Friday, March 25, 2011

"Aawaargi" - Yeh Dil Ye Pagal Dil Mera

A Masterpiece by a Master of poetry, "Mohsin Naqvi" and Brilliantly emoted by Ghulam Ali Saahab in his inimitable style. I beleive one can really enjoy this Ghazal, if one can relate to it. "Aawargi" is not "Loneliness", and in any case not even closer to it. If one tries hard, one can relate "Aawargi" to "Carefree state of Mind". Supreme form of Leisure. Well, truly speaking, its a state to be felt rather than described!

Ye dil ye paagal dil mera, kyun bujh gayaa awaargi
is dasht mein ek sheher tha, woh kya hua aawaargi..

Kal shab mujhe beshakl ki awaaz ne chaunka diya,
Main ne
kaha tu kaun hai, usne kaha aawaargi..

Ik tuu ki sadiyon se mere, hamraah bhi hamraaz bhi,
Ik main ki tere naam se naa aashnaa
aawaargi..

Ek ajnabi jhaunke ne jab poocha mere gham ka sabab
sehera ki bheegi ret per, maine likha aawaargi..

Ye dard ki tanhaiyaan, ye dasht kaa viraan safar
hum log to ukta gaye apni suna, aawaargi..

Logon bhala us sheher mein kaise jiyenge hum jahaan
ho jurm tanhaa sochnaa, lekin sazaa aawaargi..

Kal raat tanha chaand ko dekha tha maine khwaab mein
“Mohsin” mujhe raas aayegii shaayad sada aawaargi..


Ye dil ye paagal dil mera, kyun bujh gayaa awaargi
is dasht mein ek sheher tha, woh kya hua aawaargi..

Mohsin Sa'ab realizes the Carefree State of Mind in these opening lines. He says, "I do not understand what is wrong with my heart, with what I am feeling. Its totally crazy and out of this world! Until recently there was so much chaos within me( "is dasht mein ek sheher tha", meaning, the chaos within the heart compared to the hustle bustle of a City), but where is that today? Today what I feel is only "Aawargi" !


Kal shab mujhe beshakl ki awaaz ne chaunka diya,
Main ne
kaha tu kaun hai, usne kaha aawaargi..

Carrying on with his realization of this state of mind, Poet says, "Kal shab mujhe beshakl ki awaaz ne chaunka diya".
Wonderfully put! "Beshakl" meaning, Not having an Identity(face). He says, that he was alarmed(chaunka diya), on hearing a non familiar voice from within, which had no identity. Meaning to say, the feeling of Wandeness(Aawargi) was a stranger to him. He goes to on say, that when he questioned the stranger about his identity, he said "Aawargi".
What a subtle way of portraying a state of mind!

Ik tuu ki sadiyon se mere, hamraah bhi hamraaz bhi,
Ik main ki tere naam se naa aashnaa
aawaargi..

One of the most expressive lines of the Ghazal! Wah!
"Ik tuu ki sadiyon se mere, hamraah bhi hamraaz bhi". You(Aawargi), have always been my companion and my confident(hamraah bhi hamraaz bhi). Here the poet means to say, that he is now realizing how he always found solace in himself. How he never found himself alone, and how he always had someone within to speak his feelings to.
"Ik main ki tere naam se naa aashnaa aawaargi..". But I never realized this that you were always with me. I was so much lost in the worldly matters that I never had time to look within! You were there for me whenever I needed, but its a sad truth that I was so unaware(naa aashnaa)!

How beautifully Mohsin Sa'ab emotes his feelings in the above lines! And How true. We are so much involved with the noise outside of us, that we hardly realize of what we are. What we like, and where would we want to go. It would be wonderful to take time out for ourselves and enjoy that Carefree state of mind where one lets his mind wander! As i said earlier, such a state can not be described but only felt!

Ek ajnabi jhaunke ne jab poocha mere gham ka sabab
sehera ki bheegi ret per, maine likha aawaargi..

A little difficult to interpret, but I will try.
"Ek ajnabi jhaunke ne jab poocha mere gham ka sabab", meaning to say, "A stranger ("ajnabee jhaunke" meaning a stranger wind) asked me the, Reason of my Sorrows (gham ka sabab).
"Sehera ki bheegi ret per, maine likha aawaargi.. On the Wet Sand of the Desert (Sehera ki bheegi ret ), I wrote "Aawargi".

Now for the meaning within. Poet is trying to show how much he is lost into this state of "Aawargi". Now when he has found this state of mind, he is so much in love with it that he is unable to come out of it. He is not liking anything else that is happening around him and perhaps this state of mind is dragging him to a cut-off from the world. This whole state of his thoughts, appear to be a Sorrowful state of mind to an Ajnabee, stranger, who is not able to understand what is going within the poet."Sehera ki bheegi ret per", the wet sand of the desert, meaning to say, he is lamenting, he is crying and these tears are making the sand of the desert wet. Desert here is symbolic of the sufferings of the people and the hardships, and "Aawargi" a balm/solution to them!


Ye dard ki tanhaiyaan, ye dasht kaa viraan safar
hum log to ukta gaye apni suna, aawaargi..

Amazingly put! These two lines need to be interpreted in a casual way.
Now that he is in this state he shares what's happening to him. "Dard ki tanhaiyaan", Pain of Loneliness. and "dasht kaa viraan safar", meaning, The Lonely journey(viraan safar) through the Desert(dasht). This means to say, in the state of Aawargi, the poet has stayed for so long that he is now casually speaking to Aawargi about how he has become lonely due to him. How he is travelling alone in his journey of life amidst the hardships(dasht=desert) that are at offer.
"Hum log to ukta gaye apni suna, aawaargi.." Imagine the poet sitting with the Aawargi, and smilingly asking him, that I am bored of all this now, how about you?

The above lines tend towards giving a feel that the poet has made friends with his Inner Self and is talking to himself. The Supreme state of Mind!

Logon bhala us sheher mein kaise jiyenge hum jahaan
ho jurm tanhaa sochnaa, lekin sazaa aawaargi..

These lines have been beautifully sung by Ghulam Ali Saahab. In a way that brings out the meaning of the sher.
"Logon bhala us sheher mein kaise jiyenge hum jahaan, ho jurm tanhaa sochnaa, lekin sazaa aawaargi..", meaning, Please tell me how is it possible to live in a place where it is Loneliness is a crime, but the punishment is "Aawargi"!
Wah!!

Making a mockery of the Worldly setup, Poet says, that it is strange that no one respects and understands the "Carefree State of Mind" and people sometimes compare it to state of Madness and call it Crime. Only if you are one among the many and are interacting, everything seems good and valid. Once you enter this state of Aawargi, no one understands you. As a result, everyone leaves you alone. Aloof. (lekin sazaa aawaargi..). Poet says, if you leave someone aloof, lonely, he will do what else if not speak to himself !
So the poet says, he is finding very difficult to stay with this state of mind in this world.(Logon bhala us sheher mein kaise jiyenge hum)


Kal raat tanha chaand ko dekha tha maine khwaab mein
“Mohsin” mujhe raas aayegii shaayad sada aawaargi..

The Concluding and the most heartening lines. Beautiful, Simple and Touching.
Poet says, in his dreams the other day, he saw the Moon shining brightly in the sky.(Kal raat tanha(lonely) chaand ko dekha tha maine khwaab(dream) mein). Tanha Chaand, because, in the vast Sky spread, it seemed very lonely. But it was bright. It was shining. It was giving Light to the world. And This made the poet think, "“Mohsin” mujhe raas aayegii shaayad sada aawaargi..". Raas ayegi shaayad sada, meaning - Will Like Always.
Poet speaks to himself, "Mohsin, I think, be whatever, I have found happiness in Aawargi, and I will enjoy being with it forever".

No Words can describe the happiness that this Ghazal leaves you with. It pokes you within and tempts you to delve closer to the Euphoric state of "Aawargi".


-Amit

65 comments:

Venkatesh said...

That is a beautiful explanation Amit. You made my day!

Kritika said...

Thank you, I watched Ghulam Ali in concert yesterday and was revisiting my favourite Ghazal Aawaargi and your meaning makes it sit very clearly in my heart

Mayank said...

well put

shammanovember said...

Awesome!!!!
Thanks a lot Amit. Being a Bengali it was hard for me to understand. You explained it so beautifully, I loved it!

sakshu jagga said...

thnxx...its awsm.....

Kele Panchu said...

kya baat!

Ishavasyam said...

Thank you so much.Cant express my happiness.Been trying to grasp the meaning of the Ghajal since the year 1976.This is the first time I feel that I have come quite near to the perceived meaning .

Ishavasyam said...

Can u help me with the Urdu word : "Ravani " ?

satya said...

the meaning has mesmerished me totally... never thought it would be... so meanigful

Vipin said...

Great explanation of one of my favorite Ghazal! Thanks bro and keep it up!

സമീà´°്‍ | Sameer said...

Excellent! please continue the great effort...

Huzaif said...

an explanation par excellence!!! Thank you for unraveling the nuances of the ghazal for me :))

SUBAIR said...

Thank You Amit.

Kandarp Mehta said...

Thanks alot Amit for putting in so much effort & explaining the meaning of this ghazal..!! Looking forward for meanings of other ghazals like "Jab Tassavur mera"..!!

suprina said...

beautiful song explained beautifully.. thanks.

mina said...

I never leave comments, however this was so beautifully explained that I felt that I must Thank you,,,, so much depth and inner feeling to this song....I have always liked this song but never truly understood it until now,so Thanks again

Niranjan G Hiremath said...

Very Nice Amit!

KC said...

Amit,
I love this ghazal and grew up with my dad listening to Ghulam Ali.
You have captured the essense of the ghazal so perfectly. I have not seen a better summary anywhere on the Internet. Also it has been put up such that we can relate to it.
Amazing work! Keep it up!

Marc Sheldon said...

@ishavashyam .....RAVANI is FLOW

Sudo said...

Excellent Job Amit. This is one of my favourite gazal. However only now , I can really relate and connect to this gazal, thanks to you.

Sameep said...

Thanks, in love with this Gazal all over again....

Awaargi...

Dr Anshuman Telang said...
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Dr Anshuman Telang said...
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Ankit d_lil_champ said...

Awesome explanation.... loved the ghazal earlier also but fully understanding it resulted in goosebumps... thanks :)

Unknown said...

I searched for this illusive word "Awargi" for many decades, in my subconscious mind.It was my moby-Dick, up until today. Not only you gave the meaning of the word, you explained the ghazal beautifully. I am sure even the poet himself is blessing you from the other world!! Dear Amit, accept my thanks.

Majeed Chowdhury, New York, USA

Kalpesh Soni said...

Ab main samza tere rukhsar pe til ka matlab, daulate husn pe darwan bitha rakkha hai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3_CkTWf5HE

Unknown said...

Kudos to you,Amit

Unknown said...

mashallah!amit im gr8ful2u

Unknown said...

mashallah!amit,v r gr8ful2u4this

Zizzi25 said...

Quite simply, you've done an amazing job on a mesmerizing ghazal. Many thanks.

free2 said...

Good job Buddy!!

Unknown said...

wow superb explanation loved it

Unknown said...

You could not have explained it so beautifully had you not felt and understood "Awargi" yourself. Thank you for posting this.

Vinod Verma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vinod Verma said...

I have been listening to this ghazal since I was a child. But this interpretation has changed its meaning for me completely. Feel like listening to it again and again. Wish there are many more ghazals interpret like this

sankalp2310 said...

Good work Amit.
I heard this Ghazal many a times to understand Aawargee word. I was unable to understand this Ghazal at all. Good work bro. Nice explanation.
This is calle d'Reading between the lines' and that's wahta the beauty of poetry is.
_ Sankalp Saxena

Unknown said...

Wow! Great- the meaning is so clear now. Thanx.

Unknown said...

A great interpretation ! Want such interpretation for other ghazals.

Unknown said...

A great interpretation! want such interpretations for other ghazals.

Unknown said...

A nice interpretation. Thank you.

Shivani Singh said...

Thank you so much for your great work done. love this ghazal so much but thanks to you am able to understand it much much better today.Thank God i searched for an English translation of Awargi and found your page. Now your page shall help me understand others too, Thank you once again. Have used ur translation of course linking ur blog on my page. Hope u won't mind.

Unknown said...

I have read and re-read this enrapturing explanation and the urge to re-read only gets whetted more and more. The nuances and the profundity of this masterpiece have been so overpoweringly explained that I am left in no doubt that a person who has perhaps experienced that state of mind alone can do it.

Unknown said...

ITS ALL TRUE THAT U NEED A STATE IN UR LIFE THAT U HAVE TO BE IN THE SITUATION OF AAWAARGI ,,,,,,,,,,, ITS AWESOME FEELINGS IN AAWAARGI N IT ONLY BE FELT BY WHOM WHO KNOWS REALITY OF LIFE....................................... I LUV IT

Unknown said...

Thanks for this explanation/understanding of aawaaragi!
To be clear, I have no study of urdu or poetry. I had been listing to gazaals since a long time but starting to look for meanings of these words recently!
I want to say that I interpreted "Ek ajnabi jhaunke ne..." quit differently. I think poet is not quit in terms with aawaargi yet. He was looking into reasons why his heart suddenly went from being a busy city to desert and just got introduced to inner voice of 'aawaargi'. In this part i think he is blaming aawaargi for his sorrows. He truly accept 'aawaargi' at the end ('Kal raat tanha chaand ko...').
Of course I might be wrong!
Thanks again for stimulating the thoughts!

Unknown said...

Beautiful composition and brilliantly put forth...

Unknown said...

Beautiful composition and brilliantly put forth...

Ayan said...

Kya Baat Hain !!!! Wah wah !!!! Amit

kuber said...

speechless. beautiful.

Unknown said...

Hi Amit,
Can i get your mail id ASAP please. I went through all your translations. Can you mail me to itsme.shyjas@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

Thank you Amit,

This is amazing. Very beautiful and touching translation.

Cheers!

Raushan said...

very beautiful....
just one point of difference-

"Dard ki tanhaiyaan", Pain of Loneliness ?
It is Dard ki tanhaiyaan....not tanhaiyaaon ka dard so it can't be Pain of Loneliness, isn't it?
It shall be Loneliness of Pain......
May be wrong ....but thanks a lot...

Unknown said...

Very nice explaination , thanks so much !

harish said...

Nicely done Amit. I was looking for the meaning of this Ghazal for a long time.

Unknown said...

Beautifully interpreted amit....thanks

Unknown said...

Very well said Amit... thanks a lot

Pushkar kanhere said...

Great Amit... loved it

Kamran Baig said...

Bohat alla.

Unknown said...

No 1 can explain the gazal awargi

lishana said...

Beautifully explained

Unknown said...

Great. You reached to that state of mind

Unknown said...

This post is quite old but we read it just yesterday and we are completely in debt. Thanks for explaining this beautiful creation and you made it more beautiful for us who could not even imagine the meaning can be so deep.
Thanks.

ssatish said...

Very nice and touching translation.

Ashutosh said...

Mohsin Naqui composed it. Ghulam Ali performed...
You my friend.. have lived "Awargi"
Kudos

Unknown said...

very nice translation .. it will be great if you with your knowledge can translate other ghulam ali ghazals as well . i am a big fan of ghulam ali .. and love the way he sings . but dont understand all the meaning

Prasad Bhave said...

Amit,
What a wonderful explanation !
I have fallen for the poet and the language (urdu).. I was mesmerized in similar way with "Zihale miskin" on which I wrote a blog on blogspot, after consulting with many experts !
This gazal too is very close to my heart .. the philosophy that runs through the shers is crux of life ! Would love to connect with you and learn from you more of urdu gazals and the language itself !
Thanks for the detailed explanation ! ( I arrived at your blog through quora )
My blog on music is ( pbhave.blgospot.com )