Word Meaning
सुफ़रा
sufra
Meaning
A dining cloth, tablecloth, or banquet spread.
Detailed Meaning
In traditional Eastern dining culture, 'sufra' refers to the cloth or leather spread laid out for serving food. In this couplet by Ghalib, it denotes the feast table where wine of hidden fire is paired with the roasted heart of a mythical salamander. Symbolically, it sets the stage for a banquet of intense passion, fire, and tragic endurance.
Etymology
Arabic origin ('sufrah'), originally referring to food provision for a journey, later extending to the leather bag or cloth on which food is laid.
Usage
In classical Urdu and Persian ghazals, it is frequently used to evoke motifs of generous hospitality, the shared feast, or the grim spread of fate.
Examples
The spread of grace remained open for every traveler.
Upon the cloth of love, roasted pieces of the heart were laid.