Ghalib 1797-1869
587-601
Ghalib in In Persian and Urdu means “Conquer” (587) since he descended from Turkish military
Settlers who became “ minor nobles in the Muslim ruling class of the nineteenth century”
Popular in in India and Pakistan in the 19th and 20th century and is now quoted through the world.
(587)
“He wrote hunting love poems and a style that still seems contemporary, and his words and
emotions are on the lips of young and old lovers everywhere on the subcontinent. “ (587)
When he was thirteen he was set in an arranged marriage with an eleven-year-old girl from a
wealthy family he then moved to Delhi in 1810. They lived with support from her family financially
and this dependence continued all their lives. (587) this perhaps this would enable him to be able to
write his poetry and not have to worry about making a living to support his young wife.
He began writing versus at seven years old in language of Urdu and began writing in Persian by nine
years old.(587)
“By the late 1840's Ghalib hi produced a large body of poetry and prose in Persian, and he had
become a prominent Indian authority on the language and it’s literature.” (587)
His life has many minor and major disappointments. From being arrested for gambling to being
refused positions in college. “He and his wife had seven children, but none survived beyond the age
of 15 months, cycle of tragedies that contributed to their emotional alienation from each other. In the
1840's Ghalib adopted his wife’s adult nephew ‘Arif as his son, but the untimely death of both ‘Arif
and his wife from tuberculosis and 1852 only added to the poets sorrows. “ (588)- so terrible that he
saw and felt so much loss and death.
His true love may have been a low caste Hindu courtesan who died and he more and publicly for her
at the funeral. He even wrote letters and poetry about her death. (588)
Urdu is a mixed language “combining Hindi syntax and Persian vocabulary.“ (588)
He helped the younger generations of poets by corresponding with them even in his deteriorating
health. (588)
“Looking back from our own times, Ghalib’s Life and poetry seem to represent the Indian
subcontinent’s transition from tradition to modernity and all its many-sides complexity.” (588)
His poetry is very sad and beautiful. In the poem now go and live in a place, he writes “if you fall ill,
no one to nurse you there – and if you die, no went to mourn you there. “ (591) in the beginning of
the poem it sounds very nice, to live alone where there are no gates. Would be nice to live
somewhere where there’s open space and fresh air. But yet there is something deeper because he
is alone, he is alone because everyone he loved has died. There is no one left to mourn him even if
he isn’t alone in the wilderness.
In the poem I’ve made my home next-door to you
He writes “… Though no one in the world can even speak her name without the word “tormentor“
having to be said.” She torments him? His heart? His patients?
“ There’s nothing in my heart, or else, even if my life were on the line, I wouldn’t hold my tongue, I
wouldn’t leave a thing unsaid.” (593) - there is nothing is his heart, but if he were in love and his life
was on the line he would not deny this, he would openly admit to his desires. Also noted is that this
translation may be about god tormenting the humans. Interesting.
Couplets:
2- “I have hoops, I have hopes of faithfulness from her – she who doesn’t have a clue what
faithfulness might be. “ his love for the courtesan who would undoubtedly lay with others. Smile at
others. Love others. As per expected for her own survival as a woman in that profession. (594)
8- “Tonight, somewhere, you’re sleeping by the side of another lover, a stranger: otherwise, what
reason what do you have for visiting my dreams and smiling your half -smile? “ so sad and beautiful.
I love the longing and the desire for his love.
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