Understanding Ghalib

Since childhood I used to follow weird things, which very rare people would follow in so early age. One of these (Apart from Mehdi hassan Khan) was Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, one of the greatest poets of all time . I do not remember when I first read him, but surely it was very early in the lower grades of my school. My high school Urdu teacher was not a literature teacher, I guess he did not fit anywhere therefore he was given the responsibility to teach us the Urdu literature. He had been teaching Urdu class since ages, therefore he had the idea that he is among the best Urdu teachers of the yellow grammar schools. His misconception lasted till we (me and some good friends) passed 9th grade with high marks. Our teacher started with the poetry section as he was a great lover of poetry and according to him literature is only poetry other things are absurd, he had the idea that every writer first wanted to be a poet but when he/she failed he opted to write prose, so for him it is the legacy of failed people. His misfortune or ours, he started with Ghalib,

Naqsh faryadi hai kis ki shokhi e tehreer ka
Kaghzi hai pairhan har paikar e tasweer ka

("wah kya khubsurat sher kaha hai Mirza sb ne" he would take a sigh, then the explaianation of couplet i still remember his dramatic voice (like china made Shahrukh) is sher mein Ghalib apne bare mein bata rehay hain ke kis tarah unhoon ne apna bura waq guzara, wo har waqt faryad kartey rehtay they, un ke pass kuchh bhi nahee bacha thaa hatta ke un ke kapde phatt gaye they aur wo kaghzi pairhan lagtay they).

Most of us were quite interested in literature and poetry but none was so intelligent to understand the real meaning of Ghalib's ghazal but still I was not able to accept that our teacher was right. Me and other friends used to question him about the poetry of Ghalib, Faiz and probably Mir Dard and Nasir Kazmi (their poetry was in our course), but he could never managed to satisfy us. The end result was our failure in the Prelims which caused a lot of tension for our parents when they expect us to be the doctors and engineers of future.

In spite of early debacles my interest for Urdu poetry grew day by day, as a result I read almost all ghazals and poems in the text books of our schooling system. I was quite good at poetry when I got admission in a college in one of the most advanced cities of our country, Karachi. My misfortune again, we had a female teacher for Urdu compulsory subject. I am short of word to narrate her love for Ghalib and Faiz but she we horrible. I could never understand why people in Pakistan do not take literature as a serious course work?

Anyway this post is not intended to malign my teachers, as I love them and pray for their health and life. Today is the death anniversary of Mirza Ghalib, one of the greatest poets of Urdu and Persian languages. Mirza Ghalib was no ordinary poet; his poetry is sublime, unique and complete. Very few people would have read and understood him properly, but his popularity is on a rise day by day. Indians have done a lot for knowing Ghalib and understanding his legacy. We need to do some more to understand him because he is the base, on which Faiz and later Faraz evolved. Faiz's Nuskha Haye Wafa is an extension of Ghalib's taleef e nuskha haye wafa and Faraz is only a shadow of Faiz. Below are some unique examples of Ghalib's style and eloquence.

Hui Takheer to kuch baes e takheer bhi thaa
Aap atay they magar koi anaan gheer bhi thaa

Ibn e Maryam hua kare koi
Mere dukh ki dawa kare koi

Tashay beghair mar na saka koh kunn Asad
sar gashta e khumaar e rasum o qayud tha

Hamaare sher hain ab sirf dil lagi kay Asad
khulaa kay faida arz e hunar mein khaak nahee

Ishq sey tabiat ney zeest ka maza paya,
Dard ki dawa payi, dard ladawa paya

Kabhi jo yaad bhi aata hon main to kahte hain
Ki aaj bazam mein kuch fitna-o-fasad nahin

Main chaman mein kaya gaya, goya dabastan khul gaya
Bulbulein sun ker mere naale ghzal khwaa’n ho gaee’n

Surma e muft nazar hoon meri qeemat yeh hai
keh rahe chashm e khareedar pe ahsaa'n mera
rukhsat e naala mujhe de de kay mubada zaalim
tere chehre se ayaa'n ho gham e pinhaa'n mera

And a fantastic Ghazal

Ye ham jo hijr mein diwaar o dar ko dekhte hain
kabhi saba ko kabhi naamaabar ko dekhate hain


Wo aaye ghar mein hamaare Khudaa ki kudarat hai
Kabhi ham un ko kabhi apne ghar ko dekhte hain

Nazar lage na kahin us kay dast-o-baazu ko
Ye log kyun mere zaKhm-e-jigar ko dekhte hain

Tere javaahir-e-tarf-e-kulah ko kyaa dekhen
Ham auj-e-taalae-e-laal-o-guhar ko dekhate hain

Ghalib