Ghazal 438x, Verse 3

{438x,3}

aa))e;N jis bazm me;N vuh log pukaar u;Thte hai;N
lo vuh barham-zan-e hangaamah-e ma;hfil aa))e

1) into whichever gathering she would come, people suddenly call out,
2) 'Look!-- that overthrower of the tumult/crowd of the gathering has come!'

Notes:

hangaamah : 'A convention, an assembly, a meeting; a crowd; — noise, tumult, commotion, confusion'. (Platts p.1238)

 

lo : 'Take; hold; — look! behold! lo! there now! take that! what do you say to that!'. (Platts p.966)

 

bar-ham-zan : 'Exciter of quarrels, embroiler'. (Platts p.150)

 

bar-ham-zadan : 'To shut close; to slam (a door or window); to mix, confuse; to embroil; to interfere; to prevent; to upset, overthrow, destroy'. (Steingass p.181)

Gyan Chand:

In a gathering there would be noise/commotion, whether or not it would be pleasing-- that is, whether it would be the life of the party, or displeasing. When the beloved arrives there, then they all say, 'Look-- this one who finishes off the tumult has come'. Before her, or before her awe-inspiringness, they all become silent; and the tumult of the gathering having been stilled, silence comes to prevail. Perhaps there might also be a suggestion that she slays them all and turns the gathering into the silence of a graveyard.

== Gyan Chand, p. 523

FWP:

SETS == DIALOGUE
GATHERINGS: {6,3}
SPEAKING: {14,4}

For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}.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

This ghazal is exceptionally late (1865), and has received almost no commentary.

With her arrival, the gathering will certainly be transformed. But how, exactly? Here are some possibilities:

=All tumult will be ended, because everyone will fall silent in awe.

=There will be more tumult than ever, because she is an 'exciter of quarrels, embroiler' (see the definition above).

=There will be no more gathering ('meeting, crowd'; see the definition of hangaamah above), because she will have bowled everybody over (caused them to faint? slain them?).

Nicely done, isn't it? All the possibilities emerge very naturally.

Compare {163,1}, in which the only proper response to her arrival would be to exclaim in agitation, 'She's come!'.