Ghazal 5, Verse 7x

{5,7x}

;xaan-maan-e ((aashiqaa;N duukaan-e aatish-baaz hai
shu((lah-ruu jab ho ga))e garm-e tamaashaa jal gayaa

1) the household of lovers is the shop of a fireworks-maker
2) when the flame-faced one became eager/'hot' for a spectacle, it burned up

Notes:

khaan-maan : 'House and home, household furniture, everything belonging to the house; household, family'. (Platts p.486)

 

jalnaa : 'To burn; to be burnt; to be on fire; to be kindled, be lighted; to be scorched, be singed; to be inflamed, to be consumed; to be touched, moved, or affected (with pity, &c.); to feel pain, sorrow, anguish, &c.; to burn or be consumed with love, or jealousy, or envy, &c.; to take amiss, be offended, be indignant; to get into a passion, be enraged, to rage'. (Platts p.387)

 

jal jaanaa : '(intens.) To be burnt up, be consumed (with, - se )'. (Platts p.387)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

Zamin:

There's nothing difficult about the meaning; when fireworks are lit, they burst into flame. In the same way, where some beautiful one would come before some worshiper of beauty and would extend her hand-- it's all over. Household, honor, reputation, sense of shame-- everything has been torched.

== Zamin, p. 75

Gyan Chand:

In the shop of a fireworks-maker, if a spark would be touched to it, then everything will explode at once. The state of the property and wealth of lovers too is just like this. The beautiful ones cast a glance in their direction-- and everything burned. It's not as if it would burn by itself! Having fallen into the snare of beautiful ones, the lover himself will become a destroyed house and household.

== Gyan Chand, p. 110

FWP:

SETS == WORDPLAY
TAMASHA: {8,1}

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 For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}.

It's preeminently a verse of wordplay, with an extravagant way of 'reactivating' petrified metaphors. To call the beloved a 'flame-faced one' is unsurprising, and to speak of her as being 'hot' or enthusiastic for something is also absolutely commonplace. But then to turn her into a lighted match, and the lover's world into a fireworks-shop, is something new and enjoyable.

Did the lover's fireworks-shop make itself available on purpose to be set on fire by the beloved, in order to humor her desire for a spectacle? Or was the great explosion an accident-- the beloved just came for a tour of the shop, but then things got out of control? Either way, the result must certainly have entertained her. Another such attempt at entertainment, though a much less successful one, is reported in {5,5}.

Also, what wonderful alif and nuun effects in the first line! It's truly fun to recite.

Note for meter fans: duukaan is a variant spelling of dukaan ; it accommodates the meter.

 

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