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Fatigue Trumps Love- A Ghazal Revisited

‘Patta patta boota boota’ is a very beautiful ghazal by Mir, an 18th century Urdu poet from Delhi. It is sung by various ghazal singers but my favorite version is in the voice of Vinod Sehgal from Gulzar’s serial Mirza Ghalib.
Here is a bit of an excerpt from the ghazal:
Patta patta boota boota haal hamara jaane hai
Jane na jane gul hi na jane baagh to sara jane hai
Every leaf and twig in the garden knows my state,
It is only the flower that is unaware of my feelings.
Chaara gari beemari-e-dil ki rasm-e-shahr-e-husn nahi
Warna dilabar-e-naadan bhi is dard ka chaara jane hai
To cure an ailing heart is not the tradition of society of beauty,
Even though they’re (the innocent beloved) aware of its remedy.
We read differently at different stages of life. When young we tend to interpret it in the context of the beloved and find it all very moving, but I believe once you have kids in your life that you can really feel the misery, pain and irony hidden in these lines.
You may find it queer but as per the natural order of my world, I was  cleaning the house for the 13th time while it was only afternoon and listening to this ghazal, that I realized how beautifully it captures my pain.
No I’m not Lady Macbeth and I do not have any cleaning OCDs; I am an average normal..err.. stuggling to stay normal, mother of two (Yeah, Two!! . Hell! How did I end up with two kids? What was I smoking! )

Chaara gari beemariye dil ki rasm-e- shahr-e-husn nahi
Warna dilabar-e-naadan bhi is dard ka chaara jane
It is not the tradition of childhood to understand your pain of cleaning up 
Even though the kids may be aware what they need to do to make you feel less miserable.

Ghalib, dude! you’re the best..


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