Word Meaning
खावेंगे
khaavenge
Meaning
Will eat; will consume or sustain oneself (archaic future tense).
Detailed Meaning
An archaic and classical poetic form of the first-person or third-person plural future tense of 'khānā' (modern 'khāenge'). In Ghalib's verse, it forms a poignant rhetorical question: if Delhi suffers from a famine of love's sorrow, what emotional and spiritual sustenance will lovers survive on? It playfully yet bitterly equates existential and romantic grief with life-sustaining daily food.
Etymology
From Sanskrit 'khādati' (eats), evolving through Prakrit into Hindustani 'khānā'; the '-venge' inflection reflects older Awadhi/Braj and early Khariboli grammar common in Rekhta.
Usage
Frequently found in classical Urdu ghazal as an archaic future verbal form matching earlier Khariboli and Braj poetic conventions.
Examples
What will we eat if grief itself disappears from the city?
If love departs, what will the lover sustain himself with?