# Persian, Urdu: خمارانگیز



## iskander e azam

Friends,

I am looking for the meaning of خمارانگیز as found in the following line:

کچھ دیر ایک خمارانگیز خاموشی چھائی رہی۔

I think the sentence says 'For some time there remained spread an intoxicating silence'. However, I do not think this correct as in English silence would not be described as 'intoxicating'. Silence in English is often described as 'pregnant', 'golden', 'meaningful', 'heavy', etc but never 'intoxicating'.

Is this simply idiomatic of Urdu or does خمارانگیز meaning something else altogether?

Any and all help appreciated.

Alex


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## Qureshpor

^ What if we take the meaning ofخمار as a "hangover", which is one of the meanings of this word. So, a "hangover-inducing" silence would work, don't you think?


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## iskander e azam

Qureshpor said:


> ^ What if we take the meaning ofخمار as a "hangover", which is one of the meanings of this word. So, a "hangover-inducing" silence would work, don't you think?



Qureshpor SaaHib,

ٰI am not convinced. Your suggestion is not idiomatic English. Does it work in Urdu?

ٰIn the book I am reading from it is used after a young man finishes singing in a small mehfil. The English world 'stupefy' would fit. 

Await your response.

Your servant,

Alex


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## Qureshpor

^ Well, you have the context of a whole book, while we just have one sentence! Let us wait and see what other friends can contribute.


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## Jashn

Languages sometimes contain concepts that don't exist in others, and sometimes terms don't map directly from one language to another, so why would it be a given that there is an equivalent English term?

I would be tempted to use Qureshpor's translation, it has the virtue of fidelity to the original tongue. If I were pressed to try something else, perhaps, 'Electrifying silence'? It isn't quite the same, though, as khumar, as I've encountered it, sometimes has romantic connotations, which this translation does not. Perhaps the attempt will spark someone else's creativity, though.


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## Alfaaz

A few more possible options for translating خمار انگیز into English (based on the limited context presented above): _mesmerizing, spellbinding, dazzling, entrancing, captivating, engrossing, enchanting, enthralling, riveting, fascinating, etc._


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## Qureshpor

Thank you @Jashn and @Alfaaz.

I have searched for خمارانگیز usage and I have not been able to find anything in Urdu. I have found one solitary example in Persian and perhaps this is due to my inability to search properly on both counts. Here is the one example I found in Persian and it would be good to find out what our Persian friends feel its meaning is within the given context.

خراب از باد پائیز خمارانگیز تهرانم
خمار آن بهار شوخ و شهر آشوب شمرانم

Devastated by the intoxicating autumn wind of Tehran, I am
Counting the hangovers of the brazen, city-razing spring, I am

I would be especially interested in finding out if I have understood خمار and خمارانگیز correctly.

For the interest of our Persian friends, the phrase in question in the opening post is خمارانگیز خاموشی, i.e xumaar-angez silence.

(@iskander e azam I would like to know whether the young man's singing, from the story of your book, was deemed to be good or bad by the "maHfil".)


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## iskander e azam

Friends,

Thanks to all the new responders.

Qureshpor SaaHib the young man's singing was thought to be plaintive (and excellent at that).

Alex


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## farzan

I think خمار describes the yearning for, the state in which one goes without, alcohol/narcotics. The intoxicated state is referred to in Persian as نَشئِه، _nash-e_.


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## Qureshpor

farzan said:


> I think خمار describes the yearning for, the state in which one goes without, alcohol/narcotics. The intoxicated state is referred to in Persian as نَشئِه، _nash-e_.


Thank you @farzan.
I feel we don't need to delve into the significance of "xumaar" in classical Persian poetry. What we are interested in finding out is what you and other Persian speakers would perceive if you came across:

خاموشی خمارانگیز

This is the Urdu sentence.

کچھ دیر ایک خمارانگیز خاموشی چھائی رہی۔

For a while a خاموشی خمارانگیز continued to linger.

As a side note, what is the literal meaning of خمار and خمارانگیز in the couplet that I have quoted?


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## farzan

I believe _khomaar_ is the state of torpor an alcoholic or a drug addict falls into as a result of their NOT having consumed the addictive substance. Of course this implication must have derived from the Arabic word for wine, which I expect would be _khamr_. So it makes sense to think of khomaar as listless/listlessness,  either because the person is hankering after their fix or because they are simply wasted through consumption. Or, if you like, the state such a person finds themselves in in the intervals between their ‘happy hours’. In any case _khomaar_ is not to be conflated with ‘merry, drunk, tipsy’.

خراب از باد پاييز خمارانگيز تهرانم 
خمار آن بهار شوخ و شهرآشوب شمرانم

I feel wasted, languid as the autumn breeze of Tehran makes me. 
I yearn for the allure and potency of the spring air in Shemran.


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## iskander e azam

farzan said:


> I believe _khomaar_ is the state of torpor an alcoholic or a drug addict falls into as a result of their NOT having consumed the addictive substance. Of course this implication must have derived from the Arabic word for wine, which I expect would be _khamr_. So it makes sense to think of khomaar as listless/listlessness,  either because the person is hankering after their fix or because they are simply wasted through consumption. Or, if you like, the state such a person finds themselves in in the intervals between their ‘happy hours’. In any case _khomaar_ is not to be conflated with ‘merry, drunk, tipsy’.
> 
> خراب از باد پاييز خمارانگيز تهرانم
> خمار آن بهار شوخ و شهرآشوب شمرانم
> 
> I feel wasted, languid as the autumn breeze of Tehran makes me.
> I yearn for the allure and potency of the spring air in Shemran.




farzan SaaHIb,

Thank you for your post. I think this fits the context. Many thanks to all the posters who helped 'this ship reach its shore'.

Alex


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## Qureshpor

farzan said:


> خراب از باد پاييز خمارانگيز تهرانم
> خمار آن بهار شوخ و شهرآشوب شمرانم
> 
> I feel wasted, languid as the autumn breeze of Tehran makes me.
> I yearn for the allure and potency of the spring air in Shemran.


As a matter of interest, is the place name شمیران also spelt as شمران?


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## Qureshpor

iskander e azam said:


> farzan SaaHIb,
> 
> Thank you for your post. I think this fits the context. Many thanks to all the posters who helped 'this ship reach its shore'.
> 
> Alex


I have just been in contact with a close friend of mine who is an Urdu speaker. He has never come across "xumaar-angez" before and without any prompting, he has translated the sentence as:

"For a short while, an intoxicating silence prevailed".

It's another matter that he too has never come across "silence" being described as "intoxicating".

Who is the author of your book?


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## Alfaaz

In addition to the primary meaning discussed in the preceding posts, does خمار not carry the secondary meaning of _general _سرور، سرشاری ، خوشی، شگفتگی، وغیرہ and tertiary meaning of اثرات بے خوابی as well in Urdu?


			
				Qureshpor said:
			
		

> I have searched for خمارانگیز usage and I have not been able to find anything in Urdu. I have found one solitary example in Persian and perhaps this is due to my inability to search properly on both counts.


 Did you use an Urdu keyboard to type خمار انگیز or did you copy the compound from the opening post? For some reason, they appear to yield different results.

Here are a few examples of _xumaar-angez_ currently available online:


> ربط - باغات کے اوپر منڈلاتے بادل اور پکھیرو آنکھوں اور کیمرے کے لینز کو متحرک کرنے کو کافی سے بھی زیادہ ہیں اور پھر چپریال سے آگے نکل کر سڑک سے لگ کر بہتی آرنوی ندی نیند آلود اور *خمار انگیز* سندیسے بیھجتی ہے۔
> 
> تحریر: محمد کاشف علی





> ربط - انسان جس معاشرے سوسائٹی اور ماحول کے اندر اپنے روز و شب گزاتا ہے وہاں پر روزانہ اس کے مفادات کا ٹکرا ﺅ اس جیسے دوسرے انسانوں سے ہو تا ہے لیکن وہ مخا صمت اور ٹکراﺅ کی اس کیفیت میں بھی ماحول اور گردو پیش سے کنارہ کش نہیں ہو تا بلکہ اپنی بہترین حکمتِ عملی اور منصوبہ بندی سے اپنے ناقدین اور مخالفین سے سبقت لے جانے کی کوشش میں جٹا رہتا ہے۔ کبھی کبھی اسے ہار کا منہ بھی دیکھنا پڑتا ہے لیکن اکثر و بیشتر فتح اس کے قدم چو متی ہے لہٰذا وہ فتح کے *خمار انگیز* لمحات میں خوشیوں کے شادیانے بجاتا اپنے تفوق کا ڈھول پیٹتا اور اپنی برتری کے نغمے گا تا آگے بڑھتا چلا جاتا ہے۔
> 
> تحریر: ڈاکٹر مقصود جعفری





> شکن بستر بہار آمیز
> بدن آہوئے *خمار انگیز*
> ہوس بزم خسرو پرویز
> حسرت نشہ شراب لکھوں
> سوچتا ہوں کہ اپنے خواب لکھوں
> 
> سحر انصاری از نمود - ربط





> ربط - ایسے میں خوابناک اور *خمار انگیز* کیفیات سے پہلو تہی کر کے شعر گوئی کی بنیاد سچے اور کھرے شخصی اور اجتماعی حسی تجربات اور مشاہدات پر رکھنے والی شاعرات میں ایک نام ...
> 
> تنقید نگار: اکرم کُنجاہی


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## iskander e azam

Qureshpor said:


> Who is the author of your book?



میں بھی پاکستانی ہوں by ڈاکٹر اختر شمار.


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## iskander e azam

Alfaaz said:


> ربط - انسان جس معاشرے سوسائٹی اور ماحول کے اندر اپنے روز و شب گزاتا ہے وہاں پر روزانہ اس کے مفادات کا ٹکرا ﺅ اس جیسے دوسرے انسانوں سے ہو تا ہے لیکن وہ مخا صمت اور ٹکراﺅ کی اس کیفیت میں بھی ماحول اور گردو پیش سے کنارہ کش نہیں ہو تا بلکہ اپنی بہترین حکمتِ عملی اور منصوبہ بندی سے اپنے ناقدین اور مخالفین سے سبقت لے جانے کی کوشش میں جٹا رہتا ہے۔ کبھی کبھی اسے ہار کا منہ بھی دیکھنا پڑتا ہے لیکن اکثر و بیشتر فتح اس کے قدم چو متی ہے لہٰذا وہ فتح کے *خمار انگیز* لمحات میں خوشیوں کے شادیانے بجاتا اپنے تفوق کا ڈھول پیٹتا اور اپنی برتری کے نغمے گا تا آگے بڑھتا چلا جاتا ہے۔
> 
> تحریر: ڈاکٹر مقصود جعفری
> ​



The use of خمار انگیز in this context makes perfect sense to me. It is...intoxicating. I think the author of the book I am reading is to trying to convey the fact that the intoxication of the singing carried on over into the silence.


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## farzan

Shemraan and Shemiraan are one and the same: an area to the north of the capital city, Tehran.


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## PersoLatin

^ As farzan has said, the two versions refer to the same place, although it is intriguing to see Shemraan with Tehraan, as the former is a hacked version of its formal & informal versions Shem*i*raan & Shemroon. Basically to get the rhythm & weight right, the poet/lyricist has gone for Shemraan.

So it’s either Shemiraan or Shemroon, and Shemraan(no i) is invented for convenience here, of course in two hundred years time there may be a debate on whether Shemraan is correct or not, and someone may find this couplet and site it as proof that, yes it is correct, hopefully they'll find this post too.


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