Word Meaning
रह-रवाँ
rah-ravāñ
Meaning
Wayfarers, travelers, or passersby walking along a path.
Detailed Meaning
In classical poetry, 'rah-ravān' refers to wayfarers, travelers, or passersby journeying along a path, functioning as the Persian plural of 'rah-rav'. In this couplet, the speaker compares themselves to an obliterated footprint on the road, lamenting that the passing travelers retain neither news nor memory of them. It evokes themes of total insignificance, abandonment, and existential erasure.
Etymology
Persian compound of 'rah' (path, way) and 'ravān' (moving, going, present participle of raftan; also used as plural of rah-rav).
Usage
In the Urdu ghazal, it is frequently employed to evoke fellow travelers on the allegorical road of love or spiritual quest.
Examples
Not a single wayfarer paused to notice the fallen traveler.
The passing wayfarers had no inkling of the grief along the road.