===
1201,
7
===

 

{1201,7}

kyaa parii-;xvaa;N hai jo raato;N ko jagaa de hai miir
shaam se dil jigar-o-jaan jalaataa hai miyaa;N

1) what conjurer/'Pari-summoner' is it, who in the nights awakens one, Mir?!
2) since evening, he has been burning heart, liver, and life, sir

 

Notes:

parii-;xvaa;N : 'One who holds the fairies and genn in subjection, or who has them at his call; a magician'. (Platts p.258)

 

;xvaa;N : 'Reading, reciting, singing, chanting; —reader, reciter; chanter, &c. (used in comp)'. (Platts p.495)

 

miyaa;N : 'An address expressive of kindness, or respect; Sir! good Sir! good man; master'. (Platts p.1103)

S. R. Faruqi:

A parii-;xvaa;N is a person who performs the feat of conjuring-- that is, a person who seeks out an agent of some form/shape in order to achieve his purpose. It is also a person who, by means of some action, subdues a Jinn or a Pari. In the light of this second meaning the verse becomes even more enjoyable, because now the interpretation is that Mir, who even in the evening begins to burn his liver, heart, and life (that is, to mourn and to lament), does this because he feels passion for someone. The beloved is also called a Pari.

Since in the act of conjuring or 'Pari-summoning' various kinds of perfumes are burned, and in some actions lamps too are lighted, the theme of the burning of heart, liver, and life becomes the bearer of more pleasure.

Nasikh too has well used the theme of Pari-summoning, but in his verse there's no additional theme of burning and causing to burn. Though indeed, there's certainly mention of a 'form/shape':

mi;T ga))e naqsh-e ;hayaat aur use taa;siir nahii;N
ai parii-;xvaa;N yih parii-zaado;N kii tas;xiir nahii;N

[the shape/form of life has been erased, and it had no effect--
oh Pari-summoner, this is not the subduing of Parizads!]

Nisar Ahmad Faruqi takes the view that in the second line dil is the agent, and it's the 'heart' that burns the 'liver and life'; and in the first line parii-;xvaa;N refers to the heart. Although this reading is not very good, it can be accepted as one reading (not the only reading).

FWP:

SETS == KYA; SUBJECT?
MOTIFS == LIVER
NAMES == PARI
TERMS

The 'kya effect' is beautifully activated here:

=What a Pari-summoner he is, who... !
=As if it's a Pari-summoner who... ! (It's not, of course; the lover does it all himself.)
=Is it a Pari-summoner who... ?

There's also a notable uncertainty about the speaker. The speaker could be 'Mir', who complains to himself about some Pari-summoner who has been both waking him in the nights, and also burning his heart, liver, and life even before he goes to sleep. Or the speaker could be some close friend (or neighbor) who inquires from Mir by addressing him directly (in which case the subject in the second line could be either 'you' in the intimate form, or the 'Pari-summoner'). Or, on Nisar Ahmad Faruqi's reading, it could be the 'heart' that's the Pari-summoner and the subject in the second line (in which case the speaker of the verse remains unspecified).

The disjunction between 'in the nights' in the first line, and 'since evening' in the second line, also calls attention to itself. Does it mean that things are worsening now (what used to happen only in the nights, now begins earlier)? Or does it mark two different agents (the Pari-summoner in the nights, Mir himself in the evening)? This extra little source of ambiguity redoubles all the other uncertainties; it makes one's head spin. How did Mir come up with these deft little tricks? (And how does he continue to make us sit still for them?)

Note for translation fans: Another case of 'since' and its quite different treatment in Urdu and English; on this see {28,5}.