In Raza LIBRARY Rampur I was fortunate enough to see a copy of Ghalib’s first Diwan published 1837
A copy of which he presented to Nawab YUSUF Ali Khan of Rampur
The first ghazal of Ghalib’s first Diwan was
Naqsh fariyadi hai
I am giving it with an explanation from www.Urduwallahs.Com
Naqsh faryadi hai kis ki shokhi-e tahrir ka
kaghazi hai pairahan her paikar-e tasvir ka
Against whose playful writing are the words complainants?
Made of paper is the attire of the countenance of every image.
kav kav-e sakht jani hai tanhai, na(h) puchh
subh karna sham ka, lana hai ju-e shir ka
Inquire not of my forebearance to the incessant hammering in the loneliness.
Turning night into day is like unearthing a channel of milk.
[kavkav: continuous beating of hard stone with a sharp object;
(Referring to the legendary lover farhad’s digging the channel of milk out of the mountain for King Khusrao, as a condition of having his wife, Shirin. ]
jazb’a(h)-e be ikhtiar-e shauq dekha chahiye
sin’a(h)-e shamshir se bahar hai dam shamshir ka
Worth seeing is the spirit of my uncontrollable desire,
Causing the edge of the sword to unfurl from its sheath.
[dam: breath; dam-e shamshir: edge of sword.]
agahi dam-e shanidan jis qadar chdhe bichhae
muddaa unqa hai apne ‘alam-e taqrir ka
No matter how awareness spreads its nets of hearing,
The meaning is the nonexistent bird in the style of my expression.
[agahi: awareness; dam: net; shanidan: to hear, listen, or attend to; muddaa: whatever is meant; unqa: legendary bird that does not exist (ala Unicorn). ]
baske hun Ghalib asiri men bhi atish zer pa
mue atish dida(h) hai halqa(h) meri zanjir ka
Whereas, even in bondage, there is fire under my feet, Ghalib,
The chains that bind me are merely curls of singed hair.
