"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