Word Meaning
मय-कश
may-kash
Meaning
A wine-drinker, tavern frequenter, or seeker of spiritual ecstasy.
Detailed Meaning
Literally a drinker or imbiber of wine, referring to one who frequents taverns and partakes of the cup. In Persian and Urdu poetry, the figure often embodies the sincere, unconventional lover who seeks mystical ecstasy in contrast to formal orthodoxy. In this couplet, the wine-lovers are portrayed as enraptured and intoxicated simply by the imagined radiance of the rose.
Etymology
Persian compound of 'may' (wine) and 'kash' (from kashīdan, to draw, pull, or drink).
Usage
In the Urdu ghazal, 'may-kash' often represents an authentic and unpretentious devotee of love, exalted over the hypocritical preacher or ascetic.
Examples
Every wine-drinker waits eagerly for the cupbearer's glance.
The tavern grew quiet when the wine-drinkers departed.