Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Tabiyat in dinon

This is one of my favorite ghazals by Jigar. The whole ghazal is about depression in my opinion. It's a very complex emotional condition and Jigar describes it very elegantly. It has been sung rather nonchalantly by Beghum Akthar who has a flair for singing melancholic ghazals quite effortlessly, perhaps because she lived a life which was much more sad. I try to give an interpretive translation to it.



Tabiyat in dinon begana-e-gham hoti jaati hai,
Mere hisse ki goya har khushi kam hoti jaati hai

I have been forgetful of my sorrows of late,
The last few friends I had are also deserting me now  

Sahar hone ko hai, bedaar shabnam hoti jaati hai,
Khushi minjumala-o-asbaab-e-maatam hoti jaati hai

It's almost morning and the Dew is awake now,
Happy times are about to become the reason of sadness

[I think that he's showing how the objects of sadness and happiness are often the same. Like the dew, which looks beautiful in the night evaporates off in the morning heat causing sadness :)]

Qayamat kya, ye ae husn-e-do-aalam hoti jaati hai,
Ki mehfil to wahi hai, dilkashi kam hoti jaati hai

What's doomsday, it's just another trifle O 'beauty of both worlds'
The gathering is exactly the same, my interest recedes

 [In the first line, he seems to be giving an example of how much he's lost interest in the world, that apocalypse seems trivial to him.]

Wahi mai-khaana-o-sehbaa wahi saagar wahi sheesha
Magar aawaaz-e-nausha-nosh maddham hoti jaati hai

The same tavern, the same wine, the same is my globlet
But where is the the jubilation of drinking?

Wahi hai shaahid-o-saaqi, magar dil bujhta jaata hai,
Wahi hai shamma lekin roshni kam hoti jaati hai

The same is my sweetheart, the same cup-bearer, but my heart aches
The torch burns the same but the brightness retreats

Wahi shorish hai lekin jaise mauj-e-tah-nashin koi,
Wahi dil hai magar aawaaz maddham hoti jaati hai

Life's chaos has become like an undercurrent in an ocean,
My heart's the same, but the sound of heartbeats lowers

[Notice how a beating heart is compared to confusion in life.]

Wahi hai zindagi lekin 'Jigar' ye haal hai apna,
Ke jaise zindagi se zindagi kam hoti jaati hai
[This is depression explained in two lines :)]

My life is the same, nothing changed
I keep living, but the life in me is diminishing


begana-e-gham : without sorrow
goya : as if
minjumala : along with
asbaab: reason
maatam: mourning
husn-e-do-aalam : beauty of the two worlds
aawaaz-e-nausha-nosh: the calls of 'Cheers' while drinking
maddham: low
shaahid: witness, lover
saaqi: cup-bearer
shorish: confusion
mauj: wave
tah-nashin : under the surface


Full ghazal taken from here


5 comments:

introspection said...

I think the meaning of 'begaana e gham' given here is in correct. The actual meaning is
" oblivious of gham"
that is 'the poet is so used to gham that he does not feel it any more........gham se begaana.

Amit Kulshreshtha said...

Dear Satyanveshi, profound poetic expressions, like the subject poem, can be interpreted in many ways. I can see a deep philosophical meaning in this ghazal. I think, the poet wants to convey that sorrows of the others have overtaken the his own happiness. Further, using the symbolism of dew drops ,he wants to covey that one should transcend the duality of happiness and grief, as often the cause of happiness becomes the cause of grief. He has begun to understand the ephemeral nature of life and is getting detached from the worldly pleasures ( quyamat has been expressed as beauty of both worlds). Bar, bartender, wine, goblet have been used symbolically to represent worldly attractions. The same confusions are now not so profound as i have understood the undercurrent of the Supreme in this world, as the control has been achieved on the passionate desires ( the same heart no longer beats so fast for the objects of attraction (wahi hai dil magar awaaz madhdham hoti jati hai).

I would be delighted to receive your comments on this interpretation.

Parvaiz Talib said...

Beautiful translation. But no translation is perfect. I tried my own for the first verse...
Becoming indifferent to my sorrows I am, of late.. Alas, getting denied the pleasure of company of my last few mates..

Anonymous said...

I think the lyric is connected to the onset of the old age. The poet is laying
stress as to what one feels how the concept of life and physical changes with growing Years .

Anilrazdan@gmail.com said...

Makes more sense, since it is describing an ongoing process. It is "Ho rahi hai", not "Ho chuki hai". It continuing.