The Ghazal is a poetic genre which was adapted in Urdu from Persian. The ghazal form became very popular in India and was emulated in other languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, etc., which have similar syntax. Though the south Indian languages are not in this category, poets like Dasarathi and C Narayana Reddy have written Telugu ghazals.

The beauty of the ghazal lies in its lyrical content, brevity, sensitivity, imagery, subtlety, epigrammatic terseness and the liberty to deal with various themes in the same poem.

Rules of ghazal

The ghazal consists of couplets, usually five to fifteen in number. Each couplet, called a sher is a mini poem in itself. The couplets of a ghazal need not have the same theme. That is why it does not have a heading and is only named a Ghazal". All couplets should be independent, follow the same metre or behr and adhere to the rhyming pattern determined by the first couplet or matla. The rhyme scheme contains a rhyme word or qafia followed by a refrain or radif which may be a word or group of words. The first couplet has the rhyme scheme in both lines and the others, only in the second lines. If X is the radif and A B C are qafias, the rhyme pattern of the ghazal would be AX and BX in the first couplet, and CX, DX, EX… etc in every second line of the others. The last couplet is called the maqta and the poet can include his pen-name, called takkhalus, therein. Many ghazals are written in the first person as the poet speaks straight from his heart.

An Urdu ghazal

As an example, I would like to cite a few couplets from Mirza Ghalib’s famous ghazal, along with a rough translation:

Dile naadan tujhe hua kya hai

Oh my naive heart, what has befallen you?

Aakhir is dard ki dawa kya hai

After all, what is the remedy for this pain?

Main bhi muh mein zabaan rakhtaa hoon

I too have a tongue in my mouth

Kaash pooche ke mudda’a kya hai

If only I was asked about my view

Ham ko unse wafaa ki hai ummeed

I have hopes of faithfulness from her,

Jo nahi jaante wafa kya hai

Who knows not what faithfulness is

Haan, bhala kar, tera bhala hoga

Yes, do good, and good will come to you

Aur darvesh ki sada kya hai

What but this does the mendicant say?

Maine mana ke kuch nahin "Ghalib"

I admit that it is nothing, "Ghalib"

Muft haath aaye to bura kya hai

What is bad if it comes to hand gratis?

The refrain is kya hai and the rhyme words are hua, dawa, wafa etc. The poet, Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan, has included his pen name "Ghalib" in this signature verse.

Many famous singers like Jagjit Singh, Mehdi Hasan and Ghulam Ali have lent their voices to innumerable ghazals, and popularized this poetic form among the masses. All ghazals, if written correctly following the laws of metre, can be sung, as the arrangement of the words form musical patterns. To a great extent, humming the lines in a particular tune helps the poet in writing ghazals.

Themes of ghazals

The meaning of the word Ghazal in Persian is ‘talking to a woman.’ The theme of the ghazal was originally romantic, mainly speaking of love and beauty, but having crossed the barriers of time, place and language, now it deals with a wide spectrum of universal themes. However, a ghazal is generally sensitive and emotional in nature and touches the heart-strings. Mirza Ghalib, in his ghazal "Dil e nadaan" has spoken of love, justice, human values, mysticism etc., each in a different couplet. Couplets in a ghazal are like gems of a beautiful necklace the lustre of which is timeless.

Translation of ghazals into English

The translation of an Urdu ghazal into English, in the correct ghazal form with radifs and qafias and same metre, is next to impossible. For example, in Ghalib’s ghazal, "Kya hai" is the refrain at the end of the lines. However translated as "what is" it cannot come at the end of an English sentence. Moreover, the meanings of the rhyming qafias ie. hua, dawa, bura etc will not rhyme in English. Therefore translation of a ghazal would be superficial and would not do justice to the poet. His skill in conveying deep meaning within the strict rhyme scheme, which was its original attraction, would be lost in translation, unlike in the case of free verse.

Another constraint in translation of an Urdu ghazal into English is the culture and background of these two languages. In translation of poetry from one Indian language to another, to a certain extent, the readers can identify with the backdrop and the feelings expressed therein. Urdu is rich in evocative imagery wherein words like shama aur parwana, nasheman aur bijli, chaman aur sayyad have rich inherent meaning. In English, they become the mundane candle and moth, nest and lightning, garden and hunter which do not evoke any spontaneous emotion in the heart of the reader. The concept of love in Urdu ghazal surpasses the romantic or physical love of the west and is mostly about unselfish or unrequited love, bordering on the mystic. Unless one is familiar with the oriental background, translations of ghazals do not give the meaning the poet wished to convey.

Ghazals in English

Writing ghazals in English has its own limitations. The main one is the difference in syntax of English vis-a-vis Urdu or Hindi. In English the verb comes in the beginning or middle of a sentence while in Urdu it can come at the end. The rhyme and refrain eg. dawa kya hai, bura kya hai etc. in English would read as ‘what is the remedy,’ ‘what is bad’ etc. This is like the cart coming before the horse for ghazal structure. One has to search for suitable refrains that would attach themselves smoothly to the rhyme words. As regards metre, in Urdu prosody the phonetic length of syllables is taken into account while in English, stress is the criterion, the long and short syllables of the former corresponding to the stressed and unstressed syllables of the latter.

The ghazal form has been attempted even in English, as can be seen on the internet, but some poets have not adhered to the basic principles of ghazal like rhyme scheme, metre and tenor. The nuances and intricacies of ghazal are manifold and how far a poet succeeds depends on his being dedicated to its demands, but the reward is worth the effort.

An English ghazal

I have been fascinated by ghazals since a very long time, and write ghazals mostly in Hindustani , a blend of Urdu and Hindi. I would like to share with you an English ghazal written by me.

The matla is:

Tribulations do torment me

But their burden has not bent me.

Flowers had I scattered in your path,

With thorns, why do you present me?

How can I thank nature enough?

Moments of peace has she lent me.

Pain to no soul have I given,

But from joy, does fate prevent me.

Why should I fear the day of death?

He but calls me back, who sent me.

The maqta is:

"Mona", mirrors merely reflect,

Do reflections represent me?

I hope some of you will also fall in love with the ghazal, whatever be the language, and convey your feelings through this vibrant and exquisite genre of poetry. c