Citation : Singh AR (2024). The Benevolence Of The Torturer. In :Ghalib, Psychology and Human Behaviour - 2 (A.R Singh and S.A Singh Eds), Mens Sana Monogr; 22:1. pg 12-13
جراحت تحفہ الماس ارمغاں داغ جگر ہدیہ
مبارک باد اسدؔ غم خوار جان دردمند آیا
जराहत-तोहफ़ा अल्मास-अर्मुग़ाँ दाग़-ए-जिगर हदिया
मुबारकबाद ‘असद’ ग़म-ख़्वार-ए-जान-ए-दर्दमंद आया
jaraahat-tohfa almaas-armughaa.n daagh-e-jigar hadiya
mubaarakbaad ‘Asad’ gham-KHvaar-e-jaan-e-dardmand aayaa
(DG 2:1:6)
Meaning
Wound as a gift, diamond as a souvenir
and a scarred liver as a present.
Congratulations ‘Asad’, the pain reliever
and compassionate one has arrived
Explanation/Comment:
There is a tendency to interpret every verse of Ghalib as somehow connected to the pain of love and the callousness of the beloved.
I shall refrain from this.
Imagine a situation wherein the person who is responsible for your horrible state lands up to offer you solace. This situation is most poignantly described here.
Someone who gave you a gift, true, but the gift of a wound. Someone who gave you a diamond, true, but a diamand which cut through your entrails. Someone who gave you a present, true, but the present was a scarred liver (meaning the loss of courage to continue – dagh-e-jigar).
The very person who brutalised you in every manner- ostensibly by offering you ‘presents’ comes to offer salace to you in your misery.
In other words, the one responsible for your misery lands up to offer sympathy.
So, congratulations to you. O Asad, for you are fortunate to receive the compassion and benevolence of such a benefacter!
Re-read the “sher’ and you will not miss the subtle sarcasm of the ‘sher’ and the stinging irony of the situation described
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Citation : Singh AR (2024). The Benevolence Of The Torturer. In :Ghalib, Psychology and Human Behaviour - 2 (A.R Singh and S.A Singh Eds), Mens Sana Monogr; 22:1. pg 12-13
جراحت تحفہ الماس ارمغاں داغ جگر ہدیہ
مبارک باد اسدؔ غم خوار جان دردمند آیا
जराहत-तोहफ़ा अल्मास-अर्मुग़ाँ दाग़-ए-जिगर हदिया
मुबारकबाद ‘असद’ ग़म-ख़्वार-ए-जान-ए-दर्दमंद आया
jaraahat-tohfa almaas-armughaa.n daagh-e-jigar hadiya
mubaarakbaad ‘Asad’ gham-KHvaar-e-jaan-e-dardmand aayaa
(DG 2:1:6)
Meaning
Wound as a gift, diamond as a souvenir
and a scarred liver as a present.
Congratulations ‘Asad’, the pain reliever
and compassionate one has arrived
Explanation/Comment:
There is a tendency to interpret every verse of Ghalib as somehow connected to the pain of love and the callousness of the beloved.
I shall refrain from this.
Imagine a situation wherein the person who is responsible for your horrible state lands up to offer you solace. This situation is most poignantly described here.
Someone who gave you a gift, true, but the gift of a wound. Someone who gave you a diamond, true, but a diamand which cut through your entrails. Someone who gave you a present, true, but the present was a scarred liver (meaning the loss of courage to continue – dagh-e-jigar).
The very person who brutalised you in every manner- ostensibly by offering you ‘presents’ comes to offer salace to you in your misery.
In other words, the one responsible for your misery lands up to offer sympathy.
So, congratulations to you. O Asad, for you are fortunate to receive the compassion and benevolence of such a benefacter!
Re-read the “sher’ and you will not miss the subtle sarcasm of the ‘sher’ and the stinging irony of the situation described