Word Meaning
ग़रीबी
gharībī
Meaning
Poverty, destitution, helplessness, or humble wretched state.
Detailed Meaning
In Urdu poetry, 'gharībī' represents not merely material poverty, but profound social insignificance, helplessness, and the indignity of being disregarded. In this couplet, it evokes the poet's overlooked and humble stature, where grace or the cup of wine reaches him only after the entire assembly has departed. It frames the speaker's destitution as an unfortunate spectacle mockingly observed by others.
Etymology
Arabic root 'gharīb' (غریب, meaning strange, alienated, or poor) + Persian suffix '-ī' (ی).
Usage
Commonly invoked in ghazal poetry to underscore the lover's disenfranchisement, humility, and the world's callous indifference.
Examples
The spectacle of my poverty became a mockery for the town.
He guarded his dignity even amidst biting poverty.