Word Meaning
नाला-कशी
nāla-kashī
Meaning
Lamentation, wailing, or the act of uttering cries of sorrow.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Persian and Urdu poetry, 'nāla-kashī' denotes the persistent utterance of moans, wails, or deep laments born of intense emotional agony or heartbreak. In this couplet, it captures the lover's weary condition of enduring existence solely through perpetual mourning and desperate crying out, while wondering how long such misery can be sustained.
Etymology
Persian compound of 'nāla' (groan, lament) and '-kashī' (from 'kashīdan', to pull, endure, or utter).
Usage
It is a common trope in ghazals to depict the desolate lover spending whole nights in agonizing sighs and laments that reach the heavens.
Examples
Continual lamentation through the dark night
Finding no relief in tearful wailing