Na tha kuch to khuda tha…
In the last few days, I’ve found this new fixation with Ghalib’s poetry. It was just an accident that my music player happened to play one of his ghazals and a sudden interest was generated. I’ve been listening to a number of his ghazals ever since. And this one the most….
Each word of this ghazal seems to be our lives and how we think. I am about to attempt not just to translate but also interpret his poetry and relate them to our life (mine at least).
Na tha kuch to khuda tha…Na hota kuch to khuda hota…
Duboya mujh ko hone ne…Na hota main to kya hota…
The classic translation and interpretation that you might read for this verse is “when there was nothing in this world…there was God and if there was to be nothing in this world then also there would have been God.”
My interpretation though is slightly different, for me this verse means,
“When I was nothing I had my God and my faith…and if I had not achieved anything then also I would have had my God and my faith…
The desire of being something and achieving something has become the cause of all my suffering…though it wouldn’t have mattered if I wasn’t anyone or anything…”
This ghazal was written in his older days, while he looks back at his life and all that he has given up to be what he wanted to be. And he realizes that he gave up too much to get what he wanted and still probably hasn’t got what he was looking for.
Isn’t it true for all of us; the desire of success is the coz of all suffering (stress, poor relationships, poor health and anything that we suffer from), and yet one day you might realize that it hardly makes a difference what you have achieved coz what really matters is happiness.
Possessed by blind ambition we are willing to do anything to be successful just to realize that in the end all you need is your God and faith.
Hua jab gham se yun behis to gham kya sarr ke katne ka…
Na hota garr juda tann se to zanno pe dhara hota….
My translation of the above verse is “when one decides to befriend pain and misery like in love then one shouldn’t be afraid of dying (by being beheaded)…
Coz if you were left to live…then your head would have merely been on your lap while you sobbed for your love…”
Hui muddatt ki Ghalib marr gaya magar yaad aata hai…
Woh harr ek baat pe kehna yun hota to kya hota…
This is my favorite verse from this ghazal. The “What ifs” of life, “yun hota to kya hota..”.
Ghalib here is used as a metaphor for not just people but also for incidents in our lives.
My interpretation “even after ages of something that happens in ones life we keep thinking about the What if…
What if I had done so…What if I had not…
What if I said so…what if I had not…
We keep imagining how our lives would be different if we would have done certain things differently, clearly forgetting that while thinking about the “what if”, what you have is just passing you by…”
Pallavi this awesome.. I have heard this Ghazal several time but this interpretation is surely different.. keep sharing girl.. good one..
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I love what you write. Your previous blogs have been riveting too.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Your interpretation of the first verse has given my love for this piece a whole new meaning!
ReplyDeleteI am blessed that i had the oppertunity to read this.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts were along similar lines.when "I" wasnt " I" was God.If "I" werent "I" wud be God.my being spoiled everything.my being was my ego and its the ego which destroyed me.
I have a different take on this one -
ReplyDeleteI think Ghalib is mocking the concept of God, that we humans have invented this concept that God was before time and is eternal. He says that what if we humans themselves were not there, then would GOD still have been there??
Wow, excellent take.
Deletehi.. i stumbled upon your blog while doing some research on ghalib as i am trying to do some interpretations myself and i quite enjoyed reading your interpretations! cheers!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
ReplyDelete“When I was nothing I had my God and my faith…and if I had not achieved anything then also I would have had my God and my faith… Really nice thought out of Box....... Divine.........
ReplyDeleteIt actually means "before creation I was (part of) God.and if I wern't created I would be (part of) God . My creation belittled me.Had I not been I would still be God.
ReplyDeleteVery divine indeed
😊👏👏
Deletemy eternal fixation with this verse remains unchanged..
ReplyDeleteThis Ghazal has been part of my soul, even if my interpretation was different to yours. But i liked your view and it makes this ghazal even ore special.
ReplyDeleteInteresting because I interpreted one of the verses to mean--- if My spirit had not been separated from my body then even now poetry would cut the soul with a knife edge sharpness
ReplyDeleteA very interesting perspective, however I feel the second sher "Hua jab gham se ......zanno pe dhara" does not go with the flow of the ghazal and should have some deep thought connected with it.
ReplyDeleteEach time you read these lines, thousands of other lines runs through you mind, is not it? Wonderful, the way you have your thoughts put down here. I have a request for you, if you could please write a blog on the Ghazal 'Mein Hawan Hoon Kahan Watan Mera'.. Thanks..
ReplyDeleteI guess this is the evidence of Ghalib being a legend. For centuries, people will keep trying to interpret meanings from his verses which he so simplistically blurted out in moments of pain and misery.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best interpretations I have come across ...
ReplyDeletewao amazing...its my one of favourite ghazal ever, and thisinterpretation is also amazing. the way you put your thoughts and feelings in this is fabulous.. stay blessed.
ReplyDeleteGood interpretation, thou thoroughly expressive
ReplyDelete