Recently I grabbed a book called Yadgar-e-Ghalib, by Altaf Hussain Haali in Urdu, and read bits from it. This has rekindled my fancy for him all the more. Mirza Ghalib the humourist , is awe inspiring. Leave aside his superb poetry , his wit with which he lived and laughed off the troubles of his [...]
It is Summers and mango time. Mango is synonimous with Mirza Ghalib. And I am here after ages in the mango season in Delhi, the city of Ghalib. And then Amir Khusrau’s praise for mangoes is not secret either. His soul resides in Delhi too. How could one enjoy Ratols, Chausa, Dussehris in Delhi, consumed [...]
ishq mujhko naheeN, wehshat hee sahee meree wehshat, teree shohrat hee sahee (You say) It is not love, it is madness My madness may be the cause of your fame qata’a keeje na ta’alluq ham se kuchch naheeN hai to adaavat hee sahee Sever not my relationship with you If nothing then be my enemy [...]
I Perceive the World as a Playground (Baazi-cha-aie-Atfal Hai Dunia Mere Aage) I perceive the world as a playground Where dawn and dusk appear in eternal rounds My anguish envelopes the entire desert Silently flows the river in front of my floods Ask not what separation has done to me Just see your poise when [...]
hain aur bhi duniya main sukhanwar bahut acchay (There are other poets in the world that are very good) kehtay hain ki ghalib kay andaaz-i-bayaan aur…. (they say but that the way Ghalib puts it, is something else..) Har ek baat pay kehtay ho tum, ki tu kya hai (on just about every thing u [...]
Koi Ummeed Bar Nahin Aatee koi ummeed bar naheen aatee koee soorat nazar naheen aatee No hope comes my way No visage shows itself to me ham wahaan hain jahaan se hamko bhee kuchch hamaaree khabar naheen aatee I am now at that point That even I don’t know myself jaanta hoon sawaab-e-taa’at-o-zahad par tabeeyat [...]
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