Word Meaning
छुटी
chhuṭī
Meaning
Relinquished, abandoned, or ceased (as a habit).
Detailed Meaning
In Ghalib's famous couplet, 'छुटी' refers to having given up or relinquished the long-standing habit of drinking wine. It conveys a reluctant or nominally accepted withdrawal from a beloved vice. The poet employs it with customary irony, professing that the habit is broken except under irresistible poetic temptations like rainy days and moonlit nights.
Etymology
From Prakrit 'chuṭṭaï' (to be freed or loosed), originating from Sanskrit verbal bases associated with loosening or breaking away.
Usage
In classical ghazal, forms of 'छूटना' commonly depict freedom from captivity, the breaking of a vice, or abandonment by a beloved, often colored with irony.
Examples
The habit was relinquished, yet longing remained.
When deliverance from love was finally granted.