Yeh Dil Ye Paagal Dil Mera

I heard this ghazal some years ago in the movie Maati Maange Khoon. Those were the times when I was introduced to Ghulam Ali’s singing. Then followed “Chupke chupke raat din”, Chamkte chaad ko” and the all time hit “Hungama kyo hai barpa”.

 

Here I am trying to interpret, “YeH Dil Ye Paagal Dil Mera”. This beautiful ghazal is written by Mohsin Naqvi. For the meaning of some typical Urdu words I referred to the Urdu to Marathi dictionary and the Rekhta website. Like Marathi, in Urdu the same word has many meanings. The meaning changes with the context. I have given meanings of some typical words towards the end of this blog. 

 

This ghazal uses "Awargi" as an epiphora (Urdu - Radif) to express the tiredness of his loneliness and sorrow. (Epiphora is a figure of speech where a word is used at the end of every clause). Infact this ghazal is full of various figures of speech and therein lies its beauty. Here is the song

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BitMSJTZ464

 

 

ये दिल ये पागल दिल मेरा क्यों बुझ गया, आवारगी
इस दश्त में इक शहर था वो क्या हुआ, आवारगी।

 

आवारगी : Waywardness or vagrancy. In this gazal it can also be interpreted as lonely waywardness.

दश्त : Real meaning is desert but can be used as wilderness too.

 

This ghazal is like a dialogue between the protagonist (poet) and the loneliness in his heart. The poet asks the loneliness of his heart why has its glitter just faded away? The dry desert was like his heart full of life like a busy city full of people. What happened to it? Why has it become so desolate? Now it has become just like the desert – dry, barren and empty.

 

कल शब मुझे बेशक्ल सी आवाज़ ने चौंका दिया
मैंने कहा तू कौन है उसने कहा, आवारगी।

 

शब : Night

बेशक्ल : Formless or something that does not have a body. (would it be आत्मा?)

 

Last night the words of a formless/faceless being surprised me. I asked “Who it was?”. It replied I am your wayward loneliness. The poet seems to suggest that the loneliness of the heart does not have a face or form. Its from within.

 

इक तू कि सदियोंसे, मेरे हमराह भी हमराज़ भी
इक मैं के तेरे नाम से न आशना, आवारगी।

 

हमराह : Fellow traveler

हमराज़ : Confidant, someone you trust.

न आशना : Stranger, Not acquainted

You – my loneliness – have been with me since ages, been my friend (companion) and confidant. It’s only me who remained like an unknown stranger to you. The poet seems to have accepted that the loneliness was with him since a long time and that he had only tried to pretend that he was aloof from it.

ये दर्द की तनहाइयाँ, ये दश्त का वीराँ सफ़र
हम लोग तो उकता गये अपनी सुना, आवारगी।

 

उकता जाना : Getting bored or tired as implied.

 

The pain of being alone, the loneliness of this dry, barren desert, I am tired and bored what about you my dear loneliness? The poet personifies his emotional condition like the journey though a dry and barren desert. So much so that he seeks to have a conversation with his loneliness.

 

इक अजनबी झोंके ने जब पूछा मेरे ग़म का सबब
सहरा की भीगी रेत पर मैंने लिखा, आवारगी।

 

 An unknown breeze enquired with me the reason for my sadness. On the wet sands of the desert I wrote – Loneliness. This particular sher can be interpreted in a number of ways. The poet personifies the breeze as having a human voice and tends to believe that while being alone in the desert an unknown breeze enquired with him. Breeze is usually soothing to a human body but here due to his emotional state he found the breeze as a stranger. He is trying to find some solace by blaming his sorrow to his loneliness.

The reference to Bheegi Ret can mean that the he hasn’t been able to sleep the whole night and the sand is moistened by the early morning dew. It can also mean that the sand is moist because of his tears. It also seems to suggest that though he is forlorn and alone yet he is able to understand the cause of his misery.

Yet another interpretation about Bheegi Ret – desert sand is usually dry. So Bheegi ret is actually an oxymoron. This can also mean that he is veering away from reality and trying to find some peace by imagining things.

 

ले अब तो दश्त-ए-शब की सारी वुसअते सोने लगी
अब जागना होगा हमे, कब तक बता, आवारगी।

 

दश्त-ए-शब : Desert night

वुसअते : Area, expanse, spread, vastness

 

Now all parts of the desert are beginning to sleep, How long do I have to stay awake my loneliness. He personifies the desert to a human being and suggests that the desert too is resting now, when will he get to rest? He wants to rest (sleep) and asks a rhetorical question.

 

कल रात तन्हा चाँद को देखा था मैंने ख़्वाब में
‘मोहसिन’ मुझे रास आएगी शायद सदा, आवारगी।

 

 रास आना : To suit or find agreeable.

 

Again a sher with more than one interpretation. He says that last night when he was alone/lonely, he saw the moon in his dreams. This can also be interpreted as last night in his dreams he saw that the moon too was alone and lonely. The thought of seeing a moon in his dreams indicates that he yearns of something positive – the moon is the symbol of that – but in his present state of mind he finds a beautiful creation like the moon also to be alone and in sorrow. The term “kal raat” suggests that the entire recitation was about his state of mind today but its been like this for the past too. The next line is typical of sher’s where the poet starts it with his name (Mohsin) and suggests that probably it is only fit that the loneliness suits him best. (That he deserves the loneliness).