Word Meaning
कुलाहें
kulaahein
Meaning
Caps, hats, or headgears; poetically, the crown or cup of a flower.
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and Urdu poetic tradition, 'kulāh' refers to a tall cap, crown, or dervish headgear, symbolizing either sovereignty or mystical renunciation. In this couplet, it metaphorically denotes the flower-caps or petal-crowns of wild anemones (shaqā'iq). The poet visualizes these floral crowns as laden with black marks, treated as scars of intense, desolate passion.
Etymology
Persian (کلاہ - kulāh), meaning a hat, cap, or crown.
Usage
In ghazal poetry, 'kulāh' often stands for dervish humility or contrast with imperial power, as well as a metaphor for flower cups.
Examples
The dervishes cast off their caps in ecstasy.
The wild blossoms tilt their red caps toward the morning breeze.