Free The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry by Mir, Raza

like that.

Zauq
    It was perhaps the misfortune of Zauq (1789–1854) that he happened to be the contemporary of the greatest poet in the Urdu pantheon, Ghalib. Like Antonio Salieri to Wolfgang Mozart in eighteenth-century Vienna, Zauq was to eclipse Ghalib in the Delhi mushaira circles of the mid-nineteenth century, and was even appointed poet laureate of the Mughal court while Ghalib languished in relative obscurity. But Zauq was smart enough to know genius when he encountered it; perhaps it was his own poetic ability that allowed him a glimpse into Ghalib’s genius, and this aroused feelings of envy in him. The two are known to have had numerous verbal skirmishes. Of course, we now think of Ghalib, not Zauq, as the paradigmatic poet of nineteenth-century Delhi. But despite Ghalib’s aura, Zauq’s poetry continues to enthral. It is supposed that a large portion of his output was lost in the post-1857 chaos, but what is left includes a deevan 1 . Mohammad Husain Azad, the reported compiler of Zauq’s surviving works, provides an extensive biography and critical comments on Zauq’s work in his 1880 magnum opus
Aab-e Hayaat
2 .
    The two ghazals translated here have been performed extensively by renowned singers. 3 The first verse of the second ghazal speaks of the existential angst that had permeated Urdu poetry in the nineteenth century, where the poets began to see themselves as mere puppets in a hostile tableau of history. This sentiment can be linked to some of Mir’s more introspective works too, including some translated in this volume.
1 Laayi hayaat aaye
    Laayi hayaat aaye, qazaa le chali, chale
    Apni khushi na aaye, na apni khushi chale
    Behtar to hai yahi ke na duniya se dil lagaye
    Par kya karen jo kaam na be-dillagi chale
    Ho umr-e Khizr bhi to kahenge ba waqt-e marg
    Ham kya rahe yahaan? Abhi aaye, abhi chale
    Duniya ne kis ka raah-e fanaa mein diya hai saath
    Tum bhi chale chalo yoon hi jab tak chali chale
    Naazaan na ho khirad pe jo hona hai vo hi ho
    Danish teri na kuchh meri daanishvari chale
    Kam honge is bisaat pe ham jaise bad-khumaar
    Jo chaal hum chale vo nihaayat buri chale
    Jaate havaa-e shauq mein hain is chaman se Zauq
    Apni balaa se baad-e saba ab kahin chale
Life summoned me
    Life summoned me, I ascended; death caused my descent
    Neither of my will I came, nor of my will I went.
    It might be best not to fall for this world’s wily snares
    But some tasks just won’t get done without love’s droll consent.
    Were we to be granted the age of Khizr 4 , we would still
    Say, ‘Why leave now? I’ve just come! My passing, I resent!’
    This world is indifferent to wayfarers bound for death
    You may as well go on till your time here is spent.
    Be not vain, knowledge will lose, fate has the upper hand
    That which is decreed, none of your wisdom can prevent.
    Few are worse than you once you’ve surrendered to the wine
    What you did was truly mean, deserved is your torment.
    Zauq flows away into the void from this verdant garden
    After my death, should I care what spring and flowers had meant?
2 Ab to ghabraa ke ye kahte hain
    Ab to ghabraa ke ye kahte hain ke mar jaayenge
    Mar ke bhi chain na paayaa to kidhar jaayenge?
    Tum ne thahraai agar ghair ke ghar jaane ki
    To iraade yahan kuchh aur thahar jaayenge
    Hum nahin vo jo karen khoon ka daavaa tujh par
    Balke poochhega khuda bhi, to mukar jaayenge
    Aag dozakh ki bhi ho jaayegi pani pani
    Jab ye aasi araq-e sharm se tar jaayenge
    Shola-e aah ko bijli ki tarah chamkaaoon
    Par mujhe dar hai, ke vo dekh ke dar jaayenge
    Nahin paayegaa nishaan koi hamaara har-giz
    Hum jahaan se ravish-e teer-e nazar jaayenge
    Zauq, jo madarase ke bigde hue hain mullaah
    Unko maikhaane mein le aao, sudhar jaayenge
In fear you say
    In fear you say you’d rather die, have you thought though?
    If there is no solace in death, where will you go?
    Since you wish to hedge bets, visit my rival’s home
    My fidelity will change too, it’s quid pro quo.
    I’ll not blame you for