sitaaro;N se aage
Published in baal-e jibriil (The Wing of Gabriel) (1935).
From: kulliyaat-e iqbaal urduu (Lahore: Shaikh Ghulam 'Ali and Sons Publishers, 1973 (and later reprints), *p. 353*
a *ghazal*; *meter*: - = = / - = = / - = = / - = =
Urdu spellings reflect adjustments made for the sake of the meter.
See the 'script bar' at the bottom of the page for viewing choices.
Here's *a serial glossary*.
1) |
sitaaro;N se aage jahaa;N aur bhii hai;N abhii ((ishq ke imtihaa;N aur bhii hai;N |
1) beyond the stars are even
more worlds 2) there are still even more tests of passion |
|
= Thus a world
seems to be chiefly notable as a place for tests of passion. |
|
2) |
tihii zindagii se nahii;N yih fa.zaa))e;N yahaa;N sai;Nka;Ro;N kaaravaa;N aur bhii hai;N |
1) these expanses are not
devoid of life 2) here there are hundreds of other caravans too |
|
= tihii
means 'devoid, empty, vacant' (Platts p.349) = Where are 'these expanses'? On earth? In space? Where the speaker is? The poet cleverly doesn't tell us. = The word sai;Nka;Ro;N is sometimes written without the first nasal. It looks as though the word in the Urdu text was first written with the nasal (since a chair for it is clearly visible), but then the dot was either omitted or removed. It's worth paying attention to such details because Iqbal himself approved this version of his poetry before publication. So perhaps in his spelling it shouldn't have the nasal. |
|
3) |
qanaa((at nah kar ((aalam-e rang-o-buu par chaman aur bhii , aashiyaa;N aur bhii hai;N ! |
1) don't be contented with
the world of color and scent 2) there are other gardens, other nests, too |
|
= The 'world of color and scent' is a standard expression for the physical world of the senses |
|
4) |
agar kho gayaa ik nasheman to kyaa ;Gam maqaamaat-e aah-o-fu;Gaa;N aur bhii hai;N ! |
1) if one nest was lost,
what's the [cause of] grief? 2) there are other places for sighing and lamenting |
|
= Like the 'world'
which is a place for 'tests of passion' in verse (1), a nest is here chiefly
notable as a place not for shelter, but for sighing and lamenting |
|
5) |
tuu shaahii;N hai , parvaaz hai kaam teraa tire saamne aasmaa;N aur bhii hai;N |
1) you are a falcon, flight
is your task 2) before you there are other skies as well |
|
6) |
isii roz-o-shab me;N ulajh kar nah rah jaa kih tere zamaan-o-makaa;N aur bhii hai;N |
1) don't become entangled,
and remain [so?], in this day-and-night 2) for you have other times-and-places too |
|
| = Presumably 'this day-and-night'
refers to our present, physical world. The grammar can permit two readings:
'don't become, and remain, entangled in this day-and-night' or 'don't become
entangled, and remain in this day-and-night'. It's clever that we're left
'entangled' in a twofold reading about an entanglement in a twofold (day-and-night)
world. (Two strands make for a much better entanglement, anyway.) = Both roz-o-shab and zamaan-o-manaa;N are common phrases, with a nice idiomatic flavor |
|
7) |
ga))e din kih tanhaa thaa mai;N anjuman me;N yahaa;N ab mire raaz-daa;N aur bhii hai;N ! |
1) the days are gone when
I was alone in the gathering 2) here, now, I have other secret-sharers too |
|
| = A 'secret-sharer' is a confidant or intimate friend | |
-- IQBAL index page -- *Platts Dictionary Online* -- FWP's main page --