89. Band Band Boz: Samad Mir

Theme:

The central theme of the poem revolves around the poet’s earnest plea to the Almighty for spiritual guidance. The poet expresses that without a true guide, an individual remains directionless, like a drifting log carried aimlessly by the current of a flowing river. He emphasizes that even if one attains certain accomplishments, without proper guidance, such achievements are transient and easily lost. In the concluding couplet, the poet’s sincere supplication is accepted, and he is blessed with multiple true guides. However, the poet cautions that one must remain vigilant against false guides and ensure the purity of intention in order to attain genuine progress in the spiritual pursuit of love.

بندٕ بندٕ بوز لأنۍ ژوٗرو خندٕ چُھنہٕ چھے گراو تَے

چندٕ چھوٚن بازار درامُت مند چِھتھ بییہ آو تَے

IPA:

/ bandɨ̆ bandɨ̆ boz laːɳɨ ʦuːro kʰandɨ̆ t͡ʃʰɨnah t͡ʃʰai̯ graːw tai̯ /

/ t͡ʃandɨ̆ t͡ʃʰun baːzaːr daraːmut mand t͡ʃʰɨtʰ bɨjih aːw tai̯ /

Roman:

bandɨ bandɨ boz laaṇɨ ʦūro khandɨ chhɨnah chhaye graaw tai

chandɨ chhun baazaar daraamut mand chhith bɨyih aaw tai

Words:

Band: بند : Verse (a single line of a Stanza)

Laen chuur: لأنۍ ژوٗر : Thief of fate. Beloved. Here it is used for God.

Khand: خند : Jest

Graav: گراو : a kindly affectionate or tender complaint or remonstrance

Chandeh chhon: چندٕ چھوٚن : One with an empty pocket.

Translation:

Listen, O Beloved, to each verse I impart,

Not jest but a tender complaint of heart.

Empty-pocketed went I to the market’s claim,

Returned to You humble, and laden with shame.

Explanation:

The seeker (lover) implores the Beloved (God) to heed his lament, which arises from sincere longing rather than mere playfulness. The phrase “verse by verse” signifies a heartfelt plea for attentive listening. The poem serves as a confession of the seeker’s realization that without spiritual wealth, one stands humiliated in the market of divine love, ultimately compelled to return to the Beloved in pursuit of true enrichment. It is like a humble prayer, wherein the poet beseeches the Almighty to bestow upon him a spiritual guide who may lead him out of the depths of spiritual poverty.

ژھٹھ کٔڈِتھ جامن چھے سۄندرا چرخہ یندرس ور دِوان

نٹھ چھے شاہ توسس ونکھ ما پٔٹۍسنٔچ وؠٔٹھ داو تَے

IPA:

/ ʦʰəʈʰ kɨɖɨtʰ d͡ʒaːman t͡ʃʰai̯ sondra t͡ʃarxi jɨndɨras war diwaːn /

/ n̆aʈʰ t͡ʃʰai̯ ʃaːh toːsɨs wanakh ma paʈiːsanɨt͡ʃ wai̯ʈʰ daːw tai̯ /

Romanisation:

ʦhəṭh kɨḍɨth jaaman chhaye sondra charxɨ yɨndɨras war diwaan

n̆aṭh chhaye shaah toosɨs wanakh maa paṭīsanɨch wayṭh daaw tai

Words:

Chhath kadith: ژھٹھ کٔڈِتھ : To clean

Jaameh: جامہ : Clothes/Existence/Frame of body

Sondir: سۄندر :Beautiful/Beloved

Natth: نٹھ : Trembling 

Shahtos: شاہ توس : A fine fabric

Paetsan: پٔٹۍسن : Hemp-Fabric. Lawrence in Valley of Kashmir says that about 400 maunds of fibre are collected every year below Srinagar, and below Srinagar the hemp-plant does not yield any drug and is only used for its fibre. Kalhan’s Rajatarangini even refer to hempen garments (used, for example, as prison clothing). While Kashmir’s high-art weaving traditions used pashm/pashmina and wool, hemp served practical uses; ropes, sacks, paper and coarse cloth.

Translation:

With neatness of existence I, your Beloved, spin each thread,

Yet trembling I fear, lest you call shahtoos coarse instead.

Explanation:

In this verse, the poet speaks in the voice of the Beloved, delicately spinning each thread with utmost care, ensuring both the purity of the self and the fineness of the thread being woven. The “neatness of self” symbolizes the refinement of the soul, ensuring that no impurity contaminates the sacred act of creation, while the “neatness of thread” represents the purity and sincerity of devotion. The fine shahtoos thread thus stands as a metaphor for the most exalted form of spiritual love; rare, delicate, and pure. Yet, even amidst such perfection, the Beloved trembles in humility, fearing that the lover may perceive the thread as coarse. This reflects the sanctity and self-effacing nature of divine love.

However, in the broader context of the poem’s theme, this imagery also conveys the poet’s deeper concern, that without the guiding hand of a true spiritual master, even the most earnest efforts may go unrecognized or remain without value in the divine realm.

بنگہٕ چؠتھ کینہہ ننگہٕ آسان چنگہٕ نفسکہ ژھرٚٹھ دوان

رنگہٕ کتۍجا تس چھے باسان ہؠنگہٕ پُھٹمٕژ گاو تَے

IPA:

/ bangɨ t͡ʃai̯ʈʰ kẽːnh nangɨ aːsaːn t͡ʃangɨ nafaskɨ ʦʰarɨʈʰ diwaːn /

/ rangɨ kaʈiːja tas t͡ʃʰai̯ basaːn haĩ̯ngɨ pʰuʈɨmɨʦ gaːw tai̯ /

Roman:

bangɨ chaiṭh kenh̃ nangɨ aasaan changɨ nafaskɨ ʦharɨṭh divaan

rangɨ kaṭījaa tas chhaye basaan haĩngɨ phuṭɨmɨʦ gaaw tai

Words:

Bangeh: بنگہ : Hemp

Chang: چنگہ : Claw/Grasp

Rangeh katij: رنگہ کتۍجا : Colourful swallow

Translation:

Lost in hemp, some roam naked, lost in their ego's sway,

The swallow’s grace seems a broken-horned cow in their way.

Explanation:

In this couplet, those intoxicated with hemp symbolise people lost in worldly desires and passions, trapped by their lower selves. Stripped of awareness, they suffer in the grip of ego and base impulses. The beautiful swallow, representing divine beauty and grace, appears to them as a horn-broken cow i.e., unattractive. In Sufi terms, the couplet shows how attachment to ego and worldly distractions blinds the soul, preventing it from seeing and appreciating the divine. Poet doesn't want such a Guide who has these characteristics.

کھؠتھ وؠوہار میوٗن لُکھ گئۍ رؠتھ لوگُم کاکد پِھران

پتھ ستتھ من مۄختہٕ اوسُم تتھ مۄژییم پاو تَے

IPA:

/ kʰai̯ʈʰ wai̯wahar mʲuːn lukh gai̯ rʲai̯ʈʰ loːgum kaːkad pʰɨraːn /

/ patʰ sat.tʰ man moːkʰtɨ osum tatʰ moːʦʲɨm paːw tai̯ /

Roman:

khaiṭh waiwahaar myoon lukh gai r'aiṭh logum kaakad phiraan

path sat-tath man mokhtɨ osum tath moʦʲem paaw tai

Words:

Veohar: وؠوہار : Business

Kakad: کاکد : Paper. From Urdu Kaghaz

Mann: من : A unit of weight. Forty Kilogram.

Mochhun: مۄژُن : Remain in reserve.

Paav: پاو : Quarter of Kilogram

Translation:

My business, people took, a month I spent in grind,

Seventy mann of pearls I held, now a quarter in kind.

Explanation:

The poet’s “business” refers to his daily spiritual practices and acts of devotion, the “profit-gaining” work of the soul. When he says people grabbed, it reflects distractions, worldly temptations, or inner failings that steal the rewards of his efforts. "Month took me to turn the pages" suggests time passing, reflection, and reckoning with what has been gained or lost.

The seventy mann pearls symbolise the spiritual wealth or virtues he had accumulated, and "remaining only a quarter of a kilogram" shows how little survives after trials, distractions, and the pull of the ego.

In essence, the verse reflects that the soul’s labor in devotion is precious, but worldly or inner distractions can diminish its yield, leaving only a small portion of true spiritual wealth.

Without guide, the poet has lost everything to these distractions. Guide acts as a bulwark to the treasures acquired by the disciple.

سر تا پاے دفتر چھہ چونُے ور مؠے ناحق چُھکھ دوان

کر لٲزم در سۄخن کانہہ کرُن بلۍ کھر کھاو تَے

IPA:

/sɨr taː paːy daftur t͡ʃʰɨ t͡ʃʰunui̯ wur mai̯ naːhaq t͡ʃʰukh dɨwaːn/

/kɨr loːzim dur soːkʰan kaːnh kɨrun baliː kʰar kʰaːw tai̯/

Roman:

sir taa paay daftar chhi chhunui wur may naaḥaq chhukh divaan

kar laezim dur sokhan kaanh karun bali khar khaaw tai

Words:

Sokhan: سۄخن : The divine words/discourse 

Khar khaav karun: کھر کھاو کرُن : To bring in disrepute 

Translation:

Head to toe, O Lord, all deeds lie in Your sight,

Why test me thus, in wrong or in right?

Never justified, in discourse (of love true),

To cast a soul in disrepute before You.

Explanation:

The poet addresses God, acknowledging that the Divine holds the complete record of all deeds, yet protests against being unnecessarily tested or judged for good and bad actions. This reflects the Sufi awareness that the lovers sincere efforts should not be subjected to undue trial or disrepute. By insisting that it is never justified to bring a person into disrepute in the discourse of love, the poet appeals to God’s mercy and fairness. 

It's like Mir Taqi Mir's couplet:

ناحق ہم مجبوروں پر یہ تہمت ہے مختاری کی

چاہتے ہیں سو آپ کریں ہیں ہم کو عبث بدنام کیا

مُڈٕ یُس روٗد پرنہٕ رۆستُے بُڈٕ آسہ یا جوان

وُڈٕ وُنہِ ژکہٕ وار دپنس کوٗڈٕ وٲلۍ سِٕنز ناو تَے

IPA:

/muɖ yus ruːd parnɨ rostui̯ buɖ aːsɨ jaː d͡ʒawaːn/

/wuɖ wunɨ ʦʲakah waːr̆ dapnas kuːɖ waːli sɨnz naːw tai̯/

Roman:

muḍ yus rood parnɨ rostui buḍ aasɨ ya jawaān

wuḍ wunɨ tsoʦkah wār̆ dapnas kooḍ waali sinz naaw tai

Words:

Mudde: مُڈٕ : Weak mental comprehension 

Chhakkewaar: ژکہٕ وار : Royal boat

Wudde wuni: وُڈٕ وُنۍ : Lit., Flying one. Met., Speedy

Translation:

Blunt by being illiterate, young or old in mind,

The royal speedy boat seems a garbage-carrying kind.

Explanation:

The poet highlights that those who are blunt due to being illiterate i.e., lacking spiritual understanding, cannot perceive the true value of what is noble or divine, whether such person is young or old. The "royal speedy boat" symbolises spiritual beauty and divine grace, yet the spiritual illiterate and ignorant mistake it for something lowly, like a garbage-carrying vessel. In Sufi terms, the verse emphasises that spiritual literacy, the cultivation of the heart and understanding, is essential to recognize the sacred, without it, even the loftiest manifestations of divine grace are misjudged and devalued. A person will always remain spiritual illiterate without a true guide.

پھیٖر مالے لٲنۍ ژوٗرس میر صمدس برٚونٹھ/برٚونٹھۍ دراو/آو

پیر در پیر چوونس مس میر ما دراو خام تَے

IPA:

/pʰir malɛɪ̯ loːniː ʦʲuːras mir sʌm.dɪs bɨɽonʈʰ draːw/

/piːr dar piːr t͡ʃaʊnas mas mir maː draːw kʰaːm tai̯/

Roman:

phiir malay looni tsooras meer samdis bronṭh draaw

peer dar peer chownas mas meer maa draaw khaam tai

Words:

Maaley: مالے : Love, solicitude, yearning

Khaam: خام : Raw/Unripe/Inexperienced

Translation:

The Beloved’s heart inclined at last, His hand to Mir Samad He lent,

Guide upon guide poured sacred wine; yet Mir remained unspent.

Explanation:

The poet’s prayer was ultimately answered, and the Divine finally extended His gracious hand. As a result, the poet was blessed with several spiritual guides who illuminated his path toward enlightenment. He takes pride in the fact that he never lost hope in this sacred pursuit and did not become a complacent or satiated lover.