Ghazal 424x, Verse 5

{424x,5}*

:taraavat-e sa;har-iijaadii-e a;sar yak-suu
bahaar-e naalah-o-rangiinii-e fi;Gaa;N tujh se

1) the freshness of the dawn-creatingness of effect, alike/aside
2) the springtime/flourishing of lament, and the colorfulness of complaint-- from you

Notes:

:taraavat : 'Freshness, juiciness, succulence; greenness, verdure; moisture'. (Platts p.752)

 

iijaad : 'Creation, production; invention, contrivance'. (Platts p.112)

 

yak-suu : 'Even, uniform; equal; fixed, settled; — on one side, aside; together; — alike'. (Platts p.1251)

 

fi;Gaan : 'Cry of pain or distress, wailing, groaning, lamentation, complaint; clamour'. (Platts p.782)

Zamin:

sa;hr-iijaadii-e a;sar = Assuming 'effect' to be a radiant thing, he has made for it the metaphor of dawn-- that is, the creation of dawn, or its illumining, is in your hands. And since the springtime of lament and complaint is through effect, the springtime of lament and complaint too is from you alone.

== Zamin, p. 450

Gyan Chand:

'Effect' is brimful of the freshness of dawn. This effectiveness is because of you alone, and this is a great thing. The springtime of lament and complaint too is due to you alone. In passion for you alone, laments are made; you alone endow those laments with effect.

== Gyan Chand, p. 473

FWP:

SETS == LIST; POETRY
SPRINGTIME: {13,2}

For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.

As Gyan Chand notes in discussing {424x,1}, the addressee throughout this ghazal seems to be the Lord (or else a beloved so divinized that it's hard to tell the difference).

The commentators create a very simple 'list' interpretation: 'item A, item B, and item C-- all from you'. But surely that yak-suu offers another possibility as well (see the definition above). How about this reading: 'leaving aside item A, item B and item C-- from you'? This reading would suggest that the 'freshness of the dawn-creatingness of effect' might be the work of human poetic creativity, in contrast to the qualities named in the second line that are given by the Lord. On the cult of 'freshness' and the taazah-go))ii movement, see {17,2}.

Also, see the next verse, {424x,6}, with its clear 'leaving aside' use of dar-kinaar -- which is also located in exactly the same position as yak-suu .

Note for grammar fans: In the first line, sa;har-iijaadii seems to be a noun compound, or 'reversed i.zaafat '; for more on these, see {129,6x}.