THE 145th death anniversary of Ghalib, the master magician, was observed earlier in the year. This flickered through my fading memory, which is nothing unusual for someone whose life is ebbing away. But later I felt some regret and remorse as I had conceived a quatrain, called qitah in Urdu, to pay my tribute to the unrivalled genius of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.

I reckon that writing on Ghalib’s ethereal poetry does not have to be bounded by mundane customs. His poetry is an allegory of a spiritual journey. It carries you through the maze of a celestial world in a state of ecstasy and tranquillity.

Let me, therefore, unburden my emotions albeit rather belatedly:

Haroon Rashid Siddiqi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2021