54_06x

{54,6x}

duur-uuftaadah-e chaman-e fikr hai asad
mur;G-e ;xayaal bulbul-e be-baal-o-par hai aaj

1) far-fallen from the garden of meditation/thought it is, Asad--
2) the bird of imagination/thought is a Nightingale without wing and feather, today

Notes:

uftaadah : 'Fallen, lying flat or horizontally; lying waste or untilled (land); poor, wretched, helpless: —s.f. Uncultivated land (but capable of cultivation)'. (Platts p.61)

fikr : 'Thought, consideration, reflection; deliberation, opinion, notion, idea, imagination, conceit'. (Platts p.783)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

Asi:

Oh Asad, today my bird of thought is lying fallen far from the garden of thought, and is in a state of having no wings and feathers. That is, today no reflection about any thought/idea can be done by me.

== Asi, p. 104

Zamin:

That is, today verses are not emerging the way they should.

== Zamin, p. 150

Gyan Chand:

If the Nightingale's wings and feathers would be plucked out, then he cannot fly; he cannot arrive at the garden. He will remain fallen far away. The condition of Asad's thought is just like this. He is helpless, he is 'cold', he cannot go as far as the garden of thought, he cannot compose poetry.

== Gyan Chand, p. 183

FWP:

SETS == POETRY

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 For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}.

The poet's creative imagination may be in a state of collapse-- but we notice that it's an unusual state-- it's temporary, it's only 'today'. This verse about what sounds like writer's block is a rare one. Far more often, Ghalib shows extravagant pride in his creative powers, as in {116,10}.

Compare Mir's very different vision of the 'garden of thought': M{431,7}.

Note for grammar fans: To spell uftaadah as uuftaadah is certainly convenient for purposes of scansion. It might be an archaism, like uudhar for udhar ; this would explain why the commentators haven't taken note of it.