From: akash@brahms.udel.edu (Akash Sharma)
Subject: Re: Ghulam Ali-Hangam hai kyun...(Long!)
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 07:19:54 GMT

	Tushar did a pretty good job of explaining the ghazal.  I'll try to 
finish the job. (I say try because a piece of work like a good ghazal lends 
itself to different or even new interpretations all the time).  Anyway, I am
not too good with unix so my attribution is primitive.  But in this case, I 
think it does the job.

T:
	The first (er, second) couplet should be: 
	us mai se nahin matlab dil jis se ho begaana 	
	maksood hai us mai se dil hi mein jo ???????? hai 

A:	I am pretty sure that the word is "bikti" which in all the times that
I have listened to this ghazal makes sense to me.

T:
The next couplet should start: 
	sooraj mein lage dhabbaa, kudrat ke karishme hain 
although I am not too sure about "kudrat". Meaning: A spot across the sun
(eclipse?) is but another manifestation of nature (i.e of natural laws, not a
new miracle). [But when I say this] some people call me a kaafir. (Oh well,)
whatever Allah wishes. 
In my humble opinion, the poet is humorously saying how an immature
appreciation of the world makes people see "kaafir"-ness in the wrong things. 

A: The word "kudrat" means nature for sure.  In this context, it can be 
synonymous with God.

T:
The next almost certainly is: 
	naa tajrubaa-kaari se waa-iz ki ye baaten hain 	
	is rang ko kyaa jaane poochho to kabhi pee hain 
I don't know the exact meaning of tajrubaa-kaari, but here it means indulgence
(in drink). So the couplet means: The talk of the waa-iz (don't know for sure,
well, at least a wet-blanket anti-drink preachy guy) is because he hasn't
tried the stuff. What can he know about the the intoxication ("rang")? 
Again, peena has a double-layered meaning. 

A: Tajurbaa= Experience.  Naa tajurbaa-kari means "lack of experience." Waa-iz
is a Muslim priest.  ==> The priest talks in this way (against drinking) due 
to his lack of experience.  What does he know of this euphoria, ask him if he
has ever had a drink? (Digression: In Islam, alcohol is a no-no). But as Tushar
says, and I concur, double-layered meaning.

T:
Next: 	 	
	har zarraa chamakta hai anwaar-e-ilaahi se 	
	har saans ye kahti hai ham hai to khudaa bhi hai 
Meaning: Every grain of sand shines with the glory of the one God (Allah).
Every living breath says, if I am, so is Khudaa. (i.e. affirms (or proves) 
the existence of khudaa.) 

A: I want to leave this one alone.  It is the crux of the ghazal, and justies
the heretic behavior of the author/speaker.  Tushar is almost on the money.
Some knowledge of Islam and Sufism required for a TRUE understading (something
that I can not claim).

Well that's that.  I enjoyed this.  To all the new and not so new ghazal lovers
out there I just want to say--Don't be discouraged if a ghazal is hard to 
understand.  Keep listening to several of them.  Often the same words used in
a different way provide comprehension.  And, of course, keep such discussions 
going.
Akash
================================================================================akash@brahms.udel.edu		Thank you for making me suffer,
University of Delaware.		Out of that suffering has come all that I know.
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.misc