Word Meaning
शराबी
sharābī
Meaning
A drunkard, an intoxicated person, or one living in a drunken state.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'sharabi' refers to a drinker or someone persistently intoxicated. In this couplet, it describes the speaker who lives like a drunkard, sustained not by grape wine but by the crimson blood of his wounded heart serving as a flagon (gulabi). The term evokes an enduring state of intense grief and romantic intoxication.
Etymology
Derived from Arabic 'sharāb' (شراب, drink/wine) via Persian, combined with the relative/agentive suffix '-ī'.
Usage
In the ghazal tradition, the 'sharabi' is often celebrated as a sincere seeker of truth who rejects religious hypocrisy in favor of mystical or emotional intoxication.
Examples
He wandered the street of the beloved like a drunkard.
The tavern was home to every destitute drunkard.