इतराता

Meaning

Strutting proudly, preening, showing off, or acting vainly.

Detailed Meaning

The term refers to behaving with excessive pride, strutting boastfully, or displaying conceited airs. In Ghalib's couplet, it highlights self-irony, describing how having royal patronage has made the speaker swagger arrogantly, despite possessing little inherent stature of his own. It captures both pride and the mild ridicule of sudden undeserved status.

Etymology

Hindustani / Prakrit origin (derived from Sanskrit 'ittara' meaning low/petty, hence acting puffed up over small elevation).

Usage

In classical ghazal, it is frequently employed in tones of self-deprecation or to satirize pretension and vanity born of sudden fortune.

Examples

Synonyms

Related Words