Ghazal 361x, Verse 5

Zamin:

The continuation of movement creates the aspect of a 'stretch/yawn'-- with regard to yawning, which the poet construes as 'the stretch/yawn of movement'. He has called the gait a 'lesson' because of its prolonged pace, the way in studying the reading/recitation is prolonged. Then he has made for this lesson of movement, or stretch/yawn of moving along, the metaphor of a wave, because a wave has the aspect of a stretch/yawn. And he has called the wave a 'wave of wine' because by 'gait/movement' is meant the gait/movement of coquetry; and the special feature of the practice of coquetry is that it would make the possessor of the coquetry intoxicated.

After this, he says that the wine of gait/movement that you have considered to be a reason for arrogance and self-intoxication-- you also know that its cup/measure is the footprint, and you also know how long is the lifespan of a footprint. When a single gust of wind comes-- not a trace of the footprint!

The addressee of the verse is not some beloved, nor does 'gait' refer to the gait of a beloved. Rather, those people are addressed who spend their lives in the push and pull, the to-ing and fro-ing, of the pursuit of worldly gain; and who consider that to be the means for a life of pleasure and ease; and who, if they would be vouchsafed some worldly wealth, plume themselves upon it and strut around.

== Zamin, p. 409

Gyan Chand:

Oh heedless one, you want to teach the method of the gait-- but for how long will that one who shows the decline of intoxication, maintain the stretch/yawn of movement? The beloved's gait is like a wave of wine, for which the footprint is the cup/measure. One receives a cup-- then intoxication will come into the gait, and there will be a similarity with the beloved's movement. There is no need to specify the addressee of the verse.

== Gyan Chand, p. 409

FWP:

SETS
WARNINGS: {15,15}
WINE: {49,1}

For more on Ghalib's unpublished verses, see the discussion in {4,8x}. See also the overview index.

The 'lesson of gait/movement' turns out to be, basically, 'how long?'. The 'stretch, yawn' is associated with intoxication (on ;xamyaazah see {12,2}); then, ravaanii has the sense of fluent movement, of flowingness. The luxury of yawning, of stretching out, of being intoxicated, of moving easily and freely-- for 'how long' will it last?

The second line warns us that for this intoxicatedly free movement, this 'wave of wine', the proper 'cup', paimaanah , is a footprint. A footprint is round-ish like a cup; a deep footprint might actually hold a bit of wine. Or alternatively, if we want to answer the question 'how long?', then the gracefully intoxicated gait finds its proper 'measure', paimaanah , of duration in a footprint.

A footprint is itself the sign of someone's earlier movement; As a 'cup' the footprint doesn't hold very much, and as a 'measure' it doesn't last very long. The footprint can be destroyed by a single gust of wind, as Zamin points out-- or by rain, or by another footprint, or even simply by the passing of time.

Compare {360x,3}, in which the dars-e ;xiraam and the naqsh-e paa are taken in quite a different direction.

The classic 'wave of wine' is of course found in {49}, and is discussed in {49,1};