Verse 9x1821aakaa
G9
In this meter the next-to-last long syllable may be replaced by two shorts.
1
my containment/inclusion is in the restlessness/vexation of every single heart
2
I am the claim/meaning/object of the agitation-letter of longing
'Comprehending, containing, surrounding on all sides; inclusion, comprehension, comprisal; the whole, gross, aggregate'.
'Twisting and twining; convolution, twisting knots, folds; contortions; restlessness, anxiety, agitation, perplexity, disquietude, distraction, distress; vexation, anger, indignation'.
'Asserted as a claim, claimed, sued for; alleged; pretended; meant; --what is claimed, or alleged, or pretended, or meant; desire, wish; suit; meaning, object, view; scope, tenor, drift'.
'Heat, warmth; distress (esp. that caused by heat); affliction; agitation; palpitation'.
'A letter, writing, epistle; a record, written document; a work, treatise, book; history; a deed'.
| References | |
|---|---|
| Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali | Ghazal# 14 |
| Raza, Kalidas Gupta | 326 |
| Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah | 57-58 |
| Gyan Chand | 91-92 |
| Hamid Ali Khan | Open Image |
= That writing in which would be entered the state of restlessness that would have arisen in the condition of the longing of the heart. That is, the restlessnesses and agitations that arise in hearts from the movement of longing-- I am the product of the book that can exist on the subject. Thus I am contained/comprised within the restlessness of every heart. The idea is that my restlessness equals the restlessness of the whole world.
== Zamin, p. 56
../apparatus/txt_sets.html If in this verse there had been and , then the meaning would have become very clear. In the present situation, it is presumably that I am embodied passion. Passion is included in the writhing of every heart; thus I am a necessary part of the writhing of every man's heart. When someone expresses the restlessness of his longings in the form of a letter, then its essential, fundamental virtue/temper will be myself alone, because I alone am the perfect example of the restlessness of the longing of passion.
This verse can also be taken with regard to the Divine. If like 'I am the Truth/God' [as said by Mansur there would be the feeling of 'I am the Beloved', then I alone will be in every heart and every letter of passion!
== Gyan Chand, p. 92
../apparatus/txt_sets.html 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 .
Well, there are plenty of words, but hardly any wordplay, or vivid meaning-play either. Rather, there are unevocative, visually inactive abstractions piled on each other in big heaps.
The lover seems to have actually become the essence of passion, as Gyan Chand observes; he seems to have melted completely into the emotions and agitations and longing-expressions of the whole world. Well, okay, but where's the kicker? Why would anybody say when they heard this one?
Compare a very much better 'grandiosity' verse, 62,8 , which has lively action, vivid imagery, and a self-mocking sense of humor. By comparison, what does the present verse have?
graphics/heartrestless.jpg