Verse 5x1816aanah maa;Ng


G3

1 a
I am a distance-wanderer of the breadth of the practices of humility
1 b
I am a distance-wanderer [=far away] from the presentation of the practices of humility
2
consider me an enemy, but don't ask for the glance/gaze of a friend/familiar

'Distant, remote, far... at a distance, a long way off; —s.f. Distance, remoteness (= ); — adv. Far, afar, far away, to a distance, beyond'.
'Going round, revolving; traversing, travelling or wandering over, or through, or in (used as last member of compounds)... —s.f. Dust; —the globe; —fortune'.
'Presenting or representing; representation, petition, request, address; — ... s.m. Breadth, width'.
'Customs, usages, &c.; allowance; established fees, dues, duties, taxes, perquisites'.
'Petition, supplication, prayer; —inclination, wish, eager desire, longing; need, necessity; indigence, poverty; —a gift, present; —an offering, a thing dedicated; —assignment of revenue for the relief of the indigent'.
'Acquaintance; friend; associate; intimate friend, familiar; lover, sweetheart; paramour; mistress, concubine; —adj. Acquainted ... , knowing, known; attached (to), fond (of)'.

References
Arshi, Imtiyaz Ali Ghazal# 79
Raza, Kalidas Gupta 194-95
Nuskhah-e-Hamidiyah 130-131
Asi, Abdul Bari 146-148
Gyan Chand 240-242
Hamid Ali Khan Open Image

For background see S. R. Faruqi's choices . For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in 4,8x . Thanks to all the constructions , that first line is so abstract as to be almost opaque. But the after gives us two general ways in which to read the line: (1a) 'I am a distance-wanderer "of" the practices of humility' (that is, the speaker remains far from her because this is his duty as a properly submissive lover); or (1b) 'I am a distance-wanderer (far away) "from" the practices of humility' (that is, the speaker is a far-ranging ascetic and won't consent to humbly join her social circle). On as 'to consider', see 90,3 . graphics/wanderer.jpg