Verse 11x1821uudthaa
G3
1
you collect [imperative] a 'whole-world' of {odds-and-ends / bric-a-brac} of desire; for I
2 a
was an amazement-merchandiser in the world/condition of loss and profit
2 b
was an amazement-decoration of the world/condition of loss and profit
'What is collected hence and thence, anything picked up here and there; trifles, things of no value; household furniture; merchandize, goods, stuff; silken cloth; fine linen; close or thick texture (in cloth, paper, &c.); --breeding, manners'.
'Perturbation and stupor (of mind), astonishment, amazement, consternation'.
'Merchandise; goods, chattels, furniture; clothes, effects; utensils; valuables'.
| References | |
|---|---|
| Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali | Ghazal# 4 |
| Raza, Kalidas Gupta | 318 |
| Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah | 29 |
| Asi, Abdul Bari | 51-52 |
| Gyan Chand | 65-67 |
| Hamid Ali Khan | Open Image |
You are the one who must collect the equipment of desire, and you're welcome to it! Because since I came into the world, a state of amazement has dominated me. For this reason, in concern about loss and gain I have remained amazed, with my head spinning. And I was able to do nothing at all.
== Asi, p. 52
Oh companion/rival, oh addressee! You are busy in collecting the world, so go on with it, but excuse me from all this! From this world of loss and profit, where people experience benefit and harm, for me nothing but a wealth of amazement came to hand. That is, in my view both gain and loss here are trifling/unworthy, and I am amazed that people consider the gain of such an unreal thing to be a cause of happiness, and its loss to be a cause of grief. This verse should not have been omitted, but he omitted it.
== Zamin, p. 30
= that person whose property/goods would be only amazement; that is, 'amazed'. Oh addressee! you alone must collect, with desire, the wealth and property of the world. I, having seen the business of the world of profit and loss, remained absorbed in amazement. Because ultimately all this property will take its leave, and there will be nothing but loss/harm.
== Gyan Chand, p. 66
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 For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in 4,8x .
On the construction, see 11,1 . On see 51,9x . In addition, the unusual word deserves credit as a ' fresh word '; this is its only occurrence in the published divan .
Once we recognize that must be read as a noun compound or 'reversed ', a number of doors open. For one thing, why must it mean a person whose merchandise or property consists of amazement, as in Gyan Chand's reading (2a)? It could also mean an item of merchandise characterized somehow by the quality of amazement (2b).
Then that second reading also connects elegantly with the first line: the speaker in effect urges the addressee to buy him at a flea market. The world of profit and loss contains what might be called a 'loss leader': an unusual item of bric-a-brac that epitomizes or evokes 'amazement'. You, the addressee, can get it cheap, so why not take advantage of the chance, and stock up?
And the 'odds and ends of desire'-- are these odds and ends that themselves contain or epitomize (the speaker's?) desire? Or are they odds and ends that are necessary for the creation or expression of desire? Or are they odds and ends for which the addressee has at least some desire? That, after all, might be a reason for stocking up on them. The works its magic very powerfully in this verse.
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