0977_01

{977,1}

kartā hai kab sulūk vuh ahl-e niyāz se
guftār us kī kubr se raftār nāz se

1) when does she use civility/kindness toward the people of humility/need?!
2) her conversation-- with pride/haughtiness; her movement/manner-- with coquetry

Notes:

sulūk : 'Civility, attention, kindness; intercourse, amicable intercourse or footing, good terms or understanding (with); cessation of hostilities, peace'. (Platts p.670)

niyāz : 'Petition, supplication, prayer; —inclination, wish, eager desire, longing; need, necessity; indigence, poverty'. (Platts p.1164)

kubr : 'Greatness, grandeur; nobility, eminence; pride, haughtiness'. (Platts p.809)

raftār : 'Going, motion, walk, gait, pace; procedure, manner of proceeding'. (Platts p.595)

nāz : 'Blandishment, coquetry, playfulness, amorous playfulness, feigned disdain; dalliance, toying; fondling, coaxing, soothing or endearing expression; —pride, conceit, consequential airs, whims; ... nāz-o-niyāz : Blandishments, &c.'. (Platts p.1114)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

S. R. Faruqi:

The theme of the opening-verse is nothing special, though indeed the word sulūk has worked well here. The structure of the second line is loose/limp. Thus although the opening-verse is by way of introduction, it's also not entirely devoid of pleasure.

FWP:

SETS
MOTIFS == SPEAKING
NAMES
TERMS

In the ghazal world nāz (the beloved's archetypal trait) and niyāz (the lover's archetypal trait) are opposites (see the definitions above). But of course they sound so irresistibly good together that they've also become a conjoined pair, nāz-o-niyāz , with the meaning basically of nāz (see the definition above). That interplay between the conjoinedness and the oppositeness is certainly a part of the (limited) pleasure of the verse.