Verse 2after 1816aa;Nkiye hu))e
G3
1
again I collect my fragmented/'bits-and-pieces' liver
2
it's been a while [since] having made a feast/call for the eyelashes
'A space (of place or time), period, time, duration, term; an interval, a while; delay'.
'A call, invitation, convocation... ; invitation to a repast or feast; fare, repast, feast, banquet; invocation (of spirits), exorcism; —pretension, claim'.
| References | |
|---|---|
| Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali | Ghazal# 190 |
| Raza, Kalidas Gupta | 301-02 |
| Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah | 284-286 |
| Hamid Ali Khan | Open Image |
It's been a while since I held a feast for the beloved's eyelashes, which had sent the fragments of the liver flying. Now again I am collecting those very pieces, and again I have the spirit for that very feast. A 'feast for the eyelashes' is an undesirable theme ; better than that is an 'adornment' [] of the eyelashes. That is, by the fragments of the liver it is intended again to make the eyelashes branches for your roses [of liver-fragments]. (263)
== Nazm page 263
He says, 'Again I sit picking over the fragments of the liver, which previously too I had already offered before the eyelashes of the beloved'. (321)
[Disagreeing with Nazm:] Janab [Nazm] Tabataba'i established no proof of his claim [about the undesirableness of 'feast for the eyelashes'], thus it would be no harm to disregard it.... When together with the eyelashes the quality of blood-drinking is common in the poetry of the elders, to say such a thing is to cast doubt, without reason, on the honored elders. (495)
On the structure of this ghazal as a kind of loosely 'continuous' one, see 233,1 .
Nazm seems to consider that this verse belongs in the category that I call 'grotesquerie'; though I'm not sure how much of an improvement his revision actually offers (assuming that I've understood it correctly). To me this verse is on the borderline; its visual imagery is grotesque but also somehow funny. The gross physical imagery doesn't distract us from the poetic effect, but instead helps to create it.
The lover is gathering up 'again' [] the old, pre-offered liver fragments, so as to arrange them enticingly (on a plate, like appetizers?) and spread them out once again before the beloved's eyelashes. Will the eyelashes skewer the fragments like shish-kabobs, or will they simply suck up the blood as if they were using straws on a thick drink? However we imagine it, the effect is engagingly weird; and we feel that the lover too is enjoying the humor of it (compare the similar extravagance in the second line of 233,5 ).
There's also the amusingly unappetizing idea of preparing for a lavish feast-- by collecting the leftovers from earlier lavish feasts. Yet what else can the poor lover do? He wants to offer his eyelash-guests their favorite food, and it's not as if he has a second liver that he can press into service. Besides, the eyelashes obviously didn't finish all the liver-fragments last time, so maybe by now they'll be hungry again and can be induced to have another go.
graphics/eyelashes.jpg