Mere humnafas mere humnava

Today we translate arguably the most popular ghazal by 'Shakeel' Badayuni.  We try to give an interpretative translation to it.

We think that the ghazal is written in a state of love, so tender, that any intended help or favor in any amount would be insufficiently relieving.  If this ghazal is to be condensed in one phrase, akin to a nyāyā, it would be the very perceptively chosen phrase, 'nawaazish-e-mukhtsar'.

The poet is so wary of everyone whom he considers his own, even the person he loves, that he is requesting them to not help him.


Mere humnafas mere humnava mujhe dost banke dagha na de,
Mein hoon dard-e-ishq se jaan ba-lab, mujhe zindagi ki duaa na de

My dear, please don't deceive me by being my 'friend',

I am overwhelmed by the travails of love, don't pray for a longer life for me.

[ The couplet needs to be interpreted by considering the poet's state of mind.  He thinks that he cannot bear any more pain of living. ]

Mere daagh-e-dil se hai raushani, isi raushani se hai zindagi,
Mujhe dar hai ai mere chaaraghar, ye charaag tu hi bujha na de

The pain in my heart brightens my life,

I am afraid, that by relieving the pain you'd bring the darkness again.

[ Again we observe the confusion in the poet's mind, that he's started thinking that pain is the normal state of affairs.  We're reminded of Ghalib's famous:

Nazar lage na kahin unke dasht-o-baazoo ko, 

Kyon ye log mere zakhm-o-jigar ko dekhte hein.

I am afraid that the eyes of people who look at the hurts my beloved gave me,

Would cast an evil eye on her hands.]

Mujhe chodh de mere haal par, tera kya bharosa hai chaaraaghar,
Ye teri nawaazish-e-mukhtsar mera dard aur badhaa na den

Please leave me by myself, dear friend,

Your insufficient attempts at comforting me would make my pain worse.

[ This, in our opinion, is the pièce de résistance of this Ghazal.  If we were to imagine a book by God that contains the most exquisite poetic excerpt, like what Erdős must have imagined about proofs when he spoke about 'Proofs from the book', this couplet would be there.  ]

Mera azm itna buland hai, ke paraaye sholo ka dar nahin,
Mujhe khauf aatish-e-gul se hai, ye kahin chaman ko jalaan na den

My determination would not let the others hurt me,

But I am afraid of the people who are my own. 

Wo uthe hein leke, khum-o-subu, arey ai Shakeel kahan hai tu,
Tera jaam lene ko bazm mein, koi aur haath badha na de.

The cup-bearer just got up with the wine and goblet, Shakeel, where are you?

I fear that someone else would take the drink which is meant for you. 

[ If we were to make a metaphorical interpretation of this couplet, and substitute the beloved for cup-bearer, we'd have a more succulent interpretation. ]

In the end, we couldn't imagine the lyrics without the renditions of Beghum Akhtar and Farida Khanum:

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