Word Meaning
कूज़ा
kooza
Meaning
An earthen flagon, small jug, or pitcher, especially for wine or water.
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and Urdu poetry, 'kooza' refers to an earthenware flagon or pitcher typically used for serving water or wine. In this couplet by Ghalib, the poet dismisses smaller wine vessels like the flagon (kooza), glass (sheesha), and goblet (qadah) in favor of vast wine casks (khum), highlighting an insatiable thirst. Earthenware vessels also carry philosophical connotations of human transience, crafted as they are from dust.
Etymology
Persian (کوزه / kûza), meaning an earthen jug, pitcher, or flagon.
Usage
Commonly paired with tavern imagery (maikhana) or used in mystical allegories of the potter and the clay to symbolize human mortality.
Examples
Darya ba kooza (fitting an ocean inside a small flagon).
The potter molds the clay to fashion a humble kooza.