Ghazal 438x, Verse 6

{438x,6}

saamnaa ;huur-o-parii ne nah kiyaa hai nah kare;N
((aks teraa hii magar
tere muqaabil aa))e

1) Houri and Pari have never faced/encountered [you], nor would they do so
2) but/perhaps only/emphatically your 'mirror-image' might confront you

Notes:

saamnaa karnaa : 'To confront, face, encounter, oppose; to be insolent'. (Platts p.628)

 

((aks : 'The reverse (of), the converse, or the contrary (of); counterpart; inversion; reflection ... , a shadow, a reflected image (as in a mirror, or water, &c.)'. (Platts p.763)

 

muqaabil : 'Fronting, confronting; opposing, contending; opposite; — comparing; collating; — corresponding, matching; resembling, like; — in opposition (to, - ke ); in front (of), over against; face to face (with), in the presence (of); — in comparison (with)'. (Platts p.1053)

FWP:

SETS == MAGAR

For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}.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

The word ((aks is of course used for the reflection in a mirror (see the definition above), and that's a perfectly plausible translation here too. But the verse doesn't bring in the word 'mirror', so we're invited to consider other possibilities as well. After all, the first line presents us with two non-confronters, Houri and Pari. So if there would or could be a confronter, might it even be not a mere reflection in a mirror, but a 'reverse, converse, inversion', or a 'counterpart' of the beloved? I've used 'mirror-image' because it's more metaphorical in English; if someone says 'This situation is a mirror-image of that one', the statement is not about a literal reflection in a mirror. That being said, the verse is not very thrilling.

Compare {115,4}, a much superior presentation of a similar idea.