Verse 21852arkhulaa
G1
1
night came, again/then the scene/view of shining stars opened
2
with such ceremony that, so to speak, the door of an idol-temple opened
| References | |
|---|---|
| Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali | Ghazal# 45 |
| Raza, Kalidas Gupta | 423-424 |
| Hamid Ali Khan | Open Image |
He's only shown a comparison for the stars coming out. This verse is not a ghazal one; rather, it's from the introductory part [] of an ode . Probably other verses were with it, which were removed when the selection was made [of verses for the published divan . (14)
== Nazm page 14
Urdu text: Vajid 1902 {14}
In this [second] opening-verse he has again [as in 14,1 ] repeated the same theme [of praise for the king's mushairah in different words. (29)
There's reason to suppose that this verse would not be from a ghazal. Because looking at the glittering stars, Mirza has remembered an idol-temple, he has not remembered paradise. The passion that idol-worshipers have for idols is apparent, and the worship of beauty is a practice of those with the temperament of lovers. And this theme seems best suited to the ghazal alone. But indeed it's also possible that this verse might have been composed in the introductory part [] of some romantic ode . (30)
Ghalib has in his divan an ode in this same ' ground ', but it's in a different meter (Hamid pp. 198-200). Nazm's idea that the present verse originated in an unpublished ode is always possible, but his flat assertion of 'non-ghazalness' seems to be contradicted by the manifest versatility of the genre. He makes a similar complaint about 74,1 as well. Since he's often a bit cranky, it's not clear whether he actually has a theoretical objection, or just disapproves of the verse. (In my view Ghalib's truly non-ghazal-like ghazal is the blandly elegiac 139 .)
This second opening-verse seems to follow along with the first one, in setting a lavish, almost voluptuous scene for a royal mushairah .
The 'idol-temple' analogy in the verse evokes the widespread use of lamps in Hindu temples, and the ceremonial opening of doors to permit a formal viewing of the image. As so often in the ghazal, the comparison is a favorable one, based on radiance, beauty, and a lofty elegance.
Ghalib makes a much more amusing and rakish use of the stars' coming out, in 111,3 .
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