170_01

{170,1}

aa kih mirii jaan ko qaraar nahii;N hai
:taaqat-e be-daad-e inti:zaar nahii;N hai

1) come, for my life does not have stability/peace
2) there is not strength/endurance for the injustice/cruelty of waiting

Notes:

qaraar : 'Dwelling, residence; fixing (one's) abode (in), settling; resting; fixedness, fixity; permanence; consistency; stability, firmness, constancy; tenacity (of purpose); —rest, repose, quietness, quiet, peace, tranquillity; quietude, patient waiting, patience'. (Platts p.789)

:taaqat : 'Ability to accomplish, capability; ability, power, energy, force, strength; ability to endure, power of endurance, endurance, patience'. (Platts p.750)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

Nazm:

If he had said 'come quickly' instead of merely 'come', then it would have been better; but there was no scope in the scansion [vazan]. (191)

== Nazm page 191

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, 'Come, and come quickly, for my miserable life has no endurance and stability left. Now I have no strength left to endure the cruelty of waiting.' (246)

Bekhud Mohani:

[Disagreeing with Nazm:] My opinion is there isn't as much of, and as refined/subtle, a meaning in 'come quickly', as is present in that simple 'come'. (333)

FWP:

SETS

I think that Nazm is just being persnickety, and that Bekhud Mohani is right; in this case, any metrical difficulties could easily have been overcome. The radical simplicity of the verse goes well with the simple, inshaa))iyah imperative, 'come', in the first line.

The speaker is presenting the case so starkly because it's too late for him to worry about any other kinds of 'injustice, cruelty' or sadistic flirtation the beloved might have in mind. The lover's hold on life is so tenuous that 'waiting' itself is more 'cruelty' than he can bear. It's too late for embroidering the truth, or for elaborating his complaints and protestations. There's so little time left that she should just 'come'.