Word Meaning
रोज़गार
rozgār
Meaning
Livelihood, employment, earning a living; also the times, age, or world.
Detailed Meaning
In Urdu poetry, 'rozgār' denotes livelihood, occupation, and sustenance, while also preserving its classical Persian meaning of 'time', 'fortune', or 'the world'. In this couplet, it specifically refers to means of living and economic well-being, pointing to widespread financial decline where barely a few manage to prosper. The term captures the anxiety of material survival juxtaposed against fate.
Etymology
Persian (rōzgār, a compound of rōz 'day' + -gār 'time, period, or condition').
Usage
In the ghazal tradition, it is frequently paired as 'gham-e-rozgār' (the sorrow of worldly livelihood) to contrast material drudgery with 'gham-e-ishq' (the sorrow of love).
Examples
The bitter worries of livelihood consumed him.
Such are the relentless revolutions of this world.