Persian · noun · Nature & the Garden
Chaman
चमन
said cha-MAN
also written: gulshan, gulistan, gulsitan
Meaning
Garden.
How Iqbal uses it
The garden of the world — and of a people. A true seer (deedavar) blooms in it only once in an age, after the narcissus has wept a thousand years over its own blindness. There is always “another garden, another nest” beyond the one you know.
See it in the verse
Chaman in Iqbal’s couplets
Hazaron saal nargis apni be-noori pe roti hai
Badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deedavar paida
Badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deedavar paida
For thousands of years the narcissus weeps over its own sightlessness — only with great difficulty is a truly seeing one born in the garden.
Self-Knowledge · Aspiration
Zameer-e-laala mein roshan charagh-e-aarzu kar de
Chaman ke zarre zarre ko shaheed-e-justuju kar de
Chaman ke zarre zarre ko shaheed-e-justuju kar de
Light the lamp of longing in the heart of the tulip — and make every grain of the garden a martyr to the search.
Aspiration · Hope · Restlessness
Qanaat na kar aalam-e-rang-o-bu par
Chaman aur bhi, aashiyan aur bhi hain
Chaman aur bhi, aashiyan aur bhi hain
Do not be content with this world of colour and scent — there are other gardens, and other nests, too.
Aspiration · Restlessness