Word Meaning
तकिया
takiya
Meaning
A pillow or support; also a dervish's abode, hermitage, or resting place.
Detailed Meaning
Literally meaning a pillow or cushion, 'takiya' in classical idiom also designates the retreat, hermitage, or resting abode of a dervish or faqir. In this couplet, 'takiya hi bana baithenge' signifies establishing an ascetic's sanctuary in the desolate wilderness after total disillusionment in love and city life. It evokes both the idea of laying one's weary head down and renouncing worldly attachments for nomadic solitude.
Etymology
Arabic root 'w-k-ʾ' (ittaka'a, meaning to recline or lean on), borrowed via Persian into Urdu and Hindi.
Usage
In ghazal poetry, poets frequently play with the double meaning of 'takiya' as both a pillow for a weeping lover and an ascetic hermitage of renunciation.
Examples
establishing an ascetic retreat in the wilderness
making grief one's only pillow