Ghazal 181, Verse 2

{181,2}*

dekho ai saakinaan-e ;xi:t:tah-e ;xaak
is ko kahte hai;N ((aalam-aaraa))ii

1) look, oh dwellers of the region of dust--
2) this is what they call 'world-adornment'!

Notes:

;xi:t:tah : 'A piece of ground (marked out), a plot of land; district, territory, region, country'. (Platts p.491)

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, 'Oh dwellers of the region of dust, look at the spectacle-- this is what they call the adorning of the whole world'. (263)

Bekhud Mohani:

Oh people of the world, look-- this is what they call the adorning of the world. (360)

Josh:

Oh people dwelling on the ground, look-- this is what they call adorning the world. (306)

FWP:

SETS == DEFINITION
SOUND EFFECTS: {26,7}

This whole ghazal has an unusual degree of internal coherence; for discussion, see {181,1}.

This verse strongly presupposes the prior presence of {181,1}, since otherwise the 'this' in the second line has no meaning; only through the previous verse do we know that it refers to the sudden onrush of spring.

The verse has notable sound effects: ;xi:t:tah-e ;xaak in the first line, with its scrapey consonants like clods of dirt, is contrasted with ((aalam-aaraa))ii in the second, with its mellifluous long vowels and sense of flowingness.