Word Meaning
बेगानों
begānoñ
Meaning
Strangers, outsiders, foreigners, or alienated persons.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'begānoñ' (the oblique plural of 'begāna') refers to strangers, foreigners, or those from whom one is estranged. In this couplet, it serves as an antithesis to 'yagānoñ' (intimates or kin), delineating the speaker's existential purgatory where the heart belongs neither to the circle of loved ones nor to the realm of mere strangers. It underscores an acute sense of alienation and unacknowledged existence in the presence of the beloved.
Etymology
Persian 'begānah' (بیگانہ), composed of the negative prefix 'be-' and the root denoting relation/self, meaning stranger or outsider.
Usage
In ghazal poetry, it is frequently paired in contrast with 'yagāna' (kin/confidant) or 'āshnā' (friend) to dramatize absolute isolation.
Examples
Sitting quietly in a gathering of strangers
Counted neither among loved ones nor among strangers