Word Meaning
ना-गहाँ
na-gahaan
Meaning
Sudden, unexpected, unawares, or unforeseen.
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and classical Urdu poetry, 'na-gahaan' describes an event, grief, or disaster that arrives abruptly and without warning. In this couplet, it qualifies 'marg' (death) as 'marg-e-na-gahaan' (sudden death), addressing it directly with weary irony. The speaker questions why this swift, uninvited end is tarrying when existence itself has grown reckless and futile.
Etymology
Persian: composed of the negative prefix 'nā-' (un-, not) and 'gāh' (time, moment), suffixed with '-ān' to denote suddenness or untimeliness.
Usage
Commonly compounded with nouns like 'marg' (death) or 'bala' (affliction) to dramatize tragic and abrupt turns of fate in the ghazal tradition.
Examples
a sudden calamity fell upon him
the sudden arrival of unexpected sorrow