably clever presence within rusvaa , 'disgraced', of vaa , 'open'. And when reciting the verse, the placement of jab in the first line, and jeb in the second line, at exactly the same metrical point, adds to the sense of rhythm and connection.
Nazm:
We tore our liver, but the road of inquiry did not become open; that is, no one inquired about our state. Now what's the benefit, if anyone would tear his collar and disgrace himself? (242)