The poet who defined Urdu Ghazal is being celebrated today…

There is not a soul that does not know Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan or simply Mirza Ghalib, one of the supreme poets of the Urdu and Persian language. Ghalib: His Life and Poetry as changeless as his Pencilled poetry Ghalib was born on December 27, 1797, in Agra, India. Due to these qualities, his work is characterized as elegant, profound and often philosophical, and that is why very many people love him and consider him one of the most valuable authors in the context of the South Asian literature.

Early Life and Background

The young poet, known in the world as Mirza Ghalib, was the scion of a family of origins Tural from Central Asia. His father, Mirza Abdullah Baig Khan was an officer of the Nawab of Lucknow and Nizam of Hyderabad a dispensation. That is why Ghalib unfortunately survived only his parents, and his child upbringing was taken up by his uncle Mirza Nasrullah Baig Khan. Unfortunately, his uncle also died during Ghalib’s tender age leaving him barely enough to struggle throughout his life.

Nawazade Ghalib at the age of thirteen got married to Umrao Begum, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh. Nevertheless, he remained unmarried and constantly complained about the duty of which he did not like one bit. This union was a problem and in his letters there is no happiness in the family sphere. He had no children, which was sadness for him and probably, helped to shape the highly charged emotional character of his poetry.

Ghalib’s first love for Language and how he begun with Poetry

There is tradition that, even when young, Ghalib was an eager student of language and literature. He was interested in Persian Urdu poetry, although Persian was more frequently his written language at the beginning of his career. Yet in the nineteenth century Persian was defined as the language of the educated person and the people of high status while Urdu was gradually establishing its status as a literary language. Hence, during his initial period, Ghalib exclusively penned Persian Urdu poetry, and he used to claim that he had composed his best Persian poetry and not the Urdu poetry.

Still they became known as the exponent of Urdu ghazals, of which he obviously had a penchant for writing. The ghazal or the extremely popular poetic metre, to capture love, absence and philosophical thoughts as common tools was adopted by Ghalib as his style. He came up with so many powerful pieces and the common themes he used in his ghazals include love, life, fate and existence of life and the quest for the purpose powerfully packed with irony and humor. Ghalib did not write explicitly sensual or political poetry, although he did taste the bittersweet, and ruminated; which was different from all the poets of his time.

Life in Delhi and Patronage

Ghalib finally settled in Delhi in 1810 Where he would spend most of his time remaining. Delhi was then a thriving civilizational hotspot of the Mughals and learning though the Mughal empire was waning. Nevertheless, the city provided Ghalib many poets, writers, and thinkers whom influenced him. Ghalib was intrigued by the history of Delhi and he had never ceased to yearn for the Mughal era of Delhi.

Throughout his life Ghalib received a lot of support in the form of patron from the Mughals and the British that helped him to run his household not that he was always rich. The last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as a patron was one of the most famous ones, who, in addition to giving Ghalib a title of Dabir-ul-Mulk and Najm-ud-Daula, appointed him as a royal poet. Apart from the literary relation ship between Ghalib and Zafar they were also distant but cordial formal acquaintances; Ghalib valued Zafar’s work also Zafar was a poet.

The Revolt of 1857 and Its Impact on Ghalib

certainly one of the darkest patches of Ghalib’s life was during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the uprising against British colonialism. The rebellion and the following seige of Delhi were catastrophic in the city. The British recaptured Delhi and this spelled the dooms day of the Mughal Empire. Well, Bahadur Shah Zafar was a mere puppet king and was exiled, most of the Ghalib’s contemporaries either lost their lives or their means of earning.

The rebellion inordinately affected Ghalib both in terms of emotional conflict and loss of money. Several works from that period seem to show despair as Hiroshi’ watched the obliteration of the city he knew. The decline of the Mughals brought with it the decline in an age and the loss of the tradition, history, and letters that went with it as far as Ghalib was concerned. These feel proved in a number of his poems, with emotions of sorrow and frustration also seen in his letters, which provide an individual may be biased take on the happenings of 1857.

Ghalib: Style and Philosophy of Poetry

Ghalib himself was a poet of an absolutely unique vein, who with wit, irony and depth gave his poetry. He could express himself in rather plain language and even when reasoning, he could use images from everyday life. Zauq’s work focuses on the aspect of love and most of the time the love is depicted as that which brings happiness and suffering. His conception of love was thoroughly philosophical and his ghazals contain the earthly and the divine love with dominant accentuation of the latter while earthly love is portrayed as a stage toward one divinest.

It also captures existential philosophies of life often in question in Ghalib’s writing styles. He often researches topics of fate, destiny and the struggle of man and the verses often contain a traces of sorrow. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Ghalib was not overly bothered with the question of morality or adherence to religious precepts. Some of his work which are about criticizing the trends of the society and religion, value the idea of free will and whether there was any controlling force in people’s lives. :. Prompted by Ghalib’s scepticism and his distinct thinking, his poems began to appeal to the readers who craved for more than poetic contentment of love.

Ghalib’s Legacy and Influence

Nonetheless, Ghalib’s unfortunate circumstances and personal woes did not keep his poetry from finding an audience during his life; he did not become truly posthumously celebrated, however, until his death. Now-as you speak Ghalib is overriding in the pantheon of the writers of the Urdu language and the causation of the Urdu kannada is effecting. Many of his ghazals are recited , chanted and celebrated, while many poets and singers have set verses to their songs and todays people get to read, hear and enjoy his work.

The world has not seen a poet like Ghalib, who compels the reader to be witty and ironic even while philosophising. In universities of the world, his ‘Ghazls’ are read, while people use his lines to express themselves in their day to day lives. They are regarded as other pieces of a great work and they give outlook into his life and the society he lived in.

Death of Ghalib and His Posthumous Glory

Debabrata Nath sensitivity and feeling gave him a new appreciation of the classic text which he could reflect upon in his own terms: Mirza Ghalib died on 15 th February 1869 in Delhi. He was buried at the proximity of Dargah of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Aulia whose kaaba he used to visit often. That was the end of an era in Urdu poetry and surprisingly its greatness seems to be escalating through the years. Now his grave is a shrine destination for poetic enthusiasts, and the agonizing biography and creative geniality complement the dramatic performed pieces, motion pictures, and books.

Conclusion

Mirza Ghalib stays enigmatic figure of the Urdu literature’ poetry; it is still echoing the feelings of love and separation and carrying the thoughts of existentialism. Over and above, his kind of poetry parades philosophical themes complemented by the rich poetic language that makes him popular among generations. Though he was buried in the miseries of his personal life and saw the fading years of the glorious Mughal Empire, Ghalib’s poetry still exists and is catering soul to the spirit lovers of the language and the beauty. His words encourage readers into a world of feelers, thinkers and each verse a visit to the inner conscience of a man who was definitely a creation ahead of his generation.