asad arbaab-e fi:trat qadr-daan-e laf:z-o-ma((nii hai;N
su;xan kaa bandah huu;N lekin nahii;N mushtaaq ta;hsii;N kaa
1) Asad, the possessors/'lords' of 'temperament' are judges/connoisseurs of word and meaning
2) I am a slave/'bondman' of poetry/speech, but I am not ardent/eager for applause/praise
fi:trat : 'Creation; production; — the natural constitution, or nature, or form (with which one is created); — nature, constitution; natural disposition or temper; a natural or innate quality or property; idiosyncrasy; — wisdom, sagacity, shrewdness, skill, ingenuity; astuteness, cunning; deceit, trick, artifice, device, plan, scheme, plot, intrigue, machination, stratagem'. (Platts p.782)
qadr-daan : 'Knowing the worth or value (of), appreciating; — one who knows the worth (of), a just appreciator, a judge; a patron'. (Platts p.788)
bandah : 'Slave, bondman, servant; humble servant (a term used by a speaker of himself, when addressing a superior)'. (Platts p.170)
Ghalib says that 'I am certainly a poet, but I am not a seeker of praise for my poetry from every Tom, Dick, and Harry, because those who are connoisseurs of poetry spontaneously {give praise / do justice} to good poetry'.
By 'possessors of temperament' is meant those people whose temperament is poetic. The poet has counted himself among them. Oh Asad, the possessors of temperament judge/evaluate words and meanings. I too am a madman for words and meanings. I am a servant/slave of poetry, I am not eager for praise and applause. Whether anyone would esteem me or not, I have the temperament of/for poetry; thus I will keep on doing poetry.
For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.
The intriguing question is, who are the arbaab-e fi:trat , and what is Asad's relationship to them? The word fi:trat itself (see the definition above) is delightfully multivalent, ranging from the admirable ('wisdom, sagacity') through the neutral ('nature, quality') to the undesirable ('deceit, trick').
It's thus easy to imagine that the first line might be sarcastic, a kind of sneer at people who fancy themselves great connoisseurs and set themselves up as literary judges. Naturally Asad would not be eager for such people's praise. For there's a notable opposition between the 'lords' of judgment in the first line, and Asad as a 'bound' slave of poetry in the second line. Do these 'lords' arrogantly privilege their own 'poetic' temperaments, while Asad humbly lives in servitude not to his own ego but to 'poetry' itself?
But then, it's also easy to imagine that these might be genuine connoisseurs, and that Asad would value their unspoken, spontaneous good opinion rather than fatuous 'praise' from people in general, as Zamin maintains. Or he might even count himself among them, as Gyan Chand proposes. In that case, is Asad cool toward praise in general? And how are we to interpret that 'but'-- does it suggest that other slaves of poetry are in fact eager for praise?
This is the kind of verse that at first seems like nothing much, but then keeps opening out into more and more dimensions.
Asi:
Oh Asad, the people of the world are judges of word and meaning. From my heart I am a slave [;Gulaam] of poetry; but I am not ardent for dignity/pomp and pride/arrogance, and this does not please me.
== Asi, pp. 83-84