Analysis

Ok... for our analysis we choose a classic ghazal rendered by JS, early in the 1980s, Live in Pakistan. In that tour he chose classic urdu poetry since people of Pakistan, naturally speak that language. This one is by "Maahir Ratlaami". Below is the ghazal, and the split of the syllable construct. We will number the ghazal as per the misra... so "Jo nazar..." would be line no. 1 and "Aap apna ...." would be line no. 2 and so on. Below I will provide the clarification.

जो	न	ज़र	का	म	या	ब	हो	ती	है
2*	1	2	2	1	2	1	2	2*	2
आ	प	अप	ना	ज	वा	ब	हो	ती	है
2	1	2	2*	1	2	1	2	2*	2
ज़िं	द	गी	जब	अ	ज़ा	ब	हो	ती	है
2	1	2*	2	1	2	1	2	2*	2
आ	शि	क़ी	का	म	या	ब	हो	ती	है
2	1	2*	2	1	2	1	2	2*	2
ते	रे	आ	गे	ल	ता	फ़	ते	शब	नम
2	2*	2	2*	1	2	1	2*	2	2
शर्	म	से	आ	ब	आ	ब	हो	ती	है
2	1	2*	2	1	2	1	2	2*	2
रो	कि	ए	अप	नी	मस्	त	नज़	रों	को
2	1	2*	2	2*	2	1	2	2*	2
सा	री	दुन	या	ख	रा	ब	हो	ती	है
2	2*	2	2*	1	2	1	2	2*	2
उन	के	आ	शिक़	की	ज़िं	द	गी	मा	हिर
2	2*	2	2	2*	2	1	2*	2	2
कित	नी	ना	का	म	या	ब	हो	ती	है
2	2*	2	2	1	2	1	2	2*	2

First note that 2* indicates flexible syllable as per the rules explained below. So we may scan it as 2 or 1 as required by the meter.
Now note some interesting lines.
Line no. 3, Zindagii is scanned as Zin-da-gii (2-1-2*), this is a common way of treating the "nuun" symbol.
Line no 5, note the "lataafat-e-" the "izaafat" (the -e symbol) is merged with the consonant "t" to make it "te" and "fa" is scanned as 1. So it becomes "la-taa-fa-te"(1-2-1-2*). If you hear JS, he deliberately makes it sound like "la-taa-fa-te". Obviously, he is a master at this, so he had noticed that already. The word "lataafat" (meaning grace) would however be scanned as "la-taa-fat"(1-2-2).
Line no 8, "duniya" is always scanned as "dun-yaa" to make it 2-2*.

Now, to determine the behar. Let us follow this approach.
1. Count the number of syllables in each line. We have 10.
2. Open up the List of beher.
3. Start searching for 10 syllable behars. They are #2, #9, #13, #14 and #16.
4. Match each of these behars with the syllable constructs patterns. I like to start from the end of the behar. You may choose as per your liking. Remember, all 2* ones can be used as 2 or 1 as the meter requires.

Following the above, we reach the conclusion that the 'behar' of our ghazal is #14 (2122/1212/22), which is named as "Khafiif musaddas makhbuun mahzuuf maqtuue", a very un-romantic sounding, unlike the ghazal though :). Oh! of course, you could check all the 'misras' of the ghazal, they fit the behar exactly, within the given rules!

Behar in Ghazals

Well this one is close to my heart. I have a long standing desire to learn the metric system in which ghazals are written. Initially I had interest in learning the English metric system, but I found that as a "top-up" (or an icing on the cake) rather an established system.

Over the years I have read whatever I could lay my hands over. My inability to read the Arabic script hampers the learning in a big way. I am in the process of remedying that too! But it is quite possible to have a more than passable knowledge of it, if one knows to read and write in Devanagari/Hindi.

Before proceeding note: I am learning, so don't take anything as final. As and when I learn, I will correct myself.

So, let us start. First some symbols: C=Consonant; v=short vowel [अ,इ and उ] V=long vowel[आ ई ऊ ए ऐ ओ and औ] This is a standard set of symbols used almost everywhere where Urdu metric system is taught.

Words are combination of syllables. Generally there can be one, two or three syllable words. Four syllable words and above are rare in ghazal constructs. A syllable will consist of combination of the above. The following can occur:
Cv, CvC, CVC, CvCC and CV.

Now, each of the above syllable constructs have an associated weight. We normally follow the "short" (denoted by 1) and "long" (denoted by 2). This as per the famous "L", "Ga" system of Hindi prosody. Following are the weights of each syllable constructs.
1. Cv = 1 [कि, न]
2. CvC = 2 [हम, तुम, इस, घर]
3. CVC = 2 + 1 [काम, मोड़, प्यार, शोर]. However if CVC construct appears as the last construct in a 'misra' (the one line of a sher), it is scanned as 2 only.
4. CvCC = 2 + 1 [हुस्न, मित्र]
5. CV = 2 or 1. This is a flexible construct. Like 3, above it will be scanned as 2 always at the end of a 'Misra'. 'Misra' never ends in a 1. However, if CV occurs in a single syllable word (and in between in a 'Misra'), like in [को, का, की, वो] it can be scanned as 2 or 1. Similarly, if CV construct appears as the last syllable in a multi-syllable word, it can be scanned as 2 or 1. Otherwise it is mostly scanned as 2.

Once the entire misra has been scanned in this manner, one needs to find the 'behar' of the ghazal. Urdu prosody has defined set of 'behars'. There is a famous book by Pritchett, on this topic here: Urdu Meter HandBook, and it lists around 37 most common 'behars'. Any 'behar' not on this list is extremely rare.

In this list "1" is denoted as "-" and "2" is denoted as "=". Rest all assumptions are same as discussed above.

Next post, I shall present a ghazal. I will then scan each sher in that ghazal using the rules above, and then determine the 'behar' of the ghazal.

This and That

I am very upset at Vishy's loss in the blindfold and rapid chess format. Better luck next time. No more chess for the time being.

I watched a documentary on "The lost book of Nostradamus". It is said that this book contains water colour drawings by Nostradamus and his prophesies. What was interesting at the end was the mention of the great galactic alignment that is scheduled in the year of 2012. Now, if you are like me unaware of this event then here is a quick update on the topic.

On December 21st 2012, the Sun, the Ophiuchus (the 13th Zodiac sign, b/w Capricorn and Scorpio, bearing the sign of a man holding a serpant) and the center of our milky way will align in the same line. This is suppose to bring in some drastic changes in the cosmic world as it happens approximately around every 13 thousand years. Also notable is that the Mayan Calendar (the most accurate calender in the world) ceases to exist after that day. NASA predicts that there would be a solar maximum (and a change in the magnetic poles of the sun) in the same year. This Solar Max is expected to be the most turbulent one in its recent history, causing damage to satellites etc. in space. It is said that even Earth's polarity is due for a change. The date of 21st Decemeber 2012 is not so confirmed as it has been converted from the Mayan Calender. However it is going to be around that time.

Some have interpreted this alignment as the birth/rise of the 3rd-Anti Christ and subsequent doom's day. But some other view this as a new beginning and birth of a new spiritual being.

Ah! I hope I am there to witness this one, and see if at all anything changes in this nasty world.

Next, I will be posting on a topic of long time interest of mine. I have started to learn the scanning of meters in ghazals. Though a newbie, I will attempt to put whatever I have understood till now with the help of an example.

Sudden Death

I have been watching the Nat. Geo. series on air crashes lately. The human tragedy involved is grave. It is shocking when the RCA of the mishap is done, and all of it points to human error.

For example, consider the decision of the captain of an aircraft (with over 10,000 hours of flying experience) to get into a thunderstorm, knowing very well that the prescribed limits were being exceeded for a safe landing. In another case, The Boeing had a faulty locking system for the cargo door due to a design flaw. This caused the door to rip open in an airborne flight, pulling out nine passengers out into the open. One passenger apparently went straight into engine number 3. This "flaw" was already detected by The Boeing, but the airline had not implemented the "change" yet.

In the most shocking case, flight crew of a Boeing 757, started to get absolutely bogus data from the onboard computer, minutes after takeoff. Their altimeter and speedometer stopped working. The reason was due to a glue tape being attached to the "pro-static" sensors on one side of the aircraft by the maintenance crew during a routine clean up operation. The glue tape was not removed, and thus the sensors could not feed the computer with correct input. The aircraft eventually crashed into The Pacific. There were no survivors.

Amazing how man creates these big machines, and is unable to control it! This world is driven by economics and business, and one tends to ignore the basics of humanity and mankind. Take for instance this madness to cut trees and make way for fly-overs and vehicle movement. Where will you get so much fuel to run these machines? How will you counter the soil-erosion and the rising temperature and heat of the earth? Does any city-planner have any clue?

Mankind is sure towards it's extinction; or will it be a sudden death? Hope this post survives even after that, as a lesson for the next evolution.