Word Meaning
बे-परी
be-parī
Meaning
Flightlessness, winglessness, or the condition of being helpless without wings.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'be-pari' refers to the state of lacking wings or feathers, serving as a poignant metaphor for helplessness, captivity, and the loss of agency. In this couplet, it represents a bird's desperate vow or resignation to flightlessness so that it may be spared the torment of longing for the garden.
Etymology
Persian compound formed from the privative prefix 'bē-' (without) + 'par' (wing/feather) + the abstract noun suffix '-ī'.
Usage
A frequent motif in ghazal poetry associated with the caged bird, representing profound despondency and the sacrifice of the desire to fly.
Examples
Living in the cage made winglessness its fate.
The grief of winglessness silenced the garden's nightingale.