What enjoyable stories we too remembered!
But now they have become a preface to the recitation of pain and mourning

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==Compare Ghalib, {111,2}.

Spectators! The manner of the descent of this story is this. Ten or twelve years ago, a friend of mine, Munshi Ahmad Hasan Sahib, who lived in the vicinity of Delhi, had come to Lucknow by way of a vacation trip. He had rented a room in Chauk, near Sayyid Husain's Gate. Here usually some friends used to come and sit, in the early evening; there used to be a very enjoyable company. Munshi Sahib's taste in poetry was of a high order. He himself sometimes composed something-- and he composed good things-- but usually he had a taste for listening. Thus there was usually a good deal of discussion of poetry.

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==In the 1899 edition, the extra v in the spelling of uunhon ne , uus me;N , etc. reflect the usage of the time.
== The verb kahnaa is used in the ghazal world for 'to compose', not 'to recite'.

Next to this very room there was another room; in it lived a courtesan. Her style of behavior was entirely apart from that of other prostitutes. No one ever saw her sitting by the road beside her door, nor did anyone come or go from there. Night and day, pardah-curtains hung over the doors. The exit door on the Chauk side remained entirely closed. There was another door toward a small side-street; by that one, the servants used to come and go. If there hadn't come sometimes at night the sound of singing, it would have been impossible even to tell whether anyone lived in that room or not. The room in which we had our sessions had a small window. But in it there was a curtain.

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==The word :tavaa))if is much more refined than the word ra;N;Dii .
==Archaisms in the 1899 calligraphy include: the use of the full nuun instead of nuun-e ;Gunnah for nasalization' the spelling uusii for usii ; the writing of words and postpositions together; the casual use of the stop-mark at the end of clauses as well as sentences.
==I have corrected ka;Raa to kap;Raa .

One day, as usual, there was a gathering of friends. Someone was reciting a ghazal; the companions were praising it. In the meantime I recited a verse. From that very window came the sound of 'vah vah!'. I became silent, and my companions too turned their attention in that direction. Munshi Ahmad Hasan Sahib called out, "Hidden praise isn't proper-- if you have a taste for poetry, then please come and join the gathering!" This received no answer. I again began to recite a ghazal. The matter slid into the past.

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==For background on the ghazal, see the *A Desertful of Roses*
== ' vaah vaa ' (spelled in the 1899 text without the final he ) is an exclamation of praise and approval that is the most basic response to hearing a good verse.

After a little while, a maidservant came. She first saluted everyone, then said, "Which gentleman is Mirza Rusva?" The company pointed me out.
The maidservant said, "Madam has sent for you, if you please."
I said, "Which Madam?"
The maidservant said, "Madam has ordered me not to tell her name. Beyond that, as you command."
I hesitated about going with the maidservant. My companions began to tease me:
"Indeed, sir, why don't you go? It's a rare good fortune, that she sent for you like this!"

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==I have imposed paragraphing here and there, since it is extremely scanty and somewhat erratic in the 1899 text.