There is no doubt why so many admire him and look at him as the most wonderful poet both Urdu and India has ever produced. He indeed was the most famous among them all, not only during his own time but even 150 years after his death. I myself don’t understand Urdu a lot but as an UnLearner I am very much interested in his works. My intention is purely academic and that of UnLearning. Pundits of Urdu poetry say that the best way to feel and understand Urdu is to understand Ghalib. A man of great stature he stands out among great Urdu poets like Mir, Rumi and Hafiz. He was even better an expressionist than all of them. Not so elegant or graceful in expression I am unable to express what I feel about his greatness.
Ghalib was his pen name which literally means conqueror in Urdu and without any doubt he conquered uncountable hearts. What Shakespeare is to English literature is Ghalib to Urdu. His contribution not only to Urdu literature but to the world of literature in general is immense.
I am unable to decide what is better in Agra, Taj Mahal or the feeling that Ghalib roamed around those lanes of the city. Faint feeling of his presence must be there in the air of Agra and Delhi. Though his theme style and way of expression was different from Kabir, he was true descendent of him in many senses. Unlike Kabir his path was of love and devotion rather than Bhakti or worship, but the essence or meaning was and is one and the same. Today we can regret that we neither have poets like Ghalib nor Delhi-Darbar Mushairs but ruins of his words with us. Posterity of Urdu literature can never forget these lines from the maestro.
[Khum = wine barrel; qadah = goblet, wine glass; kooza/suboo = wine pitcher]
When you drink look at the empty bottles around you. What is this wine barrel and wine glass?
No translation can express what can be expressed so well in Urdu.
Wine was the other great love of this great poet, besides the beloved. For him beloved were his lover and God alike. God was feminine for him. Urdu language has this beauty of describing things beautifully and more poetically than any other language. For Ghalib, wine was more important than anything else in the real world around him. For him it was an art as important as poetry itself, or may be more than that.
I can see few striking similarities between him and few of the literary giants of his time. He also was an aristocrat like Leo and Oscar. May be there is this strange relation between aristocracy and good writing and poetry. Genuinely I confess that most of the writers or poets I love are either from aristocratic backgrounds or they are very rich. May be only rich can have all the time and patience in the world to write about such things at length and they get admirers too. In last few days I have experienced this personally. They were rich not only in monetary terms but also in their ability of expression of feelings and understanding of human nature. They all were rebels. They never made noise about the social reforms because they knew that nothing much could have been done with the society. Their work just reflects how well they understand life.
Famous American journalist and literary critic Burton Rascoe rightly said, “What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window.” Leo experienced this during earlier part of his married life. Just in the beginning of War and Peace he put these words in Prince Andrew’s mouth, "Never, never marry, my dear fellow! That's my advice: never marry till you can say to yourself that you have done all you are capable of, and until you have ceased to love the woman of your choice and have seen her plainly as she is, or else you will make a cruel and irrevocable mistake. Marry when you are old and good for nothing or all that is good and noble in you will be lost. It will all be wasted on trifles. Yes! Yes! Yes! Don't look at me with such surprise. If you marry expecting anything from yourself in the future, you will feel at every step that for you all is ended, all is closed except the drawing room, where you will be ranged side by side with a court lackey and an idiot!... But what's the good..."
Ghalib’s relationship with his wife was even worse than this. Married at the age of 14 he was a true rebel while his wife a god fearing woman in worldly sense. Some of the most popular and the best work he gave the world were created between the age of 13 and 17. By the time he was 17 he said that he was ’through’ the poetry. He was born a wise and old man I imagine. Just like Leo and Oscar he also passed through mental agony during later part of his life. May be, knowing too many things too early in life was a cruse he suffered from throughout his life. Ignorance is really bliss. More and more you know more and more you suffer until you attain the fountainhead of ultimate truth. But that is a process, you have to know more and more in order to UnLearn things you have learned all your life. I think Ghalib failed here. It seems from the incidents in later part of his life as if all his efforts went south and he was unable to hold his frustration. This gaazal by him describes that better.
Few of his letters have been translated in to English by Ralph Russel. Ghalib also contributed in the development of Urdu prose writing and gave it new directions. Few of his letters translated are also available for online reading.
This Shar best describes his rebellious nature as a lover.
You can listen to all beautiful songs and Gaazals by Ghabil sung by various famous artists here, including famous songs from movie mirza ghalib:
This is one very long Soundtrack, around about 10 hours of Gaazals. Drag-Drop progress bar on player to listen to different songs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S.Urdu and Hindi or Hindustani are very similar to each other and evolved side by side for almost 500 years.They are sister languages. They developed from the same indo-european branch of languages and have similar words and grammar. Both of this languages borrowed words from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Prakrut.
Poet's full name: Mirza Assad Ullah Khan Ghalib
Glossary for non urdu-hindustani speakers.
Sharaab-Wine, Sheesha-Glass, Qaayal-Bound, Ragon-veins, Aankh-eyes, Lahoo-Blood.
© 2007
20Box
Ghalib was his pen name which literally means conqueror in Urdu and without any doubt he conquered uncountable hearts. What Shakespeare is to English literature is Ghalib to Urdu. His contribution not only to Urdu literature but to the world of literature in general is immense.
I am unable to decide what is better in Agra, Taj Mahal or the feeling that Ghalib roamed around those lanes of the city. Faint feeling of his presence must be there in the air of Agra and Delhi. Though his theme style and way of expression was different from Kabir, he was true descendent of him in many senses. Unlike Kabir his path was of love and devotion rather than Bhakti or worship, but the essence or meaning was and is one and the same. Today we can regret that we neither have poets like Ghalib nor Delhi-Darbar Mushairs but ruins of his words with us. Posterity of Urdu literature can never forget these lines from the maestro.
Piyoon sharaab agar khum bhee dekh loon do chaar
yeh sheesha-o-qadah-o-kooza-o-suboo kya hai?
[Khum = wine barrel; qadah = goblet, wine glass; kooza/suboo = wine pitcher]
When you drink look at the empty bottles around you. What is this wine barrel and wine glass?
No translation can express what can be expressed so well in Urdu.
Wine was the other great love of this great poet, besides the beloved. For him beloved were his lover and God alike. God was feminine for him. Urdu language has this beauty of describing things beautifully and more poetically than any other language. For Ghalib, wine was more important than anything else in the real world around him. For him it was an art as important as poetry itself, or may be more than that.I can see few striking similarities between him and few of the literary giants of his time. He also was an aristocrat like Leo and Oscar. May be there is this strange relation between aristocracy and good writing and poetry. Genuinely I confess that most of the writers or poets I love are either from aristocratic backgrounds or they are very rich. May be only rich can have all the time and patience in the world to write about such things at length and they get admirers too. In last few days I have experienced this personally. They were rich not only in monetary terms but also in their ability of expression of feelings and understanding of human nature. They all were rebels. They never made noise about the social reforms because they knew that nothing much could have been done with the society. Their work just reflects how well they understand life.
Famous American journalist and literary critic Burton Rascoe rightly said, “What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window.” Leo experienced this during earlier part of his married life. Just in the beginning of War and Peace he put these words in Prince Andrew’s mouth, "Never, never marry, my dear fellow! That's my advice: never marry till you can say to yourself that you have done all you are capable of, and until you have ceased to love the woman of your choice and have seen her plainly as she is, or else you will make a cruel and irrevocable mistake. Marry when you are old and good for nothing or all that is good and noble in you will be lost. It will all be wasted on trifles. Yes! Yes! Yes! Don't look at me with such surprise. If you marry expecting anything from yourself in the future, you will feel at every step that for you all is ended, all is closed except the drawing room, where you will be ranged side by side with a court lackey and an idiot!... But what's the good..."
Ghalib’s relationship with his wife was even worse than this. Married at the age of 14 he was a true rebel while his wife a god fearing woman in worldly sense. Some of the most popular and the best work he gave the world were created between the age of 13 and 17. By the time he was 17 he said that he was ’through’ the poetry. He was born a wise and old man I imagine. Just like Leo and Oscar he also passed through mental agony during later part of his life. May be, knowing too many things too early in life was a cruse he suffered from throughout his life. Ignorance is really bliss. More and more you know more and more you suffer until you attain the fountainhead of ultimate truth. But that is a process, you have to know more and more in order to UnLearn things you have learned all your life. I think Ghalib failed here. It seems from the incidents in later part of his life as if all his efforts went south and he was unable to hold his frustration. This gaazal by him describes that better.
Those faces of death I see sometimes
in the rose and tulip but only a few
Daughters of the sun behind that sweeping dress
what were you thinking coming naked to the night
He is the one for whom sleep has widened
on whose arm your hair is lying
We made breaking the pattern a pattern of living
when friends kept dying faith overtook us
I have wept for all I have seen I am young
these cities should sleep in the dust of desires
Few of his letters have been translated in to English by Ralph Russel. Ghalib also contributed in the development of Urdu prose writing and gave it new directions. Few of his letters translated are also available for online reading.
This Shar best describes his rebellious nature as a lover.
Ragon mein daudte firne ke ham naheen qaayal
jab aankh hee se na tapka to fir lahoo kya hai?
You can listen to all beautiful songs and Gaazals by Ghabil sung by various famous artists here, including famous songs from movie mirza ghalib:
This is one very long Soundtrack, around about 10 hours of Gaazals. Drag-Drop progress bar on player to listen to different songs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S.Urdu and Hindi or Hindustani are very similar to each other and evolved side by side for almost 500 years.They are sister languages. They developed from the same indo-european branch of languages and have similar words and grammar. Both of this languages borrowed words from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Prakrut.
Poet's full name: Mirza Assad Ullah Khan Ghalib
Glossary for non urdu-hindustani speakers.
Sharaab-Wine, Sheesha-Glass, Qaayal-Bound, Ragon-veins, Aankh-eyes, Lahoo-Blood.
© 2007
20Box
I wish I had the time to learn Urdu. I think it is spoken a lot in my town, whose population is up to 15% Pakistani / Kashmiri.
ReplyDelete