These are the words of the poet whose very being was and still is surrounded by controversies. Ask any sane person (literate or otherwise) who is Ghalib? And you will get to hear what a ‘great Urdu poet of the subcontinent’ he was. However, that’s the extent of the uniformity of opinions, an array of reactions will follow thereafter.
As a person, Ghalib was woefully misunderstood. Some call him an atheist while others dubbed him ‘Godless’. But few know his poetry as the product of a civilization standing consciously on the brink of change.
Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (1797-1869), known to all as by the nom de plume, Ghalib, is the best known and the most widely read Indo-Persian poet of his time. Perhaps Ghalib was not the great hero that some of his biographers, notably Hali have tried to make him. But what we ask of a poet is the texture of his writing, his thought and sensibility, and Ghalib did not let us down.
Standing testimony to this notion are his numerous ardent admirers who advocate both his life, ideologies and works. Ghalib’s lack of interest in religion and his wavering belief in God, seen as an offence to many is best advocated on www.sufism.ru/eng/txts/a_godless.htm which presents an article called Mirza Ghalib: A Godless Lover by Jameela Siddiqi. She presents an analysis of Ghalib’s work that shows a constant preoccupation with God and His creation. Her justification goes on to show how ‘Ghalib’s attitude of philosophical doubt, rooted in his own experience, was mistaken by superficial readers for atheism’ and identifies the factors and events that led to misconceived image of this great icon.
The years of Ghalib’s life are rolled back at http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~navin/india/songs/ghalib/intro.g where his life is introduced to all, in a detailed chronological journey, with the psychology of ambivalences that occurred due to the death of his father and uncle. It provides one with an insight on not only the events that shaped up his life but also the people who led him to be what he is today and his attitudes towards the society in general and to the British Raj in particular.
Having his roots in feudal aristocracy, Ghalib grew up having various distinct phases of his life, each different yet interwoven by the loom of history at the same time, a synopsis of which is given at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_Ghalib the home page of which is Wikipedia and claims to be ‘The Free Encyclopedia’. Its table of contents boasts of topics like ‘Ghalib in his childhood’, ‘Ghalib as a poet’, ‘Hard time of Ghalib’, ‘Disenchanted Ghalib’ etc. It also gives a list of related articles of and external links to Ghalib’s life and works. Other useful sites that delve into his life history are http://www.urdustan.com/adeeb/ghalib.htm describing his beginning, his overall life pattern and his poetic and letter writing skills.
Though Ghalib received little recognition in his lifetime for his work, with the passage of several years he has been acknowledged as an absolute master of his art. His couplets are a unique combination of wit, irony and a wealth of human experience, the essence of which can be experienced by reading his poems and understanding their profound meanings and the stupefying metaphors used by him. These days his poems are just a click away thanks to web sites like http://www.urdupoetry.com/ghalib.html listing more than a hundred of Ghalib’s poems and ghazals and http://www.yagmin.com/ghalib/joy.cgi?p=1. A collection of 37 poems by Ghalib, complete with an introduction about Ghalib and ‘Historical Notes’ that site gives some basic historical facts and technicalities of ghazal, sher, nazm etc. It helps to not only enrich our experience of reading but also helps us understand the poems better. Interpretation of Ghalib’s poems require great skill and sensitivity which at times acts as a hindrance for those eager to understand the verses. However, this has been made easy by the site http://www.geocities.com/ziestnmot/ , the purpose of which is true to its name, Tashree. It not only has new arrivals but also has an archive of poems and ghazals interpreted earlier. It explains each poem verse by verse and those truly awed by the site can give their feedback and comments in the guestbook. This site is highly recommended for people studying Ghalib’s works.
Ghalib’s ghazals have had an appeal for not only people wishing to read poetry but also for musicians around the subcontinent who have used his verses to create musical hits that have taken the masses by storm. Many of his ghazals are sung by the Indian ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh and as a music loving society we can indulge in the tunes at http://www.geocities.com/deewan_e_ghalib/main.html which lists a variety of ghazals or http://www.
musicindiaonline.com/music/l/02010405. Here one can either create an album of the selected songs and order a CD or listen to them by merely checking in the box next to one’s favourite ghazal.
What Shakespeare was to England as a playwright, Ghalib was to India as a poet. Amidst controversies, what Ghalib lacked in terms of finances and social respect, his admirers gave him in abundance; their hearts. As we do today in homage.
aa koi aisaa bhee ke Ghalib ko na jaane?
