Ghalib remembered on 213th birth anniversary

ejazr

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http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ghalib-remembered-on-213th-birth-anniversary/138713-40-100.html

New Delhi: He lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in Indian history and produced an ensemble of work that is unparalleled in breadth and quality. Yet, his admirers remember him as a common man's poet. Mirza Asadullah Khan 'Ghalib', the poet for all seasons is one of Delhi's most revered legends who witnessed the wipeout of the magnificent Mughal dynasty and the crushing of India's first war of independence.

As Delhi marks his 213th birth anniversary today, the people associated with his legacy say that his poetry had an intricate grip on human psychology and this is what makes him an immortal poet. "The way he captured life in all its essence in poetry endures him to a common reader like no one else does. Its so easy to relate to what he says and yet the way he says things is unmatched in the history or Urdu," says Aqil Ahmad, Secretary of the Ghalib Academy, Delhi.

"His life was a bagful of sorrow. He lost his father early, and none of his seven children survived. He saw in front of his own eyes the devastation of Delhi at the hands of the British following the revolt of 1857," he says. A number of activities were held in the capital to pay tributes to the 19th century poet, who was a prominent literary figure during the reign of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

The Ghalib Academy, which observes the day each year by highlighting something new about Ghalib, had last year organised a special reading of the letters written by Ghalib. This year, the body has organised a lecture on 'Ghalib and Science' by Prof Wahab Qaiser of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.

Ghalib's birth anniversary celebration were also held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, where danseuse Uma Sharma performed alongside the recitations of his poetry. Leading contemporary Urdu poet Shahryar says no other poet has ever captured the complexities of human psychology with such precision as Ghalib. "His poetry throws up a new facet whenever you read it. Every time you read a couplet, you will discover a new meaning," he said.

For Shahryar, who says that Ghalib's writings -- including the remarkable collection of his letters -- help you understand yourself better -- every day is Ghalib's birthday. "Everything related to man finds a mention in Ghalib's poetry. He has written with great objectivity on emotions that are experienced by every person, yet seldom realised so intensely," he says.
 

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Ghalib's bust installed at Chandni Chowk haveli

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) The legacy of the 19th century classical Sufi lyricist and poet Mirza Ghalib came alive Sunday when Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit installed the poet's bust at his haveli in Chandi Chowk area of Delhi's old quarters on the eve of his 213th birth anniversary.

Ghalib, born to a family of Turkish origin in Agra Dec 27, 1797, resided at the Gali Qasim Jaan haveli in Ballimaran from 1862 to 1869, the last years of his life.

The bust was commissioned by Mumbai-based Oscar-winning lyricist Gulzar and sculpted by renowned public installation and bust artist Bhagawan Rampure of Sholapur in Maharashtra.

More than 200 people, led by the chief minister and including Gulzar, writer-diplomat Pavan K. Varma, kathak danseuse Uma Sharma, director general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Suresh Goel, High Commissioner of Pakistan to India Shahid Malik and members of the Ghalib Memorial Movement marched with candles and flaming torches to Ghalib's haveli at Gali Qasim Jaan from the Town Hall in Chandni Chowk, a distance of one km, to pay homage to the poet on the eve of his birth anniversary Monday.

The haveli, located in a narrow crowded alley lined with shoe shops, was restored by the Delhi Archaeological Survey in 2001. It is home to a small museum which displays some of the original manuscripts and rare photographs of Ghalib and his peers.

The procession, that stalled traffic in the bustling business neighbourhood of the ancient Mughal quarters of the capital, was accompanied by drummers.

Locals and scores of Ghalib fans joined the marchers, comprising writers, poets, lyricists, including some from Bollywood.

Mirza Ghalib, known for his Urdu poetry, chronicles and ghazals, began to write in Persian at the age of nine. After losing his father early in life, Ghalib was raised by his uncle. He settled in the capital after marrying into the Muslim nobility and was admitted to the last Muslim emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II's court as his poet-tutor.

The independnece war of 1857, however, disrupted the poet's life. Ghalib, who saw the decline of the Mughal empire and the horrors of the uprising, chronicled it in detail.

Installing the bust, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said: 'I thank Gulzar for commissioning such a beautiful bust of Ghalib and artist Bhagawan Rampure for carrying it to the capital all the way from Maharashtra.'

She also expressed her gratitude to the writer Pavan K. Varma, the Indian ambassador to Bhutan, for having kept 'Ghalib's legacy alive in the 21st century'.

'Varma, Gulzar and dancer Uma Sharma, the force behind the Ghalib Memorial Movement, were responsible for the installation of the bust,' Dikshit said.

'The mansion at Gali Qasim Jaan used to be a timber shed till the last century. The Delhi archaeology department evicted the timber merchant and restored the haveli in 2001,' Dikshit said.

Pakistani High Commissioner Shahid Malik, who was present with his wife, said: 'Nothing could have been bigger tribute to the poet than the bust.'

'Ghalib's poetry is taught at every Urdu school, college, university and academic institutions in Pakistan. I too read him in school,' Malik told IANS.

Suresh Goel, the director-general of ICCR, who was born in the old city near Khari Baoli and grew up there, said: 'The initiative should lead to serious efforts to revive old Delhi, not just the haveli'.

Noted Bollywood lyricist and Ghalib fan Shellee, who has penned lyrics for the tracks in 'Dev D', 'Phas Gaye Obama' and 'Acid Factory', said: 'The move was inspiring. But it should not become a political 'tamasha' and the movement must remain an ongoing process.'
 

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