The Evolution of Ghalib

148 Pages·2017·1.03 MB·English

by  Abdullah & Hasan

Schooled in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Hasan Abdullah is a graduate from Delhi College
of Engineering and postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Besides
consulting, researching and publishing as a professional engineering researcher, he has published
articles on society and literature, including some on the poetry of Ghalib, in Urdu and English
periodicals. He discusses Urdu poetry of Ghalib at https://ghalibkaarvaan.wordpress.com
A. Naseeb Khan completed his PhD thesis on translation of modern Urdu poetry into English,
and MPhil dissertation on Khushwant Singh and A.J. Arberry’s translations of Iqbal’s Shikwa
aur Jawab-e Shikwa. He has to his credit several translated and edited volumes, including the
translation of Maut ki Kitab, an Urdu novel by Khalid Jawed, and a monograph on Moin Ahsan
Jazbi, published by Sahitya Akademi. His latest collection of poems is titled Rip Not the Sore. At
present, he is the Principal of Syed Abid Husain Senior Secondary School, Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi.

Published by
Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd 2017
7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj
New Delhi 110002
Copyright © Hasan Abdullah 2017
The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and the facts are as reported by him
which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of
the publisher.
ISBN: 978-81-291-xxxx-x
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired
out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published.
To
my mother, Sulaima,
my father, A.W. B. Qadri,
Jamia Millia Islamia of 1960s and ’70s and the readers
Contents
Preface
Translator’s Challenges
Introduction
Space and Time
Life
Personality
Literary Affairs
Urdu Language and Ghazal
Vocabulary
Highlights of the Work
Contours of Evolution
Guide to Roman Script
STAGES OF EVOLUTION
Debut I—Juvenile Genius
(1813–1816, 15–18 years)
Debut II—Professional Poet
(Post-1816, 19 years)
Exploration I—Upbeat Wanderer
(1818–1821, 20–23 years)
Exploration II—Secret Seeker
(Post-1821, 24 years)
Exploration III—Budding Philosopher
(1823–1826, 25–28 years)
Bloom I—Dialectical Thinker
(Post-1826–1828, 29–30 years)
Bloom II—Maturing Artist
(1829–1847, 31–49 years)
Bloom III—Numero Uno
(Post-1847–1851, 50–53 years)
Twilight I—Past Master
(1852–1857, 54–59 years)
Twilight II—Dwindling Star
(Post-1857–1867, 60–69 years)
In Lieu of Conclusion
Preface
M
irza Asadullah Beg Khan Ghalib (27 December 1797–15 February 1869)—
arguably the best exponent of the Urdu ghazal—was born and raised in the
northern region of nineteenth-century feudal India. During Ghalib’s life, the
British, who had completed the conquest of India by 1803, had allowed the old
Mughal court in Delhi to continue as the centre of cultural life.
For almost 200 years, from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century,
while Urdu was the lingua franca of India, Persian was the language of
governance, diplomacy and culture. As a result, it was considered prestigious to
write poetry in Persian during that time.
Urdu got a boost in 1772, when Shah Alam II took up residence at the Red
Fort in Delhi and gave patronage to Urdu and used it informally around the
court. In the eighteenth century, the development of Urdu, that is Persianized
Hindustani, took place in Mughal court circles in Delhi. Prior to that, one finds it
in the Dakani speech of the Deccan.
Into this milieu appeared Ghalib, a man with an aristocratic background, a
fatherless childhood and an early youth of carefree gaiety. However, his adult
life was beset with serious financial difficulties and he suffered other indignities.
He interacted with several of the most famous Indian littérateurs and British
scholars of nineteenth-century India.
Ghalib’s first literary work, a collection of Urdu poetry, was ready by 1816,
when he was just eighteen years old. At that time, however, he was engaged in
mastering Persian which that society considered the literary language. In 1828,
Ghalib compiled the manuscript Gul-e Rana, which contained twenty-seven
Persian ghazals in addition to his Urdu poetry. Although the quantum of
Ghalib’s poetry in Urdu is much less than in Persian but he has become ‘Ghalib’
(predominant) for posterity because of his Urdu ghazals.
Ghalib’s Urdu ghazals attract a highly diverse set of people—rich and poor,
literary and scientific, uneducated and erudite, layperson and polymath, lover
and beloved, men and women, young and old, even the oppressor and the
oppressed, those sunk into the past and reactionary, as well as those who are
forward-looking and progressive. The plausible reasons appear to be that his
couplets, which are expressed in the most exquisite language using devices such
as wordplay, hyperbole, irony and paradox, reflect diverse situations, depict a
range of human emotions and provide deep insights into man’s life and his
relationship with Nature. To quote Ghalib: How great delight her eloquence
contains! For what she said Made me feel each time as if that too was there in
my heart Ghalib’s thoughts have been an irresistible draw for me and some of
my friends from our college days. This couplet, which later turned out to be the
hallmark of his poetry, attracted us most, and was the topic of much discussion
and debate: God was, when nothing existed, God would have been, if nothing
had existed My being is cause of my nemesis, had I not existed, what would
have happened?
Around a decade ago, when I, along with a friend, scanned all the available
books on Ghalib in English, we were surprised that despite the vast amount of
literature on his poetry, the aspect of time was missing. Even in Urdu, the
solitary exception was the chronological compilation of Ghalib’s complete Urdu
poetry by Kalidas Gupta Reza. However, people ignored it and continued to read
the popular Diwan-e Ghalib, the selection of Ghalib’s poetry arranged according
to rhyme, and no littérateur ever tried to take advantage of this gold mine to have
a peep into the evolution of Ghalib—as an intellectual or even as a poet.
I felt that a chronological study of Ghalib’s Urdu ghazals would help in
better appreciation of his poetry and shed some light on what are, or appear to
be, radically divergent views. For instance, some of the following couplets
depict extreme dejection whereas others are brimming over with satisfaction.
Let me now dwell in the part of land uninhabited, where there is No one to share my poetry, and
no one knows my tongue I crave no praise, nor do I bother for prize If my poetry shows no
depth, let it be so Though the world has yet other poets with their signature styles They say, with
his singular style of expression, Ghalib stands apart These issues of mysticism—and your
sublime discourse, Ghalib We would have taken you for a saint, had you not been a boozer The
result of my research is this book wherein I have interpreted selected couplets that are
chronologically arranged, thereby revealing Ghalib’s evolution of thought.
Since I was not a student of literature, I was hesitant to interpret Ghalib’s
poetry. However, several factors prodded me on. One, my friends had
extraordinary faith in me. Two, I had published a few articles on the poetry of
Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ghalib that were well-received. Three, I could bank on my
father, who had a remarkable understanding of Urdu poetry. And, four, I recalled
the following anecdote that clinched the deal. Dr Khalilur Rahman Saifi Premi
(an unorthodox person, poet, recognized scholar and freedom fighter) was my
Urdu teacher in Jamia Higher Secondary School. While introducing ghazal as an
art form, he told us that everyone was entitled to interpret it in his own way, as
no one had been ensconced in the poet’s heart. He added that he would not fail
any student for his answer. As students, what more could we ask for! When I
took up this task, I realized the import of the first part of his statement.
Ghalib also seems to have the same viewpoint, for he says of his interpreters,
‘…The meanings they extract are based on conjecture. I do not say that in every
case their conjecture is wrong. But neither can anyone say that their every
pronouncement is correct.’ A. Naseeb Khan—an acknowledged poet of Urdu
and English, and the translator of Ghalib’s verses presented herein—and I agree
with the master entirely. He has been scrupulous in translating the verses, and I
have tried my best to be honest and logical in interpreting them.
Ghalib wanted the readers of his poetry to make an effort to understand it. I
request the reader to interpret the verses on his or her own.