Verse 4x1816aa))iihai
G18
1
in the time of thought/imagination, I am a beggar for kisses
2
even/also this kneecap/'bowl of the knee' is a single/particular/unique/excellent begging-cup
'Season, time, period'.
'Imaging or picturing (a thing) to the mind; imagination, fancy; reflection, contemplation, meditation; forming an idea; idea, conception, perception, apprehension'.
'Begging, &c.'
'A cup, goblet, bowl... — , s.m. The skull'.
'Goblet, bowl, cup, glass, drinking-vessel'.
| References | |
|---|---|
| Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali | Ghazal# 152 |
| Raza, Kalidas Gupta | 244-245 |
| Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah | 220-221 |
| Asi, Abdul Bari | 230 |
| Gyan Chand | 353-354 |
| Hamid Ali Khan | Open Image |
At the time of the thought/imagination of the beloved, when I sit with head on knee [], then, so to speak, I am asking for alms of kisses; and this 'bowl of the knee' [] is for me a begging-cup. Since I bow my head on my knee and think of the beloved's kisses, the 'bowl of the knee' is a begging-bowl.
== Asi, p. 230
He had to call the 'bowl of the knee' (that is, the kneecap []) a begging-bowl, and the knee is a necessity of thought and imagination-- from this he has pulled out the theme that in thought/imagination I beg for alms of kisses (from the beloved).
== Zamin, p. 347
The knee is like an inverted cup. The head is placed on the knee when thinking. At the time of thought/imagination, there's a search for kisses from the beloved. In this way the 'bowl of the knee' becomes a begging-bowl.
== Gyan Chand, p. 353
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 For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in 4,8x .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 kneecap or 'bowl of the knee' as a begging-bowl-- who would have guessed that?! Not me, that's for sure. (Thank you, Zamin, for your clarity and specificity.) The or knee is certainly associated with sorrow and (melancholy) reflection, as a place to rest the lowered head (for more on the imagery of , see 32,2 ). But the kneecap itself is very small, and not really bowl-shaped. Worst of all, when a person sits with head resting on a bent knee, any bowlishness the kneecap has is turned upside down, which makes it a very poor begging-vessel in which to collect alms. But-- whatever! The kneecap as begging bowl may be less common, but it's not more bizarre than other ghazal imagery. Ghalib is nothing if not hyperbolically imaginative.
See also 298x,3 , in which the kneecap is a 'peacock's egg', as part of a position of creative poetic thought.
The real problem with the verse is not the kneecap as a begging bowl, but the unmotivatedness of the 'kisses' in the first line. Why kisses in particular, at such a time, rather than any other kind of favor? No doubt the idea is that they could resemble individual small coins, the kind that might be given to a beggar. Still, the connection between the lines is not very satisfactory.
graphics/kneecap.jpg