Verses like this show Ghalib's deceptively light touch with abstractions. Not only does the verse sound easy and colloquial, but that second line also admits of an exceptional number of readings; it deserves its own place in the major-league ambiguity rankings. Just consider the possibilities of : 'among'; 'from among them all'; 'on the whole'; 'totally' (see the definition above). And then look at the even more extensive possibilities of (see the definition above): from the logical and abstract ('causes', 'motives') through the unclassifiably intermediate ('materials', 'necessaries') to the concrete and specific ('tools', 'furniture', 'appliances', 'luggage'). Just choose one from Column A and one from Column B, and mix and match as you please: among the: [unique] from among all the: on the whole: totally: causes motives materials necessities tools furniture appliances luggage So the possibilities range from making the speaker the sole, total 'cause' of the desolation, to making him one among the 'materials', or even just passively part of the 'luggage'. Which is after all a fine overview of the range of ways in which human beings think about themselves and their destiny. And what is the 'house of grief' itself? Bekhud Mohani maintains that it's the body. That's always possible, but 'desolation' is especially a quality of ruined houses, so the straightforward reading is very compelling in itself. An obvious choice for comparison is the brilliant 10,6 . graphics/houseruins.jpg