December 11, 2001

Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib, as the name itself reflects, is a zealous analysis of Diwan-i-Ghalib in which Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori has unveiled the ever prevailing freshness and beauty of Ghalib’s poetry. Bijnori has compared Ghalib with the greatest poets of the West and has attempted to prove eloquently the due stature of this khaknashin of Delhi.

Drawing inspiration and support from a wide range of fine art, in addition to resting his beliefs on the solid structure of philosophy, Bijnori draws daring conclusions. His proclamation that “Hindustan ki ilhami kitaben dou hain — Maqaddas Vaid or Diwan-i-Ghalib” has become a proverbial expression over the years that is invariably quoted in every discussion on Ghalib’s poetry in literary forums of the subcontinent.

Bijnori’s concise but scholarly appreciation of Ghalib’s poetry was first published in 1920, more than two years after his death, by Maulvi Abdul Haque in his magazine Urdu, a quarterly publication. The same year, it was also published in the form of a booklet under the auspices of Anjuman-i-Taraqqi-i-Urdu.

Additionally, it was published as the preface to Ghalib’s unabridged collection of Urdu poems — better known as Nuskha-i-Hameediya, the manuscript of which in Ghalib’s own handwriting was luckily discovered from the State of Bhopal’s Hameediya Library. It reached Dr Bijnori’s deserving custody, who was then Educational Advisor in the State of Bhopal. Bijnori was intensely involved in bringing out the Nuskha-i-Hameediya, a rare find, in a befitting style of aesthetics when he died in the influenza epidemic at the young age of 33 in Bhopal.

He, therefore, could not review and conclude his preface to Nuskha-i-Hameediya and for this reason Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib gives an impression of ending rather abruptly. Despite this inadequacy, Mahasan-i- Kalam-i-Ghalib has carved out a unique and distinctive niche for itself in the realm of Ghalibyat. It has continued to serve as an authoritative reference book for serious students of Urdu literature who set out to research new dimensions in Ghalib’s poetry.

Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib is the focal point which is the starting point of Ghalib shanasi. This trend has spread far and wide and is still vibrant. This book has seen many editions since 1921, mostly in India, but a few in Pakistan as well. The latest edition from Islamabad published under the aegis of Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori Trust is undoubtedly the best. The President of the Trust, A.R. Siddiqi, deserves full appreciation for his valuable efforts in reviewing the entire book and removing the misprints in a long over-due exercise.

The difficult to grasp names of the philosophers, poets, artists and multilingual fine art references interspersed in Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib have now been correctly cited. Such lapses found way in the book due to the untimely death of the author in 1918, before he could review his manuscript. The present edition also includes a glossary of difficult words and their present day meanings for the greater benefit of the readers, specially students. The preface written by A.R. Siddiqi is enlightening and makes good reading.

Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib was conceptualized by Bijnori in topical segments that can be subdivided into eighteen parts, each one dealing with a distinct aspect of Ghalib’s poetry. Each of this has been assessed eruditely by Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori to evaluate the true stature of the poet. This distinguishes Ghalib from other poets or puts him at level with the greatest poets of the world. Subject-wise Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib can be classified into the following topics:

• Transmundane elements and universality in Ghalib’s poetry
• Music and rhythm in Ghalib’s poetry
• A distinction in Ghalib’s grandeur and greatness
• A latent charm in Ghalib’s complex poetry
• Ghalib’s craftsmanship in coining new words and expressions
• Use of self created similes and metaphors by Ghalib
• Art in Ghalib’s poetry
• Ghalib’s enunciation of the secrets of nature
• Ghalib’s simple poetry and its profound sensibilities
• Philosophy of monism and monotheism in Ghalib’s poetry
• Soul and matter
• Religion
• Reality of life and the concept of nihilism
• Death
• Laughter
• Interrogatory doubts
• Wine and love
• Imagery

From all these subjects, it is evident that Bijnori has chosen to either deal with the poetic excellence of Ghalib or has focussed on his intellectual ability and philosophical greatness of the poet. This has enhanced Ghalib’s image to lofty heights. Bijnori has traced the predominant impact of Ghalib on Urdu language which he believes had to bend and bow before his awesome pen just as Shakespeare commanded English for his creative pursuits.

Bijnori has unreservedly announced that Ghalib’s diction is decidedly inimitable. Every word appears perfectly placed, be it in the context of syntax or meaning. The imagery is splendidly beautiful and has no parallel. The stunning beauty of Ghalib’s poetry oscillates between amazing simplicity and mystifying complexity, the two extremes that come to the poet naturally, although Ghalib relies heavily on the latter form; and rightly so. Complex poetry is fanciful and carries a latent beauty and charm that cannot exist superficially. Nonetheless, some of Ghalib’s verses are so deceptively simple that a reader feels that he too could write it, but that feeling is an illusion which soon disappears like a mirage when the mind is put to work.

Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib is as intricate and profound as Diwan-i-Ghalib itself. One needs a firm grip on language and philosophy and a profound knowledge of comparative study of fine art and other literatures to measure its true depth and quality.

Mahasan-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib
By Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori
Dr Abdur Rehman Bijnori Trust, House # 684, Double Road, Sector 1-8/4, Islamabad
Tel: 051-4434085.
Karachi: 021-5854231
84pp. Rs100

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