Persian · noun, masculine · The Tavern & the Cup

Badah-khwaar

बादा-ख़्वार

said baa-dah-khwaar

also written: Badahkhwar

Meaning

A wine-drinker; one devoted to the cup, often the free-spirited lover of the tavern.

Literally: wine-eater, wine-drinker

How Iqbal uses it

The badah-khwaar is the unashamed drinker of the wine of love, kin to the rind. Against the dry abstinence of the preacher, Iqbal honours the honest intoxication of such a soul.

See it in the verse

Badah-khwaar in Iqbal’s couplets

Sitara kya meri taqdir ki khabar dega
Wo khud farakhi-e-aflak mein hai khwar o zubun

What can a star tell me of my destiny? It is itself helpless and lowly in the vast reach of the skies.

Selfhood · Freedom · Courage

Related words

PERSIAN

Rind

The free-spirited libertine of the tavern, who scorns hypocritical piety in favour of sincere, intoxicated devotion.

PERSIAN

Mai-kashi

Wine-drinking; the practice of imbibing, used metaphorically for the pursuit of divine love.

PERSIAN

Baadah

Wine; the classic Persian-poetic term for the intoxicant of divine love.

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