Maikada

ab to utni bhi mayassar nahin mai-khane mein jitni hum chhod diya karte the paimane mein the tavern does not even give that much wine to me that i was wont to waste in the goblet casually

aae the hanste khelte mai-khane mein 'firaq' jab pi chuke sharab to sanjida ho gae we came to the tavern all gay and frolicsome now having drunk the wine, somber have become the couplet shows an ironic reversal: the place associated with lightness and revelry becomes a doorway to gravity. “wine” works as a metaphor for experience and truth—once tasted, it strips away easy laughter. the emotional core is sobering self-awareness: joy gives way to reflection, as if the intoxication awakens, rather than numbs, the mind.

kahan mai-khane ka darwaza 'ghaalib' aur kahan waiz par itna jaante hain kal wo jata tha ki hum nikle wherefrom the 'saintly' priest, and where the tavern's door but as i entered he was leaving, this much i do know ghalib uses wit and irony to expose the hypocrisy of religious figures who preach morality but practice vice in secret. by contrasting the supposed piety of the preacher with the sinfulness of the tavern, the poet reveals that while he admits his own faults openly (leaving the tavern), the 'holy' man was sneaking in when he thought no one was watching.

main mai-kade ki rah se ho kar nikal gaya warna safar hayat ka kafi tawil tha

na tum hosh mein ho na hum hosh mein hain chalo mai-kade mein wahin baat hogi neither are you in your senses nor am i in mine let us now go to the tavern and talk while we have wine

'zauq' jo madrase ke bigde hue hain mulla un ko mai-khane mein le aao sanwar jaenge this verse is a witty satire on religious dogmatism. the poet suggests that the formal seminary (madrasa) breeds arrogance and rigidity in clerics, whereas the tavern (a metaphor for the path of love and selflessness) cures the ego. it inverts conventional morality, claiming that 'sinful' places can teach humility better than places of worship.

guzre hain mai-kade se jo tauba ke ba'd hum kuchh dur aadatan bhi qadam dagmagae hain

sarak kar aa gain zulfen jo in makhmur aankhon tak main ye samjha ki mai-khane pe badli chhai jati hai

mai-kada hai yahan sukun se baith koi aafat idhar nahin aati

dur se aae the saqi sun ke mai-khane ko hum bas taraste hi chale afsos paimane ko hum

mai-khane mein kyun yaad-e-khuda hoti hai aksar masjid mein to zikr-e-mai-o-mina nahin hota

ek aisi bhi tajalli aaj mai-khane mein hai lutf pine mein nahin hai balki kho jaane mein hai

din raat mai-kade mein guzarti thi zindagi 'akhtar' wo be-khudi ke zamane kidhar gae

kabhi to dair-o-haram se tu aaega wapas main mai-kade mein tera intizar kar lunga

koi samjhae ki kya rang hai maikhane ka aankh saqi ki uthe nam ho paimane ka

jab mai-kada chhuta to phir ab kya jagah ki qaid masjid ho madrasa ho koi khanqah ho when the tavern is no more, why bans should elsewhere be? be it mosque, madrasaa or else maybe monastery ghalib suggests that once the old attachment to the tavern (a symbol of desire, habit, or one fixed refuge) is broken, the very idea of being confined by “place” loses meaning. mosque, madrasa, and khanqah stand for formal religion, learning, and mystic practice, yet he treats them as interchangeable locations. the emotional core is a liberated, slightly ironic refusal to let sacred labels dictate where truth or solace must be found.

teri masjid mein waiz khas hain auqat rahmat ke hamare mai-kade mein raat din rahmat barasti hai

ye mai-khana hai bazm-e-jam nahin hai yahan koi kisi se kam nahin hai

pyar hi pyar hai sab log barabar hain yahan mai-kade mein koi chhota na bada jam utha

rind jo zarf utha len wahi saghar ban jae jis jagah baith ke pi len wahi mai-khana bane

mai-khane mein mazar hamara agar bana duniya yahi kahegi ki jannat mein ghar bana

masjid mein bulate hain hamein zahid-e-na-fahm hota kuchh agar hosh to mai-khane na jate

ruh kis mast ki pyasi gai mai-khane se mai udi jati hai saqi tere paimane se the poet wonders how anyone could depart unsatisfied from the wine-house—suggesting an intense, almost spiritual thirst. in the second line, he flatters the saqi: the cup (and the saqi’s charm) is so powerful that wine cannot stay in it, as if it vanishes instantly. wine and tavern stand for pleasure and mystical ecstasy, while thirst points to an unending desire that no amount can fully quench.

akhir waqt hai kis munh se jaun masjid ko tamam umr to guzri sharab-khane mein

ye kah do hazrat-e-naseh se gar samjhane aae hain ki hum dair o haram hote hue mai-khane aae hain tell this to the priest if he has come to preach i first went to the mosque, then did the tavern reach

mai-kade ki taraf chala zahid subh ka bhula sham ghar aaya the priest now proceeds towards the tavern's door to the true path returns he who strayed before

chashm-e-saqi mujhe har gam pe yaad aati hai rasta bhul na jaun kahin maikhane ka

koi din aage bhi zahid ajab zamana tha har ek mohalle ki masjid sharab-khana tha

ja sake na masjid tak jama the bahut zahid mai-kade mein aa baithe jab na rasta paya

mai-khana salamat hai to hum surkhi-e-mai se tazin-e-dar-o-baam-e-haram karte rahenge