Ghazal 224, Verse 2x

{224,2x}

jam((iiyat-e aavaaragii-e diid nah puuchho
dil taa mizhah aa;Gosh-e vidaa((-e na:zar aave

1) the collection/collectedness of the wandering of vision-- don't ask!
2) from the heart to the eyelashes would come the 'embrace of leavetaking' of the sight/gaze

Notes:

jamii((yat : 'A collection, assemblage, band, party ... — collectedness, composure, tranquillity, peace (of mind); wealth, affluence; recollection, reflection'. (Platts p.389)

 

diid : 'Seeing, sight, vision'. (Platts p.556)

Gyan Chand:

aavaaragii-e diid = for the vision to wander in every direction. aa;Gosh-e vid((aa = at the time of taking leave of someone, to embrace them.

The poet has presented this [previously] untouched idea: that for vision, before casting a glance/gaze, within the body a farewell is made to the sight. The space from the heart to the eyelashes is a single 'embrace of leavetaking'.

== Gyan Chand, p. 480

FWP:

SETS == INEXPRESSIBILITY
GAZE: {10,12}

For background see S. R. Faruqi's choices. This verse is NOT one of his choices; I thought it was interesting and have added it myself. For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}.

The first line offers the lovely wordplay (and meaning-play) between 'collection/collectedness' and 'wandering'. Then the second line knits them together in the 'embrace of leave-taking'; for more on this image see {57,6}. The progression 'from heart to eyelashes' not only makes a space for the embrace, as Gyan Chand notes, but also makes it clear that the looks or glances start from the heart, traveling then to the eyes from which they emerge and 'wander'.

Thus the verse makes use of what has been called the 'emission theory' of sight: the early Greek belief that vision was accomplished through rays emitted by the eyes. This theory was adopted by Plato, but rejected by Aristotle; it has long been discredited, but the idea of 'eye beams' has been useful to many poets. In this verse Ghalib joins their ranks. (And perhaps the beloved's deadly gaze, as in {210,6}, should also be considered a special kind of 'eye beam'.)