233_03

{233,3}*

phir va.z((a-e i;htiyaa:t se rukne lagaa hai dam
barso;N hu))e hai;N chaak-e garebaa;N kiye hu))e

1) from the style/situation of caution/circumspection, again the breath has begun to stop
2) years have occurred [since] having torn the collar

Notes:

va.z((a : 'Placing, fixing, laying, laying down, founding, establishing; making, forming, inventing; invention; --situation, position; disposition; nature, tenour; description, character, complexion; --condition, state; --appearance, form, guise; --gesture, action; --conduct, behaviour; --mode of living or acting; mode, manner, fashion; --operation, performance, procedure; --subtraction, deduction, abatement, retrenchment'. (Platts p.1175)

i;htiyaat : 'Caution, care, scrupulousness, attention, heed; vigilance; precaution; circumspection'. (Platts p.28)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

Nazm:

By 'situation/manner of caution' is meant, being cautious about bursting open the collar. That is, for years I haven't burst open the collar; for this reason, the breath is confined. (263)

== Nazm page 263

Bekhud Dihlavi:

He says, 'Through the restraint of madness the breath has again begun to be choked. Years have passed, and I haven't even torn open my collar!' (321)

Bekhud Mohani:

In this verse the word phir is extremely meaningful. This one word alone is a mirror of four things: (1) the time of the beginning of passion and ardor; (2) the time of incautiousnesses; (3) then, the time of caution; (4) then, the time of ardor for the renunciation of caution. (496)

FWP:

SETS
CHAK-E GAREBAN: {17,9}

On the structure of this ghazal as a kind of loosely 'continuous' one, see {233,1}.

Mad lovers tear open the necks of their kurtas because they're grief-stricken, or because they imagine themselves to be choking and need air, or simply because they're mad. For discussion and examples, see {17,9}.

This particular lover, however, has been driven to the deed not by the passions of madness but by the stress of sanity. For years he's been showing a va.z((a -- with its range of meanings (see the definition above) that includes possible pretense ('appearance, form, guise')-- of i;htiyaat ('caution, care, circumspection'), and he simply can't stand it any more. Maintaining this show of normalcy is beginning to suffocate him-- once again [phir]. This 'sanity' is-- once again-- driving him mad.

For more on the nuances of va.z((a-daarii , see {115,7}.