Baazicha-e-atfaal hai duniya mere aage

It is unfortunate that most desi folks listen to gazals without understanding most of the meaning of the words.  Mirza Ghalib wrote at a time (the era of the last mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah) when Urdu poetry was a widely appreciated artform.  Ghalib's urdu is heavily infused with Farsi - which at that time was at its ebb, and had been reduced to the confines of literary circles.

Here is an explanation of this beautiful ghazal by Mirza Ghalib.  Knowing the meaning of the words will help you enjoy the lyrics.

Baazeechaa-e-atfaal hai duniya mere aage

Hota hai shab-o-roz tamaasha mere aage

बाजीचा-ए-अतफ़ाल है दुनिया मेरे आगे

होता है शब्-औ-रोज़ तमाशा मेरे आगे 

 the world in front of my eyes is like a kid’s game.

Day and night I watch its ‘show’

(Baazee – game; Bazeecha – small game; atfaal – juvenile; duniya – world; shab-o-roz – night and day;  tamasha – show)

Ik khel hai aurang-e-sulemaan mere nazdeek

Ik baat hai 'eijaz-e-maseeha mere aage

इक खेल है औरंग-ए-सुलेमान मेरे नज़दीक

एक बात है एजाज़-ए-मसीहा मेरे आगे 

Literal: 

The throne of Solomon (King) is trivial (game:Khel) in my view

The mention of the miracles of the Messiah are idle talk to me.

Figurative:

Power of Kings and miracles of godmen do not impress me

Juz naam naheen soorat-e-aalam mujhe manzoor

Juz waham naheen hastee-e-ashiya mere aage

जुज़ नाम नहीं सूरत-ए-आलम मुझे मंज़ूर

जुज़ वहम नहीं हस्ती-ए-आशियाँ मेरे आगे 

(Juz - without; aalam - creator; hasti-e-aashiya - existence of the world)

Without a name to it, I cannot accept a faceless creator.

To me, the existence of all objects isn’t separate from an illusion

Hota hai nihaan gard mein sehara mere hote

Ghisata hai jabeen khaak pe dariya mere aage

होता है निहाँ गर्द में सहरा मेरे होते

घिसता है ज़बीं ख़ाक पे दरिया मेरे आगे 

(gard- dust; sahra - desert; zabin - forehead; khak - dirt)

 My anguish envelopes the entire desert (??)

The sea smashes its forehead on the sands of the shore (breaking of waves)

Mat pooch ke kya haal hai mera tere peeche

Tu dekh ke kya rang tera mere aagay

मत पूछ के क्या हाल है तेरा मेरे पीछे

तू देख के क्या रंग है तेरा मेरे आगे 

Don’t ask me how I am faring since you left

Instead, focus on your own ways since you left me

Sach kahte ho, khudbeen-o-khud_aaraa na kyon hoon?

baitha hai but-e-aainaa_seemaa mere aage

सच कहते हो खुदबीन और खुदआरा न क्यों हूँ

बैठा है बुत-ए-आइना सीमा मेरे आगे  

(khud-self; been-to see; but-idol; aainaa - mirror; seema - face/image)

Truthfully said, why shouldn't I hold myself with self pride,

My face in my mirror sits like an idol in front of me

Phir dekhiye andaaz-e-gul_afshaani-e-guftaar

Rakh de koee paimaanaa-o-sahba mere aage

फिर देखिये अंदाज़-ए-गुल, अफ्शानी-ए-गुफ्तार

रख दे कोई पैमाना-औ-सहबा मेरे आगे 

(andaaz - style; gul- flower; afshani - effusion; guftaar- conversation; paimana - shot glass; sahba-sheet of paper)

 To appreciate the flowery words and the effusiveness of conversation

Someone needs to place a glass and poetry in front of me

  

Nafrat ka gumaan guzare hai, main rashk se guzaraa

kyonkar kahoon, lo naam na uska mere aage

(Nafrat - hatred; gumaan - emotion; kyonkar - why, after all )

नफरत का गुमान गुज़रे है, मैं रश्क  के गुजरा

क्योंकर कहूं लो नाम न उसका मेरे आगे?

The emotion of hatred is behind me I feel pure

why should I ask you not to take His name in front of me?

Imaan mujhe roke hai jo khinche hai mujhe kufr

Ka'aba mere peeche hai kaleesa mere aage

इमान मुझे रोके है, खींचे है मुझे कुफ्र

काबा मेरे पीछे है, कलीसा मेरे आगे 

(kufra - deviance / temptation; kaaba - Holy place for Muslims;  Kaleesa - Church) 

My conscience holds me back from the attraction to temptations

The Kaaba is behind me and the church in front (of me)

Aashiq hooN, par maashooq farebee hai mera kaam

MajnooN ko bura kehti hai Laila mere aage

आशिक हूँ पर माशूक फरेबी है मेरा काम

मजनूँ को बुरा कहती है लैला मेरे आगे 

(Aashik - lover; mashook - person who is the loved; farebi - cheating)

I am the Lover, yet, my dear, I am full of deceit

For this reason every Laila condems (calls names) Majnu

Khush hote hain par wasl mein yoon mar naheen jaate

Aayee shab-e-hijaraaN ki tamanna mere aage

खुश होते हैं मगर वस्ल में यूं मर नहीं जाते 

आई शब्-ए-हिज्र की तमन्ना मेरे आगे

(wasl - reality; shab - night; hijra - departure; tamanna - wish/desire) 

 I become joyous but not to the extent of dying from joy

The wish for separation (the night of departure) has surfaced in my heart

Hai mauj_zan ik qulzum-e-KHooN, kaash, yahee ho

Aata hai abhee dekhiye kya-kya mere aage

I wish this is going to be that wave of blood

Let’s see what lies ahead of me now.

Go haath ko jumbish naheeN aaNkhoN meiN to dam hai

Rehne do abhee saaGar-o-meena mere aage

Say my hands lack motion, but at least my eyes have strength

For now, leave the wine and glass in front of me

Ham_pesha-o-ham_masharb hamraaz hai mera

'GHalib' ko bura kyoN kaho achchaa mere aage!

My colleague and my fellow drinker is my friend

If you feel Ghalib is bad, why do you call him ‘good’ when he is around?

English Translation by Rakesh Chaubey

High Achievers

'Dharma' and 'Karma' are two words that are used in the West in contexts that are totally different from the original meanings of these words.  Let's talk about another word - 'Sanskar'.  Sanskar is the value system that passes down in a family. If you are a responsible, moral, hardworking person who values education who stays committed to his/her family, then you have 'good sanskars'.  Your kids will learn from you and carry on this torch.  Do good sanskars give a people an edge?  Lets take the National Spelling Bee as our test tube case - because this competition is free of influences of discrimination and social engineering.

You can look at the results of the past years and see that the Indian community has produced champions year after year.  Where do these kids end up?  Do they reach heights of glory in their professional life or do they keep bumping their heads against the glass ceiling before resigning and joining a 'pooja group'?  Well, that is for you to mull over.  One thing we know for sure, Indians start out as high achievers (the proof is on the left).  If, despite all their capability,  they do not reach decision making positions in society from where they can shatter the glass ceiling for others, then it is due to something they lack - then it is their unwillingness / inability to hold hands across linguistic and regional lines and form a singular identity and work as a team.

Didn't someone say, "I went to India. I met a Gujarati, a kashmiri, a Punjabi,  a Bihari, a Marathi... but I never met an Indian"

Meet a Monster...

Terrorists have always been galvanized into action by poisonous words from sections of the so called Islamic clerics. These are monsters. Let Towercam introduce you to one today....

"So you go to India, and if you see a Hindu walking down the road you are allowed to kill him and take his money, is that clear?"

"Nuclear power stations could be fueled with the bodies of Hindus"

 "Jews, should be killed as by Hitler.  Fly into Israel and do whatever you can. If you die, you are up in paradise. How do you fight a Jew? You kill a Jew. In the case of Hindus, by bombing their businesses."

Photo of the week

Music that soothes the soul

For those of you who don't know this already, the music group "Indian Ocean" has gained a lot of popularity in Hindustan over the past few years.  I came to learn about them yesterday from a good friend.  Towercam focuses your attention to this music.  Lend it your ears and comment if you please

Click here to enjoy the music of "Indian Ocean"

and if you want to know more about this group Click here

Hawking on SETI

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It is only natural for people to expect pearls of wisdom from the minds of brilliant people. When Stephen Hawking recently made a statement that the endeavor to seek out alien intelligence from outer space is an unwise strategy, a lot of people reacted angrily – after all a scientific mind was expected to be curious and investigative – and here was, an acclaimed genius, going the opposite way. Many wondered if he had a bad dream after watching ‘Avatar’!

Movie Review

Hello Hum Lallan Bol Rahe hain ****


Living true to the adage that "Every dark cloud has a silver lining", this silver lining of a movie emerges out of the darkness of  the recent clashes between Mumbaikars of Marthi and non-Marathi origins.  It is wonderful to see efforts to bridge this artificial divide between people of the Mumbai Metroplex who share a common destiny as Mumbaikars - no matter what accent they may have.

Lallan Prasad Prajapati (played by Ram Pal Yadav) is a security guard with a private security company.  He is waiting for his lot to improve before he can approach a girl in his home town of Bijapur, who he loves secretly.  Lallan and his mentor, Tiwari ji are very down-to-earth practical people.  The viewer empathizes with Lallan and comes to realize that however hard the rotten eggs of Shiv sena try, they can't tear asunder the heart of Mumbai - which has already melted in the melting pot of cultures. The viewer realizes that it is India that has been depicted in the test tube of Mumbai.  The movie is highly recommended for every NRI family, as it gives a very much needed message - to see us all as one people despite our diversity. Whether it be Gujarati Hansa ben, Lallan, the bhaiyaa, or Punjabi Sharmaji, they are all us!  NRI's, despite their high level of education, could very well take this valuable lesson away from this movie.

This is a light hearted movie, with good humor.  It is a very clean family movie -  and these days I allow three stars for that reason alone.  This movie is very enjoyable.  The depiction of our value system rooted in good ol' traditional Indian culture is wonderful.  Watch this movie with the whole family. It is really nice!