Word Meaning
बाज़-गश्त
baaz-gasht
Meaning
Return, turning back, retreat, or echo
Detailed Meaning
In Persian and classical Urdu poetry, 'baaz-gasht' signifies the act of turning back, returning, or receding. In the given couplet, the poet speaks of travelling through the valley of contemplation with such drunken abandon that no desire or motive to return remains. It connotes a point of no return in spiritual, creative, or emotional immersion.
Etymology
Persian: compound of 'bāz' (back, again) + 'gasht' (turning, walking/wandering, from 'gashtan').
Usage
In ghazal aesthetics, 'baaz-gasht' frequently symbolizes either the impossibility of turning back from the path of love and thought, or the acoustic echo of a lover's voice.
Examples
Safar mein ab baaz-gasht ki gunjaish kahan
Gunjti hai faza mein sada ki baaz-gasht