qa:t((a-e safar-e hastii-o-aaraam-e fanaa hech
raftaar nahii;N beshtar az la;Gzish-e paa hech
1) the traversing of the journey of existence, and the repose of death/oblivion-- it's nothing!
2) moving along is not better/more than a slip of the foot-- it's nothing!
qa:t((a : 'Cutting; a cutting, section; intersection; a segment; a portion, division; a breaking off; intercepting; traversing or passing over (a road, &c.); cut, shape, form, make, fashion, style; stamp; model'. (Platts p.793)
hech : 'Not any, none, no; nothing; — worthless, good-for-nothing; — shallow, superficial; — a mere trifle; — adv. Never; at no rate, on no account at all'. (Platts p.1244)
hech : 'Nothing; a mere trifle; lost, annihilated; never, at no rate, on no account at all'. (Steingass p.1520)
raftaar : 'Going, motion, walk, gait, pace; procedure, manner of proceeding'. (Platts p.595)
beshtar : 'More, most; better; exceeding; — mostly, for the most part, usually, generally; rather'. (Platts p.209)
la;Gzish : 'Slipping, sliding; stumbling, falling; shaking, tottering, trembling; a slip, slide, &c.'. (Platts p.958)
That is, effort and striving is nothing at all more than a slipping of the foot; then, as is the traversing of the road of life, so is the repose in the halting-place of death/oblivion.
In this whole ghazal the poet is disaffected with everything worldly and non-worldly. He considers both life and nonexistence to be nothing. To traverse the journey of life is nothing; and after this journey, the repose of death too is nothing. Moving along has no more significance than an accidental slip of the foot, and this is absolutely nothing. That is, mankind has no profit from the journey of life or the actions of life, nor are they worth being proud of.
SETS
EXISTENCE/NONEXISTENCE: {5,3}
For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.
This is one of only a handful of ghazals for which Faruqi has judged every verse to be notable, so that he's really endorsed the whole ghazal.
In its internal coherence and negativity, this ghazal is like the later {127} on steroids. For while {127} is anti-social, advocating a solitary life and death in the wilderness, the present ghazal is anti-everything, so that it really cannot find anything to prefer over anything else. It seems to be a 'continuous ghazal' [;Gazal-e musalsal]; see {280x,4}, which hardly makes sense unless the subject is imported from a previous verse.
We could read beshtar (see the definition above) either as 'better' (walking along is no better than stumbling), or as 'more' (walking is no more than stumbling). In such a cosmically negative verse, it hardly seems to make much difference which we choose.
We could also associate the 'traversing of the journey of existence' in the first line with 'moving along' in the second line, and the 'repose of death' in the first line with the 'slip of the foot' in the second line. Whether or not we do, in the hyper-negative context of thi ghazal there's not much interpretive benefit to be had.
Still, the verse has a considerable punch of energy and even, paradoxically, a certain vitality and relish. The speaker is really venting! Doesn't it make you eager to see the next verse?
Asi:
Whether you would travel through the valley of existence, or would rest in the palace of oblivion, both these things are useless and trifling. If you want to know the truth, then no gait is any better than a slip of the foot. By 'slip of the foot', existence is meant.
== Asi, p. 107