Verse 9x1821uu;Nvuh bhii
G2
1
an evil eye on my peace/repose-- don't make a promise/vow of coming at night!
2
for it will be a magic-spell for my 'sleep-binding'-- even/also that
zar>> : 'Sight, vision, view; look, regard, glance; observation, inspection; supervision; — favourable regard, favour, countenance; ... — influence of an evil eye; ... ), To fall under the gaze of a malignant eye; to be influenced by an evil eye'.
'Enchantment, incantation, fascination, &c.'.
| References | |
|---|---|
| Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali | Ghazal# 133 |
| Raza, Kalidas Gupta | 342-343 |
| Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah | 182-183 |
| Asi, Abdul Bari | 217 |
| Gyan Chand | 332-333 |
| Hamid Ali Khan | Open Image |
My God, don't destroy my peace/repose! Don't make me the promise of coming at night! This promise of yours will become a magic spell of 'sleep-binding', and I will get no sleep the whole night, I will remain restless.
== Asi, p. 217
That is, take thought for my peace/repose-- don't make a promise/vow of coming at night! Otherwise, my sleep will fly away-- and you don't come and go.
== Zamin, p. 321
If you want me to have peace/repose, then this is not in a promise/vow of coming at night. Rather, it is in not promising to come at night. Because it's clear that even if you would promise, you won't come; and I will be awake all night, waiting. So to speak, even/also your promise will bind my sleep, the way an expression of not coming would. But through being aware of the actual state of affairs, my heart will remain restless.
== Gyan Chand, pp. 332-33
For background see S. R. Faruqi's choices . This verse is NOT one of his choices; I thought it was interesting and have added it myself. For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in 4,8x .
The idea of a dangerous ' evil eye ' has an ancient history; for more on this, see 106,3 . Normally it is created by the gaze of an envious/jealous person. Here, it's been given a twist, because the beloved's gaze might even be a 'favorable' expression of 'regard' or consideration (see the definition above). The commentators in fact read it that way: 'Pay attention to my peace/repose', or 'If you care about my peace/repose'.
Still, whether the beloved means it that way or not, if her gaze results in a promise/vow, then the gaze, and/or the promise, will become a magic spell []-- thus the strong link to the magic power of the 'evil eye'. Magic spells can often 'bind' the victim; here, the lover's sleep would be 'bound'-- tied up, so that it couldn't come to him the whole night through. Even if the beloved means (momentarily at least) to be kind, the result will only be more cruelty-- the lover will toss and turn all night, and (of course!) she won't actually come.
For a more complex and effective take on a similar situation, see 97,3 .
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