Who was Mirza Ghalib ?
Poet Mirza Ghalib
Mirza Ghalib was a distinguished Urdu and Persian poet, considered to be the last great poet of the Mughal era. This virtuoso, who was from a Central Asian family of Aibak Turks, who traditionally served as soldiers, followed his own passion in writing and transcended as one of the most influential and popular poets in the Urdu language. Overcoming all odds that eclipsed his personal life, including losing his father as a child, facing financial constraints throughout his life, becoming alcoholic, violating norms, and even getting incarcerated, he stood out with his fascinating poetry, prose pieces, epistles, and diaries.
The most remarkable poems of this literary master were in the forms of the “ghazal” (lyric), the “qaṣīdah” (panegyric) and the “mas̄navī” (moralistic or mystical parable). Struggling through penury and other adversities, he finally garnered recognition after being inducted as the poet laureate in the court of the last Mughal emperor of India, Bahādur Shāh II. Born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, he used the pen-names Ghalib, meaning dominant, and Asad, meaning lion, while crafting his imaginations. His honorific was “Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula.” His rich body of literary work has remained an inspiration for other poets and writers for generations and continues to touch the soul of the Hindustani populace, beyond the ambits of India and Pakistan.
Personal Life & Its Adversities
He was born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, on December 27, 1797, in Kala Mahal, Agra, to Mirza Abdullah Baig Khan and Izzat-ut-Nisa Begum. His birthplace now stands as the ‘Indrabhan Girls' Inter College.’ The room where he was born has been conserved.
He was a descendant of an Aibak Turk family, who, following the downfall of the Seljuk kings, had relocated to Samarkand, one of the oldest cities of Central Asia that is part of modern-day Uzbekistan. His mother was an ethnic Kashmiri.
During the rule of the Ahmad Shah Bahadur, the 15th Mughal emperor, Ghalib’s paternal grandfather, Mirza Qoqan Baig Khan, who was serving as a Saljuq Turk, migrated from Samarkand to India. He worked in Lahore, Jaipur, and Delhi, before settling in Agra. Mirza Qoqan Baig Khan was given the sub-district of Pahasu, located in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh in India.
Ghalib’s father initially served the “Nawab” of Lucknow and thereafter, the “Nizam” of Hyderabad. He lost his father in the battle of Alwar in 1803, when he was five. Following the tragedy, Ghalib’s uncle, Mirza Nasrullah Baig Khan, took care of him.
Ghalib learned Urdu as his first language while Turkish and Persian were also used at his home. As a young boy, he studied in Persian and Arabic languages. A tourist from Iran had come to Agra and had lived in his home for a couple of years. Ghalib was then in his early teens. Ghalib soon befriended the tourist, Abdus Samad (originally called Hormuzd), who had just converted to Islam. Under Samad, he learned Persian, Arabic, logic, and philosophy.
His marriage was arranged with Umrao Begum, when he was 13 years of age. Umrao was the daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh and the niece of the “Nawab” of Ferozepur Jhirka. Following the marriage, he relocated to Delhi with his schizophrenic younger brother, Mirza Yousuf Khan, who later died in 1857.
His wife was regarded as a religious and orthodox lady. Although there are contrasting reports regarding the relationship of the couple, the poet has described his matrimonial life as yet another imprisonment, life being the first, in one of his epistles. The idea that life is an ongoing struggle, which can only conclude with the death of a person, is a recurring theme in his poetry.
He had become the father of seven children by the time he had reached his thirties. Unfortunately, all of them died as infants. The pain and agony of this personal loss became a theme in many of his “ghazals.”
His manners, including taking loans, borrowing books, drinking continuously, breaking norms, and gambling, often made him infamous. He earned the repute of being a “ladies' man” in the Mughal court circle and was also incarcerated for gambling. The virtuoso however remained nonchalant and continued with his demeanor.
On one occasion, when someone had appreciated Sheikh Sahbai’s poetry, Ghalib was quick to comment that Sheikh Sahbai could not have been a poet, as he had never drunk wine, never gambled, had never been thrashed with sandals by lovers, and had not even visited jail. #fastitlinks
He was born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, on December 27, 1797, in Kala Mahal, Agra, to Mirza Abdullah Baig Khan and Izzat-ut-Nisa Begum. His birthplace now stands as the ‘Indrabhan Girls' Inter College.’ The room where he was born has been conserved.
He was a descendant of an Aibak Turk family, who, following the downfall of the Seljuk kings, had relocated to Samarkand, one of the oldest cities of Central Asia that is part of modern-day Uzbekistan. His mother was an ethnic Kashmiri.
During the rule of the Ahmad Shah Bahadur, the 15th Mughal emperor, Ghalib’s paternal grandfather, Mirza Qoqan Baig Khan, who was serving as a Saljuq Turk, migrated from Samarkand to India. He worked in Lahore, Jaipur, and Delhi, before settling in Agra. Mirza Qoqan Baig Khan was given the sub-district of Pahasu, located in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh in India.
Ghalib’s father initially served the “Nawab” of Lucknow and thereafter, the “Nizam” of Hyderabad. He lost his father in the battle of Alwar in 1803, when he was five. Following the tragedy, Ghalib’s uncle, Mirza Nasrullah Baig Khan, took care of him.
Ghalib learned Urdu as his first language while Turkish and Persian were also used at his home. As a young boy, he studied in Persian and Arabic languages. A tourist from Iran had come to Agra and had lived in his home for a couple of years. Ghalib was then in his early teens. Ghalib soon befriended the tourist, Abdus Samad (originally called Hormuzd), who had just converted to Islam. Under Samad, he learned Persian, Arabic, logic, and philosophy.
His marriage was arranged with Umrao Begum, when he was 13 years of age. Umrao was the daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh and the niece of the “Nawab” of Ferozepur Jhirka. Following the marriage, he relocated to Delhi with his schizophrenic younger brother, Mirza Yousuf Khan, who later died in 1857.
His wife was regarded as a religious and orthodox lady. Although there are contrasting reports regarding the relationship of the couple, the poet has described his matrimonial life as yet another imprisonment, life being the first, in one of his epistles. The idea that life is an ongoing struggle, which can only conclude with the death of a person, is a recurring theme in his poetry.
He had become the father of seven children by the time he had reached his thirties. Unfortunately, all of them died as infants. The pain and agony of this personal loss became a theme in many of his “ghazals.”
His manners, including taking loans, borrowing books, drinking continuously, breaking norms, and gambling, often made him infamous. He earned the repute of being a “ladies' man” in the Mughal court circle and was also incarcerated for gambling. The virtuoso however remained nonchalant and continued with his demeanor.
On one occasion, when someone had appreciated Sheikh Sahbai’s poetry, Ghalib was quick to comment that Sheikh Sahbai could not have been a poet, as he had never drunk wine, never gambled, had never been thrashed with sandals by lovers, and had not even visited jail. #fastitlinks
Comments
Post a Comment