Verse 5after 1821aabto de


G9

In this meter the next-to-last long syllable may be replaced by two shorts.


1
Asad , my hands and feet swelled/expanded with happiness
2
when she said, 'Just please press my feet a bit'

'To blossom, blow, flower; to bloom, flourish, to be in health and spirits; --to swell, be inflated, be puffed out; to swell out, to expand (with joy), to be pleased; to be puffed up (with pride, &c.)'.

References
Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali Ghazal# 187
Raza, Kalidas Gupta 363
Gyan Chand 491
Hamid Ali Khan Open Image

This verse is a one-trick pony, but at least it's a nice trick. For one's 'hands and feet to swell' is, idiomatically, a sign of great happiness (see the definition above), and in the first line we take it in its usual metaphorical sense. In proper mushairah -verse style, the kicker is withheld until the last possible moment: only at the very end of the second line do we realize that what is making the speaker's own hands and feet swell, is the prospect of being able to press on the beloved's feet. Thus we have the two occurrences of 'feet', and above all the enjoyable opposition of 'to swell' versus 'to press down upon'. To touch one's hands to someone's feet is an expression of great respect and/or affection-- and the lover's desperate humility is such that he regards the chance to press the beloved's feet as an amazing joy. On the double meaning of as both 'a little bit' and 'please', see 177,2 . ABOUT FOOT-PRESSING: Traditional South Asians were constantly performing this service for each other: younger people were supposed to do it to their elders as a sign of respect and affection, and rich people had servants do it for them. The pressee usually lay or reclined on a couch or bed, and the presser sat on the foot of the bed (if an intimate) or squatted beside the bed (if a servant). The action was a kind of squeezing, pressing, and massaging of the feet, ankles, and legs below the knees. It feels nice, but probably you have to be a traditional South Asian to experience the full cultural flavor. Other foot-pressing verses: 121,3 ; 121,9x . Here's an affectionately satirical print by William Taylor (1842), showing the morning routine of a typical East Indian Company 'civilian' (administrator) in Bengal. Amidst other preparations for the day, he's also having a quick foot-pressing: graphics/wmtaylor1842.jpg And here's the goddess Lakshmi performing the same service for Lord Vishnu: graphics/sheshashayana.jpg