Jalwaa gaah e dil mein martey hi andheraa ho gayaa
Posted by: Atul on: August 25, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Saigal Saab, for whom the legendary classical singer of that time, Ustad Faiyaaz Khan Saaheb, has said, “We are born in music, and have generations of musical heritage to follow, and yet, we cannot even think of becoming like Kundan Lal Saigal, who so effortlessly continues to sing, on and on.” An appreciation and endorsement coming from a singer of Ustad Saab’s stature, is of a great consequence. It is said that Faiyaaz Saab himself proposed that KL Saigal should become his pupil, a proposal which Saigal Saab accepted wholeheartedly. A promise that was kept with a formal ceremony of initiation complete with getting the traditional taaveez from Faiyaaz Saab.
This wonderful piece of poetry by Seemab Akbarabaadi, is so intense and deep, that every time one reads it, it adds to the depth of purpose – the purpose of love and purpose of life. Each verse is a mine to dig into and keep adding to the interpretations; a process that can continue for a long time. Each verse tells something about life, the heart and the emotions that make up the texture of love. The heart is a fragile glass, a mirror that reflects the many splendored majesty of the Maker, or the beloved. It is that echelon of love where the distinction between the beloved and God and blurred, and the process of love, the lover (majnu, madman) comes face to face with the essence of reality.
jalwaah-gaah-e-dil me martey hi andhera ho gayaa
jis mein thhe jalwe tere, wo aainaa kya ho gayaa
When the end came, the brilliance that lighted the many splendored heart, turned into darkness. The mirror of the heart, that used to contain the images of Your splendor, whatever happened to it?
jalwaah = glimpse, manifestation, splendor, brilliance
gaah = place, location
dil = heart
jalwaah-gaah-e-dil = a heart that is the abode of many splendored manifestations
mein = (pronounced as ‘may’) in
martey = upon death, on dying
hi = immediate, imminent
andehraa = darkness
ho gayaa = it happened
jis mein = in which
thhey = were, existed before
jalwe = many splendors
tere = yours
wo = that
aainaa = mirror
kyaa = what
ho gaya = happened;
kyaa ho gayaa = what happened to it
phir tassavur ne badhaa di naalaa-e-maujon ki laya
phir fizaa-e-dard mein, ek sher paida ho gayaa
Yet once again, the contemplation (of my own situation, my destiny) augmented the crescendo of the waves of anguish. And yet once again in the landscape of pain, a new verse got expressed.
phir = yet again, once more
tassavur = imagination, ideas, contemplation
badhaa di = caused to increase
naalaah = lamentation, cry of grief
mauj = wave, upsurge, groundswell
naalaah-e-mauj = an upsurge of grief, a wave of anguish
ki = of
laya = rhythm, symphony
fizaa = breeze, ambiance, environment
dard = pain, agony
mein = in
ek = one
sher = verse, couplet
paida = born
ho gayaa = (it) happened
birhaman kehta thha un-hadd, sheikh bol utthaa ahad
nukta-ras dono na thhe, aapas mein jhagda ho gayaa
The Brahmin insisted on the formless and omnipresent God, the Sheikh professed His revealed form. Both were deficient in appreciating / understanding His subtleties and his presence, and ended up quarreling and arguing with each other.
The poet is expressing a reality of life, wherein different people try to pursue the knowing of God, and then comprehend and worship Him in different ways, as per their understanding. All of them worship the same HIM, but they disagree and squabble amongst themselves, based on their own individual understandings that are incomplete.
birahman = Brahmin, Hindu priest
keh = to say
kehta thha = used to say
un-hadd = formless, invisible, omnipresent; applies to soul, to God
sheikh = leader, guide, teacher
bol = speak
bol utthaa = spoke up
ahad = revealed form (of God)
nuktaa = subtle point, core idea
nuktaa-ras = one who knows/understands the subtleties
dono = both
na thhe = were not
aapas mein = between them
jhagda = quarrel, argument, clash
ho gayaa = (it) happened
najd ke hirnon se e’jaaz-e-mohabbat poochiye
pad gai jis par nigaah-e-qays laylaa ho gayaa
The deers of Najd can tell you about the wonders of love and worship, ask them. It takes the seeing ability of true lover, to discern the beloved. Or, a beloved is the favorite one accepted by the eyes of the true lover.
In this verse, the poet is probably alluding to the time spent alone by Prophet Mohammed on the mountain, when the Holy Quran was revealed to him. He had no human companion. His only companions were the animals, and deer on the mountainside. So the poet says, that one should go and ask these deer, for they have witnessed this marvelous meeting, and Allaah the Almighty beheld Prophet Mohammed and laid His glance on him, and he became the chosen one to carry the Holy Message.
najd = a central plateau region of the Arabian Peninsula
ke = of
hirnon = deer
se = from
e’jaaz = miracle, wonder, marvel
mohabbat = love, adoration, worship
poochhiye = ask, inquire
pad gai = fell
jis par = on whom
nigaah = glance, momentary look, glimpse
qays = lover, a person madly in love, an epithet for ‘majnoo’ (of Layla – Majnoo)
nigaah-e-qays = from the eyes of a lover
laylaa = beloved, (from Layla – Majnoo)
ho gayaa = (it) became
rafta rafta ho gaye jazb is mein jalwe sainkdon
dil mera seemab ek aainaa-khaanaa ho gayaa
Gradually, little by little, all the glories and splendor of love was lured in and trapped in my heart. Overwhelmed by this absorption, my heart is now as fragile as a house of glass.
The poet is expressing the situation, that as the understanding and the knowledge grows, as the heart is filled more and more with the glories and splendor of the Maker, the heart becomes more tender, more kind and more indulgent. It is becomes full of sympathy and empathy, and is more delicate than a house of glass.
rafta = slowly, with regular pace
rafta rafta = slowly slowly; also used in the sense “as it passes (in time)”
ho gaye = (they) happened
jazb = absorbed into, lured into, trapped in
is mein = in this
jalwe = many splendors
sainkdon = hundreds
dil = heart
mera = mine
seemab = poet’s signature, takhallus
ek = one
aainaa = mirror
khana = house, a place, dwelling, a drawer, compartment
aainaa-khaanaa = a glass house
ho gayaa = (it) became, (it) transformed into
Song-Jalwaah gaah e dil mein martey hi andhera ho gayaa (Saigal NFS) (1940) Singer-K L Saigal,Lyrics-Seemab Akbarabadi
Lyrics
aaayy haaaaan
jalwaah-gaah-e-dil me martey hi andhera ho gayaa
jalwaah-gaah-e-dil me martey hi andhera ho gayaa
jis mein thhe jalwe tere, wo aainaa kya ho gayaa
haan jis mein thhe jalwe tere, wo aainaa kya ho gayaa
phir tassavur ne badhaa di naalaah-e-maujon ki laya
phir tassavur ne badhaa di naalaah-e-maujon ki laya
arre phir fizaa-e-dard mein, ek sher paida ho gayaa
phir fizaa-e-dard mein, ek sher paida ho gayaa
birhaman kehta thha un-hadd, sheikh bol utthaa ahad
birhaman kehta thha un-hadd, haaai sheikh bol uttaha ahad
nukta-ras dono na thhe, aapas mein jhagda ho gayaa
nukta-ras dono na thhe, aapas mein jhagda ho gayaa
najd ke hirnon se e’jaaz-e-muhobbat poochiye
najd ke hirnon se e’jaaz-e-muhobbat poochiye
heyyy pad gai jis par nigaah-e-qays laylaa ho gayaa
pad gai jis par nigaah-e-qays laylaa ho gayaa
rafta rafta ho gaye jazb is mein jalwe sainkdon
rafta rafta ho gaye jazb is mein jalwe sainkdon
dil mera seemab ek aainaa khaanaa ho gayaaa
aaaa dil mera seemab ek aainaa khaanaa ho gayaa
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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