Mirza Ghalib was a great poet, a genius and a humanist. In the midst of waves of violence, hatred and frenzy of revenge, he sang with a heavy heart, “Aadmi Ko Bhi Myassar Nahin Insaan Hona.” As a humanist, he declared, “Every son of Adam, be the Muslim, Hindu or Christian, I hold dear and regard as my brother.” A great national poet, Ghalib was also a prolific letter-writer. He addressed them to nawabs, his dear friends and shagirds. These letters reveal his deep humanistic concerns, his earnest endeavour to establish human relationships, his compassion, his agonies, his reflections on life and death.
Written in the specific socio-historic contexts, some of these letters serve as unique documents of the times. An evening of dramatic reading of some of his selected letters at New Delhi’s Alliance Francaise, recently organised by Pierrot’s Troupe, offered the discerning audience a most memorable evening.
The dramatic reading was rendered by Anis Azmi, an Urdu writer, playwright and senior artist of the Delhi stage. Widely known for his impeccable Urdu diction, Anis read 24 selected letters out of five volumes of Ghalib’s letters. Anis’ style of recitation was restraint, conveying the deep emotional currents of the letters with his brilliant conversational style. In fact, Anis is a serious student of Ghalib’s letters and his Diwan. More than two decades ago, he presented these letters as a solo performer under the banner of Impresario Asia with Ghalib’s poetic rendition by Mannu Kohli which had 26 shows. His present venture of solo performance to read the letters of Ghalib has been acclaimed as a fine theatrical piece which had so far 45 shows in cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhopal and also at the International Urban Theatre Festival at Guwahati. These letters revealed Ghalib’s regard for the ranks, his humility and affability. In most of his letters he wrote, “Nijat Ka Talib – A seeker of deliverance.” These letters evoked a wide range of emotions of a highly sensitive and creative heart, ranging from romantic to serious, from satirical to laudatory and from sad musings to anguish.Flirtatious gestures
In a letter Ghalib reminisced about his love affair with a courtesan, writing that he had fallen in love with a Domni. “…Now I have left that lane but alas! I still remember her flirtatious gestures which touches my heart.” In another one, he referred to the death of his seven children in infancy whom he buried with his own hands.
Through his letters, the poet tried to discover deep roots that unite one man to another, irrespective of his religion and creed. He valued the humane relationship with his shagird, mostly belonging to ruling aristocracy.
In a letter he reminded his disciple Pandit Shiv Narain of Agra that the families of Ghalib and Shiv Narain had close relationships for over 100 years and yet they were not aware of it.
Ghalib was known for his helping nature. Pandit Jag Narain was his friend who had fallen on bad days. To help him, Ghalib wrote a letter to the hakim of the Maharaja of Patiala : “If you help him getting a job suitable to his status, I would consider that you have, in fact, given the job to me.”
There has been a lot of speculation as to the stand taken by Ghalib on the Revolt of 1857. He lived in Delhi under the rule of the rebels. When the British crushed the revolt with savagery, Ghalib continued to stay in Delhi. He was not only the witness to the massacre, plunder and devastation but also kept a diary to record the events of the period which is called Dastambo. (According to K. M. Asharf, “It saw the light of the day after the British were in full possession of Delhi and we shall not be very far wrong in assuming that the original was suitably revised to meet the requirements of the situation.”)
Anis read some letters written by Ghalib to his friends about this period. His letters expressed his deep anguish and resentment at the people of high ranks who deserted Delhi.
He also condemned the savagery of rebels and strongly protested the barbarity of the British who destroyed the very social, economic and cultural fabric of Delhi, a city dear to the poet. His heart wept over the metamorphosis of Delhi into a ghost city in which the innocent people were insulted, humiliated and murdered.
In one letter, addressed to a friend who had left Delhi after the return of the British, he wrote, “…what could be written? Whom should I address? Am I really in a position to write? Of what effect the writing would be? If we meet at all someday, we will talk to one another and weep…”
Suffering from chronic diseases due to old age, he became obsessed with his impending death. He wrote a letter to the Nawab of Rampur Kalf-e-Ali Khan, his benefactor and disciple, to send money to his wife so that his Tadfeen (burial) could be performed in a befitting manner. Three months after writing this letter Ghalib died at the age of 73.
Written in the specific socio-historic contexts, some of these letters serve as unique documents of the times. An evening of dramatic reading of some of his selected letters at New Delhi’s Alliance Francaise, recently organised by Pierrot’s Troupe, offered the discerning audience a most memorable evening.
The dramatic reading was rendered by Anis Azmi, an Urdu writer, playwright and senior artist of the Delhi stage. Widely known for his impeccable Urdu diction, Anis read 24 selected letters out of five volumes of Ghalib’s letters. Anis’ style of recitation was restraint, conveying the deep emotional currents of the letters with his brilliant conversational style. In fact, Anis is a serious student of Ghalib’s letters and his Diwan. More than two decades ago, he presented these letters as a solo performer under the banner of Impresario Asia with Ghalib’s poetic rendition by Mannu Kohli which had 26 shows. His present venture of solo performance to read the letters of Ghalib has been acclaimed as a fine theatrical piece which had so far 45 shows in cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhopal and also at the International Urban Theatre Festival at Guwahati. These letters revealed Ghalib’s regard for the ranks, his humility and affability. In most of his letters he wrote, “Nijat Ka Talib – A seeker of deliverance.” These letters evoked a wide range of emotions of a highly sensitive and creative heart, ranging from romantic to serious, from satirical to laudatory and from sad musings to anguish.Flirtatious gestures
In a letter Ghalib reminisced about his love affair with a courtesan, writing that he had fallen in love with a Domni. “…Now I have left that lane but alas! I still remember her flirtatious gestures which touches my heart.” In another one, he referred to the death of his seven children in infancy whom he buried with his own hands.
Through his letters, the poet tried to discover deep roots that unite one man to another, irrespective of his religion and creed. He valued the humane relationship with his shagird, mostly belonging to ruling aristocracy.
In a letter he reminded his disciple Pandit Shiv Narain of Agra that the families of Ghalib and Shiv Narain had close relationships for over 100 years and yet they were not aware of it.
Ghalib was known for his helping nature. Pandit Jag Narain was his friend who had fallen on bad days. To help him, Ghalib wrote a letter to the hakim of the Maharaja of Patiala : “If you help him getting a job suitable to his status, I would consider that you have, in fact, given the job to me.”
There has been a lot of speculation as to the stand taken by Ghalib on the Revolt of 1857. He lived in Delhi under the rule of the rebels. When the British crushed the revolt with savagery, Ghalib continued to stay in Delhi. He was not only the witness to the massacre, plunder and devastation but also kept a diary to record the events of the period which is called Dastambo. (According to K. M. Asharf, “It saw the light of the day after the British were in full possession of Delhi and we shall not be very far wrong in assuming that the original was suitably revised to meet the requirements of the situation.”)
Anis read some letters written by Ghalib to his friends about this period. His letters expressed his deep anguish and resentment at the people of high ranks who deserted Delhi.
He also condemned the savagery of rebels and strongly protested the barbarity of the British who destroyed the very social, economic and cultural fabric of Delhi, a city dear to the poet. His heart wept over the metamorphosis of Delhi into a ghost city in which the innocent people were insulted, humiliated and murdered.
In one letter, addressed to a friend who had left Delhi after the return of the British, he wrote, “…what could be written? Whom should I address? Am I really in a position to write? Of what effect the writing would be? If we meet at all someday, we will talk to one another and weep…”
Suffering from chronic diseases due to old age, he became obsessed with his impending death. He wrote a letter to the Nawab of Rampur Kalf-e-Ali Khan, his benefactor and disciple, to send money to his wife so that his Tadfeen (burial) could be performed in a befitting manner. Three months after writing this letter Ghalib died at the age of 73.
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