Verse 11x1821aa;Nniklaa


G5

In this meter the first long syllable may be replaced by a short; and the next-to-last long syllable may be replaced by two shorts.


1
look at the tumult of the disgrace of the heart-- that a single lament of ardor
2 a
was hidden in a hundred thousand veils/pardahs-- but {emerged / turned out to be} just as naked as ever
2 b
was hidden in a hundred thousand veils/pardahs-- but that very one {emerged / turned out to be} naked

'Cry, noise, outcry, exclamation, din, clamour, uproar, tumult, disturbance; renown'.
'Dishonoured, disgraced, infamous, ignominious; humiliated; open, notorious; accused; one held up to public view, as an example to deter'. (Steingass p.576)

References
Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali Ghazal# 6
Raza, Kalidas Gupta 320-322
Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah 33-34,36-37
Asi, Abdul Bari 54-55
Gyan Chand 70-72
Hamid Ali Khan Open Image

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 For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in 4,8x . For other examples of the use of 'naked' [], and discussion, see 6,1 . Obviously, nakedness is the opposite of being veiled, and of being in seclusion [], and of being hidden. And 'emerged' is how one leaves a state of veiling, or seclusion, or hiddenness; though can also mean 'turned out to be' (or 'emerged as'), which works as a perfect expression of surprise at such a change (from veiledness to exposure)-- or non-change (from nakedness to renewed nakedness). The clever use of is the icing on the cake. Literally of course it means 'that very one', as in (2b). But colloquially, it can also mean something like 'in that very same (naked) condition', as in (2a). Still, it's not hard to see why among 'nakedness' verses, 6,1 made it into the published divan , and this one didn't. This one has all the small pleasures of wordplay and clever multivalence, but none of the grand ones of astonishing meaning that are provided by {6,1}. graphics/heartveil.jpg