A Sher A Day

There have been numerous instances so far, where I had something or the other to write about (people, pictures, events, behaviors, movie critique, my latest climbing lessons/meetups) and I just put it off for no apparent reason. My poor strike-rate on the blog (almost one post per year n half) doesn't deserve me any chance on the team but nevertheless I come back with an ephemeral resolve to write regularly.

This time around a brain-wave came that suggested - why not write a sher a day that way I can be more regular and all I have to do is write a single couplet every day that I have heard from among the innumerable ghazals - now that can't be tough can it? Let's just assume it won't be that tough to write one couplet per day - but it can be challenging to analyze it and write your interpretation of it (kavya rasaacha aaswaad ghene for the marathi-speaking ethnos)...so whenever I post a couplet, I also plan to put down some unsolicited thoughts about what me thinks the shayar meant.

For people who are completely uninitiated in ghazals and urdu sher-o-shayari a good starting point is http://www.urdupoetry.com/novicenook/ghazalelements.html. Also, if you are the booksie types grab a copy of Aaina-E-Ghazal by Zarina Saani et al.. The website itself is a good resource for numerous ghazals and sorted well by singers/poets/poems etc.

After all this its only apt that I get right to the couplet of the day. And more so befitting that I start off with something I myself wrote recently:

उनके पेचिदा गेसुओं कि उल्झन है गोया।
दश्ते इम्काने ज़िदगी तक्सीफ़ होती जाती है।

-- Sifar.

Meaning:

Literatim:

पेचिदा = curly
दश्त = forest/desert
इम्कान = possibility
तक्सीफ़ = to become dense


Verbatim:

The jungle of possibilities of life becomes dense as if it is the curls of hair of the beloved.

Discussion:

Life is inundanted by possibilities and choices that we are offered at every juncture. The very presence of these choices is compared to the curls of hair of one's beloved. Picturize Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rahman in Chaudhavi Ka Chand song :) The twists and turns of life are as beautiful and treacherous as the curly locks of hair of thy beloved and the idea is to embrace them and love your life just like you would find love in the arms of your beloved.

Here I am signing off again with a hope that I would continue to write more regularly this time around.

Cheers,
Sifar.