Hairat e naazaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan
Posted on: May 25, 2011
“Kaarwaan e Hayaat” (1935) is a movie starring K L Saigal, Rajkumari,Rattan Bai,Zutshi,Hamid etc in it.
Here is a song from “Kaarwaan e Hayaat” (1935). It is sung by K L Saigal and it is clear that the song was picturised on him as well. The haevy duty Urdu lyrics are written by Hakeem Ahmad Shuja Pasha, and almost the entire song goes over my head. I request my knowledgeable readers to explain the meaning of the lyrics to us less knowledgeables.
Music director is Mihir Kiran Bhattacharya, and like the lyricist, I am hearing his name for the first time.
——————————————
Sudhir jee’s interpretations of the lyrics
——————————————
“hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan”
hairat = surprise, distress
nazzaaraa = view, panorama
aakhir = at last, eventually
raanaaee = loveliness, grace
The vistas of beauty have transformed eventually into a disturbing panorama.
“khaaq ke zarron mein aati hain nazar gulzaariyaan”
khaaq = ashes
zarraa = particle, fragment
gulzaar = oasis, garden
And the particles of ashes seem like an oasis, a garden.
“jab se dekhaa hai tujhe ik dard hai dil mein nihaan”
nihaan = concealed, pervading
dard = ache, longing, yearning
Since I have seen you, there is a hidden longing, a yearning in my heart.
“ae sabaa le jaa tu hi un tak meri bedaariyaan”
sabaa = gentle breeze of morning
bedaari = sleeplessness
O gentle breeze of the morning, please carry and convey to them (her) the tale of my sleepless nights
“marhabaa barq-e-jamaal-e-yaar tujh par hai nissaar”
(in my opinion, the word be-nisaar should be hai nisaar)
marhaba = welcome, greet, hail
barq = lightning, shining
jamaal = elegance
yaar = lover, beloved
nissaar = bestow, dedicate, give up
(Hail the) sparkling elegance of my beloved that I bequeath to you. . .
“marhabaa josh-e-junoon-e-ishq ki ruswaaiyaan”
josh = excitement
junoon = insanity, madness
ishq = love
ruswaai = bad reputation, dishonor, disgrace
(Welcome to) the dishonor, disrepute of the emotional excitement and insanity of love.
“alvidaa ae qaafile waalo mujhe ab chhod do”
alvidaa = good bye, farewell
qaafila = caravan, convoy
Farewell, O my co travelers of this convoy of life, let me be.
“meri qismat mein likhi hain dasht ki veeraaniyaan”
qismat = destiny
dasht = desert
veeraan = desolate, forsaken, uninhabited
My destiny is writ with the desolation of the deserts.
This ghazal is an expression of longing and yearning for the beloved; there is sadness and a sense of desolation mixed together, on being away or separated from one’s beloved. The pain of separation is being felt very intensely by the poet, to the extent that life and existence is without meaning.
The beautiful vistas of grace and loveliness have ultimately transformed into a panorama of distress. The poet refers probably to the memories of earlier meetings – the memories and visions of loveliness and fondness which he remembers. Now that there is separation from the beloved, these lovely memories add to the distress and longing. The mood of dejection and despair is so intense that even fragments of ashes seem like an oasis (meaning that the life is so bereft of anything and barren that even particles of ash are a consolation).
Since I have seen you, there is a pain of longing and desire that has permeated my heart. O gentle breeze of the morning, please carry and convey to her the tale of my sleepless nights.
(The third verse should be sequenced as follows: barq-e-jamaal-e-yaar, tunjh pe hai nissaar josh-e-junoon-e-ishq ki ruswaaiyaan – I dedicate all the dishonor of the madness of love to the sparkling elegance of my beloved).
Hail the wondrous sparkling elegance of my beloved. Oh for such loveliness and beauty I would think nothing of and even gladly welcome the suffering of the dishonor and disrepute that this world inflicts on the likes of me whose excitement and insanity in love knows no bounds. Even the disgrace and humiliation that this world associates with those who are mad in love, is a small price to pay for just a glimpse of the shining loveliness and beauty of my beloved.
Farewell o my traveling companions on this journey of life, just forsake me and let me be, for my destiny is writ with the desolation of the desert.
The kaafila or karvaan is traditionally a group that journeys through the deserts; they have to keep together for safety and survival. Life is being with and in this kaafila. The poet is requesting to be let off from life itself. The dasht or desert that the poet refers to is the undefined state in between the living and the dead. He isn’t dead for he still thinks and feels. But the pain of longing (to be with and to see the beloved) is so intense that life does not matter anymore. And if he cannot be with his beloved, he would prefer to step off the kaafila of the living, and accept his destiny to wander friendless in this undefined desert of loneliness.
song-Hairat e naazaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan (Kaarwaan e Hayaat) (1935) Singer-K L Saigal, Lyrics-Hakeem Ahmad Shuja Pasha, MD-Mihir Kiran Bhattacharya
Lyrics
hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan
hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan
khaaq ke zarron mein aati hain nazar gulzaariyaan
khaaq ke zarron mein aati hain nazar gulzaariyaan
jab se dekhaa hai tujhe ik dard hai dil mein nihaan
jab se dekhaa hai tujhe ik dard hai dil mein nihaan
ae sabaa le jaa toohi un tak meri bedaariyaan
hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan
marhabaa barq-e-jamaal-e
marhabaa barq-e-jamaal-e
marhabaa barq-e-jamaal-e-yaar tujh par be-nisaar
marhabaa josh-e-junoon-e-ishq ki ruswaaiyaan
hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan
alwidaa ae qaafile waale mujhe ab chhod do
meri qismat mein likhi hain dasht ki veeraaniyaan
hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan
6 Responses to "Hairat e naazaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan"
May 25, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Addendum to the above:
Hakeem Ahmed Shuja Pasha did so much for Pakistani Film Industry,that he was shortlisted,along with Z.A.Bukhari, to write the National Anthem of Pakistan.
-AD
LikeLike
May 30, 2011 at 2:12 am
Atul ji,
I have tried to interpret and explain this ghazal, in the following write up.
“hairat-e-naazzaaraa aakhir ban gayin raanaayiyaan”
hairat = surprise, distress
nazzaaraa = view, panorama
aakhir = at last, eventually
raanaaee = loveliness, grace
The vistas of beauty have transformed eventually into a disturbing panorama.
“khaaq ke zarron mein aati hain nazar gulzaariyaan”
khaaq = ashes
zarraa = particle, fragment
gulzaar = oasis, garden
And the particles of ashes seem like an oasis, a garden.
“jab se dekhaa hai tujhe ik dard hai dil mein nihaan”
nihaan = concealed, pervading
dard = ache, longing, yearning
Since I have seen you, there is a hidden longing, a yearning in my heart.
“ae sabaa le jaa tu hi un tak meri bedaariyaan”
sabaa = gentle breeze of morning
bedaari = sleeplessness
O gentle breeze of the morning, please carry and convey to them (her) the tale of my sleepless nights
“marhabaa barq-e-jamaal-e-yaar tujh par hai nissaar”
(in my opinion, the word be-nisaar should be hai nisaar)
marhaba = welcome, greet, hail
barq = lightning, shining
jamaal = elegance
yaar = lover, beloved
nissaar = bestow, dedicate, give up
(Hail the) sparkling elegance of my beloved that I bequeath to you. . .
“marhabaa josh-e-junoon-e-ishq ki ruswaaiyaan”
josh = excitement
junoon = insanity, madness
ishq = love
ruswaai = bad reputation, dishonor, disgrace
(Welcome to) the dishonor, disrepute of the emotional excitement and insanity of love.
“alvidaa ae qaafile waalo mujhe ab chhod do”
alvidaa = good bye, farewell
qaafila = caravan, convoy
Farewell, O my co travelers of this convoy of life, let me be.
“meri qismat mein likhi hain dasht ki veeraaniyaan”
qismat = destiny
dasht = desert
veeraan = desolate, forsaken, uninhabited
My destiny is writ with the desolation of the deserts.
This ghazal is an expression of longing and yearning for the beloved; there is sadness and a sense of desolation mixed together, on being away or separated from one’s beloved. The pain of separation is being felt very intensely by the poet, to the extent that life and existence is without meaning.
The beautiful vistas of grace and loveliness have ultimately transformed into a panorama of distress. The poet refers probably to the memories of earlier meetings – the memories and visions of loveliness and fondness which he remembers. Now that there is separation from the beloved, these lovely memories add to the distress and longing. The mood of dejection and despair is so intense that even fragments of ashes seem like an oasis (meaning that the life is so bereft of anything and barren that even particles of ash are a consolation).
Since I have seen you, there is a pain of longing and desire that has permeated my heart. O gentle breeze of the morning, please carry and convey to her the tale of my sleepless nights.
(The third verse should be sequenced as follows: barq-e-jamaal-e-yaar, tunjh pe hai nissaar josh-e-junoon-e-ishq ki ruswaaiyaan – I dedicate all the dishonor of the madness of love to the sparkling elegance of my beloved).
Hail the wondrous sparkling elegance of my beloved. Oh for such loveliness and beauty I would think nothing of and even gladly welcome the suffering of the dishonor and disrepute that this world inflicts on the likes of me whose excitement and insanity in love knows no bounds. Even the disgrace and humiliation that this world associates with those who are mad in love, is a small price to pay for just a glimpse of the shining loveliness and beauty of my beloved.
Farewell o my traveling companions on this journey of life, just forsake me and let me be, for my destiny is writ with the desolation of the desert.
The kaafila or karvaan is traditionally a group that journeys through the deserts; they have to keep together for safety and survival. Life is being with and in this kaafila. The poet is requesting to be let off from life itself. The dasht or desert that the poet refers to is the undefined state in between the living and the dead. He isn’t dead for he still thinks and feels. But the pain of longing (to be with and to see the beloved) is so intense that life does not matter anymore. And if he cannot be with his beloved, he would prefer to step off the kaafila of the living, and accept his destiny to wander friendless in this undefined desert of loneliness.
Rgds
Sudhir
May 31, 2011 at 7:28 am
Thanks for this great translation and explanation. I am at present back to that place where things like electricity, internet connecytions etc are a luxury. So I will be badly hampered in my blogging for the next one week. After that I will be able to go through the contents of this wonderful interpretation at leaisure.
LikeLike
November 18, 2024 at 7:45 am
very good interpretation by Sudhir ji and good historical background about Hakeem Ahmad Shuja Pasha sb , the renowned poet, writer and scholar , by Arunkumar ji . If I may add further, Hakeem Ahmad Shuja 1893-1969 belonged to the famous old Hakeem Family settled in Lahore old city since the 12th century. The title ‘Pasha’ was given to this family by an Ottoman Sultan later but before that, one ancestor remained senior court physician at the Lahore court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Another elder was Hakeem Ilmuddin Al-Ansari better known as ‘Wazir Khan’ who made the famous Wazir Khan Masjid in Lahore in 1635 . The family also established the “Bazar e Hakimaan” in Bhaati gate area of old city . They’re also interconnected to the Fakeer family living there in the ‘Fakeer Khana Haveli ‘. Later Hakeem Ahmad Shuja Pasha and his son Anwar Kamal Pasha, contributed considerably to literature and cinema in Punjab , in British India and then Pakistan after 47. Hakeem sb’s song mentioned here sung by KL Saigal (1935) , later he also collaborated with the great Sohrab Modi ji and Gajanan Jagirdar on 3-4 movies , stories . And between 1947-1960 , with his son Director Anwar Kamal Pasha on several excellent movies. Hakeem sb also wrote novels, plays and poetry and a famous cultural memoir of old Lahore “Lahore ka Chelsea” in 1950s. He was a friend of Agha Hashar, Sohrab Modi and other literati and also closely connected to political figures such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan and Nawab Ismail Khan. Among his grandchildren are late Pakistani TV director /producer Yawar Hyat Khan and American feminist scholar Dr Rifat Hasan; and his great-grandson is Pakistani /South Asian poet and Sufi scholar Prof Omar Tarin . Sincere regards and respects for this outstanding personality of Hakeem sb .
LikeLike
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
May 25, 2011 at 11:59 am
Music Director Mihir kiran Bhattacharya was the Assistant to R.C.Boral and the music given to this film was by mainly RCBoral,but the name of MKBhattacharya was given in credits.There is no information on any other movie for MKB.
As far as Lyricist Hakeem Ahmed shuja Pasha is concerned,he was a very learned person who wrote screenplays,stories and dialogues mainly for new Theatre and Imperial studios.he wrote songs only in this movie.
In 1947,he was among the first batch of film people to shift to Pakistan,where he and his son Anwar Kamal Pasha contributed significantly to establish and stabilise Lollywood(Pakistani Filmdom).In fact Anwar Kamal Pasha is considered as one of the legends in Pakistani Directors.
The film Karwaan e hayat was an adventure movie.Parvez(Saigal)runs away from his Kingdom of Kascand,to avoid marriage with the Princess of Bijapore(Rajkumari).He joins Gypsies where Zarina(Rattan bai) loves him.
Rajkumari is kidnapped by another Gypsi tribe on Vazir’s instructions,but is located,loved and rescued by Saigal for a Happy End.
-AD
LikeLike
October 18, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Very Impressive! Would love to connect with you. This happens to be one of my favorite songs, and R C Boral and Pankaj Mullick, My favorite composers.
LikeLike