View source for Ghalib

{{pp-move-indef}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Indian poet (1797–1869)}}
{{Redirect|Mirza Ghalib|other pages with similar titles|Mirza Ghalib (disambiguation)|other people|Ghalib (name)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name             = Mirza Ghalib
| birth_name       = Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
| image            = Mirza Ghalib photograph 3.jpg
| caption          = Ghalib in 1868
| pseudonym        = Ghalib, Asad
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1797|12|27|df=y}}
| birth_place      = Kala Mahal, [[Agra]], [[Maratha Confederacy]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1869|02|15|1797|12|27|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Ghalib ki Haveli]], [[Delhi]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| occupation       = {{hlist|Poet|author}}
| parents          = Mirza Abdullah Baig (father)<br>Izzat-ut-Nisa Begum (mother)
| notablework      = ''[[Diwan-e-Ghalib]]''
| citizenship      = 
| years_active     = {{circa|1808–1869}}
| language         = [[Urdu language|Urdu]], [[Persian language|Persian]]
| period           = [[Mughal era]]<br>[[British Raj|British era]]
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Ghazal]]|[[qasida]]|[[ruba'i]], [[qit'a]]|[[marsiya]]}}
| subject          = {{hlist|[[Love]]|[[philosophy]]|[[mysticism]]}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|Umrao Begum|1810}}
| resting_place    = Mazar-e-Mirza Ghalib Tomb, near [[Nizamuddin Dargah]], [[Delhi]]
}}
{{Urdu literature}}
'''Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan''' (27 December 1797{{snd}}15 February 1869), commonly known as '''Mirza Ghalib''',{{efn|He is also known by the honorific titles ''Dabir-ul-Mulk'' and ''Najm-ud-Daula''. He used pen names '''Ghalib''' (the Conqueror) and '''Asad''' (Lion).}} was an Indian poet.<ref name=britannica>{{cite web| title = Mīrzā Asadullāh Khān Ghālib | publisher = Britannica| url = https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mirza-Asadullah-Khan-Ghalib | access-date = 16 August 2020}}</ref> Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, he also produced a significant body of work in Persian. Ghalib's poetry often addresses [[existential struggle]], sorrows, and [[socio-political]] disturbances, particularly the [[decline of the Mughal Empire]]. He spent most of his life in poverty.<ref name="p929">{{cite web | title=Mirza Ghalib: Legendary poet of the Urdu language | website=Al Jazeera | date=2017-12-27 | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/12/27/mirza-ghalib-legendary-poet-of-the-urdu-language | access-date=2025-01-05}}</ref><ref name="Varma">{{Cite book | author=Pavan K. Varma | year =1989 | title =Ghalib, The Man, The Times | page =86 | place =New Delhi | publisher =Penguin Books | isbn =0-14-011664-8 }}<!--| access-date. =27 January 2008--></ref>

He wrote in both [[Urdu]] and [[Persian language|Persian]]. Although his Persian [[Diwan (poetry)|Divan]] (body of work) is at least five times longer than his Urdu Divan, his fame rests on his poetry in Urdu. Today, Ghalib remains popular not only in the [[Indian subcontinent]] but also among the [[Hindustani people|Hindustani diaspora]] around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dawn.com:80/weekly/images/archive/030727/images6.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204185647/http://dawn.com/weekly/images/archive/030727/images6.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 February 2009|author=Ras H. Siddiqui|title=Ghalib in California|publisher=Dawn|date=27 July 2003|access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref>

==Early life==
[[File:Ghalib academy 15.JPG|thumb|Clothes of Mirza Ghalib, at [[Ghalib Museum, New Delhi]] ]]
[[File:GhalibSpecialCover.jpg|thumb|A special commemorative cover of Ghalib released in India.]]
[[File:Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan ghalib.jpg|thumb|The statue of Mirza Ghalib at [[Ghalib ki Haveli]]. ]] 
Mirza Ghalib was born on 27 December 1797 in Kala Mahal, [[Agra]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.ibnlive.com/news/no-memorial-for-ghalib-at-his-birthplace-agra/441946-3-242.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101100342/http://m.ibnlive.com/news/no-memorial-for-ghalib-at-his-birthplace-agra/441946-3-242.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 January 2014|title=No memorial for Ghalib at his birthplace, Agra|date=27 December 2013|work=IBNLive}}</ref> into a family of [[Mughal people|Mughals]] who moved to [[Samarkand]] (in modern-day [[Uzbekistan]]) after the downfall of the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk]] kings. His paternal grandfather, Mirza Qoqan Baig, was a Seljuq Turk, and a descendant of Sultan [[Berkyaruq]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Faruqi|editor-first=Nisar Ahmed|editor-link=Nisar Ahmed Faruqi|date=1997|title=غالب کی آپ بیتی|trans-title=The Autobiography of Ghalib|language=Urdu|location=New Delhi|publisher=Ghalib Institute |page=13|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/ghalib-ki-aap-beeti-ebooks}}</ref>{{verify source|date=October 2024}} who had immigrated to India from Samarkand during the reign of [[Ahmad Shah Bahadur|Ahmad Shah]] (1748–54).{{cn|date=October 2024}} He worked in [[Lahore]], [[Delhi]] and [[Jaipur]], was awarded the sub-district of [[Pahasu]] ([[Bulandshahr]]) and finally settled in [[Agra]]. He had four sons and three daughters.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Imam |first1=Mir Jaffar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18ljAAAAMAAJ&q=Mirza+Abdullah+Baig+and+Mirza+Nasrullah+Baig |title=Mirza Ghalib and the Mirs of Gujarat |last2=Imam |publisher=Rupa Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-81-291-0057-3 |location=[[Gujarat]], India |language=en}}</ref>

Mirza Abdullah Baig (Ghalib's father) married Izzat-ut-Nisa Begum, an ethnic [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib|title=Persian poetry of Mirza Ghalib|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyFkAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Pen Productions|isbn=978-81-87581-00-0|page=7}}</ref> and then lived at the house of his father-in-law. He was employed first by the [[Nawabs of Awadh|Nawab of Lucknow]] and then the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]]. He died in a battle in 1803 in [[Kingdom of Alwar|Alwar]] and was buried at [[Rajgarh, Alwar]],<ref name="Mirza Ghalib">{{cite web |url=http://www.megajoin.com/video/p01eCmEYmYI/mirza-ghalib-kahoon-jo-haal-ch-atma/ |title=Mirza Ghalib |publisher=Megajoin.com |access-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103215537/http://www.megajoin.com/video/p01eCmEYmYI/mirza-ghalib-kahoon-jo-haal-ch-atma |archive-date=3 November 2012 }}</ref> when Ghalib was a little over 5 years old. He was then raised by his Uncle Mirza Nasrullah Baig Khan, but in 1806, Nasrullah fell off an elephant and died from related injuries.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://ftp.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib/texts/txt_percival_spear_1972.pdf|title=Ghalib's Delhi|last=Spear|first=Percival|date=1972|website=columbia.edu|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref>

In 1810, at the age of thirteen, Ghalib married Umrao Begum, daughter of [[Nawab]] Ilahi Bakhsh (brother of Ahmad Baksh Khan, the Nawab of [[Ferozepur Jhirka]] and [[Loharu State|Loharu]] and nephew of [[Qasim Jan]]).<ref name="IA">{{Cite book|last1=Berkı |first1=Kamıl Eşfak |title=GĀLİB MİRZA ESEDULLAH - an article published in İslâm Ansiklopedisi |publisher=Türkiye Diyanet Vakf |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/galib-mirza-esedullah|year=1996 |location=Istanbul |isbn=9789753894401 |volume=13 (Fikih – Gelenek) |pages=328–329|language=tr}}</ref> He soon moved to Delhi, along with his younger brother, Mirza Yousuf, who had developed [[schizophrenia]] at a young age and later died in [[Delhi]] during the [[Siege of Delhi|chaos of 1857]].<ref name="Mirza Ghalib"/>
None of his seven children survived beyond infancy. In one of his letters, he describes his marriage as the second imprisonment after the initial confinement that was life itself. The idea that life is one continuous painful struggle that can end only when life itself ends, is a recurring theme in his poetry. One of his couplets puts it in a nutshell:<ref>{{cite web |author=Byjameela Siddiqi |url=http://www.sufism.ru/eng/txts/a_godless.htm |title=Mirza Ghalib: The "Godless" Lover by Byjameela Siddiqi |publisher=Sufism.ru |access-date=20 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518090200/http://www.sufism.ru/eng/txts/a_godless.htm |archive-date=18 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|{{nq|قید حیات و بند غم ، اصل میں دونوں ایک ہیں}}
{{nq|موت سے پہلے آدمی غم سے نجات پائے کیوں؟}}

|The prison of life and the bondage of sorrow are the same
Why should man be free of sorrow before dying?}}

There are conflicting reports regarding his relationship with his wife. She was considered to be pious, conservative, and God-fearing.<ref>[http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/l/loharu.html Genealogy of the Nawabs of Loharu] ''[[Queensland University]]''</ref>

==Mughal titles==
In 1850, Emperor [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]] bestowed upon Mirza Ghalib the title of ''Dabir-ul-Mulk'' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|دبیر الملک}}|lit=secretary of state}}). The Emperor also added to it the additional title of ''Najm-ud-daula'' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|نجم الدولہ}}|lit=star of the state}}).<ref name="Varma"/> The conferment of these titles was symbolic of Mirza Ghalib's incorporation into the nobility of [[Delhi]]. He also received the title of ''Mirza Nosha'' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|مرزا نوشہ}}}}) from the Emperor, thus enabling him to add Mirza to his name. He was also an important courtier of the royal court of the Emperor. As the Emperor was himself a poet, Mirza Ghalib was appointed as his poet tutor in 1854. He was also appointed as a tutor of Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, eldest son of Bahadur Shah II, (d. 10 July 1856). He was also appointed by the [[Emperor]] as the royal [[historian]] of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Court.<ref name="Varma"/>

Being a member of declining Mughal nobility and old landed aristocracy, he never worked for a livelihood, lived on either royal patronage of Mughal Emperors, credit, or the generosity of his friends. His fame came to him posthumously. He had himself remarked during his lifetime that he would be recognized by later generations. After the decline of the [[Mughal Empire]] and the rise of the [[British Raj]], despite his many attempts, Ghalib could never get the full pension restored.<ref name="Varma"/>

==Literary career==
Ghalib started composing poetry at the age of 11. His first language was [[Urdu]], but Persian and Turkish were also spoken at home. He received an education in [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Arabic]] at a young age. During Ghalib's period, the words [[Hindustani language|"Hindi" and Urdu"]] were synonyms (see [[Hindi–Urdu controversy]]). Ghalib wrote in [[Urdu alphabet|Perso-Arabic script]] which is used to write modern Urdu, but often called his language "Hindi"; one of his works was titled ''Ode-e-Hindi'' ({{langx|ur|عود هندی|lit= Perfume of Hindi}}).<ref>{{cite book |author=Omkar Nath Koul |title=Modern Hindi Grammar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tqB3PgAACAAJ |year=2008 |publisher=Dunwoody |isbn=978-1-931546-06-5 |page=3 }}</ref>

When Ghalib was 14 years old a newly converted Muslim tourist from Iran (Abdus Samad, originally named Hormuzd, a [[Zoroastrian]]) came to Agra.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pavan K. Varma|title=Ghalib|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxtqXcZ9ZTEC|year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14306-481-7|pages=96–}}</ref> He stayed at Ghalib's home for two years and taught him Persian, Arabic, philosophy, and logic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.megajoin.com/video/p01eCmEYmYI/mirza-ghalib-kahoon-jo-haal-ch-atma/ |title=Mirza Ghalib. |publisher=Megajoin.com |access-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103215537/http://www.megajoin.com/video/p01eCmEYmYI/mirza-ghalib-kahoon-jo-haal-ch-atma |archive-date=3 November 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:Ghalib poem in Nastaliq.jpg|thumb|Ghalib poem in [[Nastaliq]]]]
Although Ghalib valued Persian over Urdu,<ref>{{cite book|author=Wheeler McIntosh Thackston|title=A Millennium of Classical Persian Poetry: A Guide to the Reading & Understanding of Persian Poetry from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJJPtIiQCD0C|year=1994|publisher=Ibex Publishers, Inc.|isbn=978-0-936347-50-9|page=98}}</ref> his fame rests on his writings in Urdu. Numerous commentaries on Ghalib's ''ghazal'' compilations have been written by Urdu scholars. The first such elucidation or ''Sharh'' was written by [[Ali Haider Tabatabai|Ali Haider Nazm Tabatabai]] of Hyderabad during the rule of the [[Osman Ali Khan|last Nizam of Hyderabad]]. Before Ghalib, the ''ghazal'' was primarily an expression of anguished love; but Ghalib expressed philosophy, the travails, and mysteries of life and wrote ''ghazals'' on many other subjects, vastly expanding the scope of the ''ghazal''.{{Original research inline|date=July 2012}}

In keeping with the conventions of the classical ''ghazal'', in most of Ghalib's verses, the identity and the gender of the beloved are indeterminate. The critic/poet/writer Shamsur Rahman Faruqui explains<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/srf_conventions_of_love.pdf | title = Shamsur Rahman Faruqui explains|publisher=Columbia University}}</ref> that the convention of having the "idea" of a lover or beloved instead of an actual lover/beloved freed the poet-protagonist-lover from the demands of realism. Love poetry in Urdu from the last quarter of the seventeenth century onwards consists mostly of "poems about love" and not "love poems" in the Western sense of the term.

The first complete English translation of Ghalib's ghazals was ''Love Sonnets of Ghalib'', written by Sarfaraz K. Niazi<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.niazi.com | title = Dr. Sarfaraz K. Niazi|publisher=niazi.com}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2022}} and published by Rupa & Co in India and Ferozsons in Pakistan. It contains complete Roman transliteration, explication, and an extensive lexicon.<ref>[http://smriti.com/urdu/ghalib/ Roman transliterations] with English translation of uncommon words</ref>

=== Pensions and Patronage ===
Ghalib has been described as having been concerned about receiving pensions more so than building an estate or engaging in commerce.<ref name=":0" /> Ghalib was paid a monthly salary of 52 rupees and 8 annas from his uncle's government pension until 1827.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Naim|first=C.M.|date=September 2001|title=Ghalib's Delhi: A Shamelessly Revisionist Look at Two Popular Metaphors|url=http://www.bhagininiveditacollege.in/pdf/2020/Ms%20Shaheen%20-%20History%20B.A.%20(Hons),%20Generic,%20Ist%20yr.pdf}}</ref> He travelled to Calcutta and presented a petition to the Governor-General to keep receiving money from this pension.<ref name=":1" />

One of Ghalib's ambitions in life was to become the highest-ranking Ustaad for the royal Mughal Court.<ref name=":0" /> This position not only would prove his artistic mastership but also provide a salary of 400 rupees a month.<ref name=":0" /> Before becoming the official poet laureate of the court, Ghalib was paid a salary of 50 rupees a month to write histories on the history of the House of Taimur.<ref name=":0" />

===Letters===
[[File:A copy of Ghalib's letter to Munshi Hargopal Tafta.jpg|thumb|A page from Ghalib's letters( in his hand)]]
Mirza Ghalib was a gifted letter writer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/br/2003/05/06/stories/2003050600090300.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607045321/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/br/2003/05/06/stories/2003050600090300.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=7 June 2011 |title=Ghalib's letters |work=The Hindu|author=Ali Asghar|date=6 May 2003 |access-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> Not only Urdu poetry but prose is indebted to Mirza Ghalib. His letters gave foundation to easy and popular Urdu. Before Ghalib, letter writing in Urdu was highly ornamental. He made his letters "talk" by using words and sentences as if he were conversing with the reader. According to Ghalib:

{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|{{nq|ہزار کوس سے بہ زبانِ قلم باتیں کرو}}
{{nq|ہجر میں وصال کے مزے لیا کرو}}
|From a thousand miles, talk with the tongue of the pen,
 and enjoy the joy of meeting even when you are separated.}}

His letters were very informal; sometimes he would just write the name of the person and start the letter. He was very humorous and wrote very interesting letters. In a letter he wrote, "Main koshish karta hoon ke koi aisi baat likhoon jo padhe khush ho jaaye'" (I want to write lines such that whoever reads them would enjoy them). Some scholars say that Ghalib would have the same place in Urdu literature based on his letters only. They have been translated into English by [[Ralph Russell]] in ''The Oxford Ghalib''.

Ghalib was a chronicler of a turbulent period. One by one, Ghalib saw the bazaars – Khas Bazaar, [[Urdu Bazaar (Delhi)|Urdu Bazaar]], Kharam-ka Bazaar, disappear, and whole mohallas (localities) and [[Chandni Chowk|katras]] (lanes) vanish. The havelis (mansions) of his friends were razed to the ground. Ghalib wrote that Delhi had become a desert. Water was scarce. Delhi was "a military camp". It was the end of the feudal elite to which Ghalib had belonged. He wrote:

{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|{{nq|ہے موجزن اک قلزم خوں کاش یہی ہو}}
{{nq|آتا ہے ابھی دیکھیے کیا کیا مرے آگے}}
|An ocean of blood churns around me - Alas! Was this all?
The future will show what more remains for me to see."<ref>{{cite book |author=G. S. Amur |year=1992 |title=Creations & Transcreations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_NjAAAAMAAJ&q=%22ocean+of+blood+churns%22+%22what+more+remains%22 |location=Calcutta |publisher=Writers Workshop |pages=83–84 |isbn=8171893910 |access-date=18 September 2017 }}</ref>}}

===Pen name===

His original ''[[Takhallus]]'' ([[pen-name]]) was [[Asad]] (meaning ''lion''), drawn from his given name, Asadullah Khan. At some point early in his poetic career he also decided to adopt the pen-name of ''Ghalib'' (meaning ''all conquering,''  ''superior,'' ''most excellent'').<ref name="Heidi">{{cite book |last1=Pauwels |first1=Heidi R.M. |title='''Indian Literature and Popular Cinema:''' Recasting Classics 》 From ghazal to film music |date=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-11-34-06255-3 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAI0scTDAjIC&dq=Ghalib+pen+name&pg=PA153}}</ref>

===A journey that changed Mirza Ghalib’s course of life===

Ghalib’s poetry or shayari had smitten Mughal Badshah of Delhi, Bahadur Shah Zaffar. During the reign of the British, the badshah became a British pensioner. He was kept under strict supervision by the British along with his visitors including Ghalib as they grew suspicious of him. The shayari maestro’s pension was suspended by the British. This made Ghalib take a long journey to Calcutta to make an appeal about his pension to the British Governor General.

Mirza Ghalib’s journey to Kolkata, or erstwhile Calcutta
<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/calcutta-changed-ghalib-forever-from-humiliation-and-grammar-errors-to-his-pension-plea/590918/
|title=Calcutta changed Ghalib forever — from humiliation and grammar errors to his pension plea
|last=AFSHAN FAROOQI
|first=MEHR
|date=24 January 2021
|website=theprint.in
|publisher=theprint
}}</ref>
made a huge difference in his literary journey. Mirza Ghalib came to the city of joy and fell in love. His love for Kolkata is depicted in one of his creations, Safar-e-Kalkattah where he talks about his stay in his humble abode, Haveli No 133 situated in the Simla Market Area during his stay in Kolkata. He used to write his verses in Urdu but started writing his poetry in Persian after this visit. He realized that the literary circle of Calcutta was very different from his known world. During his stay in Kolkata, he attended many literary gatherings which were not courtly in nature unlike Delhi. These were far liberal and flexible in nature which is imperative for any individual with a creative bent of mind.

Mirza Ghalib’s sojourn in Calcutta widened the horizons of his literary journey. He established himself as one of the renowned poets in Calcutta and received both appreciation and criticism from the enlightened audience of the city. During this time, he penned two masnavis in Persian like Chiragh-e Dair (Lamp of the Temple) and Bad-e Mukhalif (Adverse Winds). 
His letters bear a testimony of his tale of love with Calcutta. In a letter that he wrote to Mirza Ali Bakhsh Khan, he says how the city has stolen his heart and left him mesmerized. He referred to the city as a place which offered a remedy for everything except death and also praised the talented people of the city.

==Mirza Ghalib and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan==
1855, [[Sir Syed Ahmed Khan]] finished his scholarly, well-researched, and illustrated edition of [[Abul Fazal (writer)|Abul Fazl's]] [[Ain-e-Akbari|Ai’n-e Akbari]].<ref>[https://www.gorgiaspress.com/the-ain-i-akbari-of-abul-fazl-allami-5-volume-set.html "THE AIN I AKBARI OF ABUL FAZL 'ALLAMI (5-VOLUME SET)"]{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }},"[[Gorgias Press]]"</ref><ref>[http://www.sirsyedtoday.org/books/?cid=64.html "Ain-E Akbari, 1855, Urdu by Sir Syed Ahmed"],"Sir Syed Today"</ref> Having finished the work to his satisfaction, and believing that Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib was a person who would appreciate his labors, he approached the great Ghalib to write a taqriz (in the convention of the times, a laudatory foreword) for it. Ghalib obliged, but what he produced was a short Persian poem castigating the Ai’n-e Akbari and, by implication, the imperial, sumptuous, literate and learned Mughal culture of which it was a product.<ref name="Shamsur Rahman Faruqi">Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (2006). [https://web.archive.org/web/20161020101507/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/srf_sirsayyid.pdf Chapter 15: From Antiquary to Social Revolutionary: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Colonial Experience] in ''Sir Syed Ahmed Khan : Memorial Lectures''. Viva Books. {{ISBN|9386385449}}</ref> The least that could be said against it was that the book had little value even as an antique document. Ghalib practically reprimanded Khan for wasting his talents and time on dead things.<ref>Hayat-i-Javed (A Biography of Sir Sayyid) by Altaf Husain Hali (1901), translated by David J. Matthews (New Delhi: Rupa and Company, 1994),</ref> Worse, he highly praised the "sahibs of England" who at that time held all the keys to all the a’ins in this world.<ref>The word a’in can mean all or any of the following: character, convention, temperament, habit, rule, path, law (ecclesiastical or secular), creed, praxis, quality, intention, organization, management, system, decoration, beauty. (Lughat Nama-e Dehkhoda). There are about eighty meanings in all, which seem to have developed over the centuries. Most were available to Abul Fazl; all were available to Ghalib.</ref>

The poem was unexpected, but it came at a time when Khan's thought and feelings were already inclining toward change. Ghalib seemed to be acutely aware of a European[English]-sponsored change in world polity, especially Indian polity. Syed Ahmed Khan might well have been piqued at Ghalib's admonitions, but he would also have realized that Ghalib's reading of the situation, though not nuanced enough, was basically accurate. Khan may also have felt that he, being better informed about the English and the outside world, should have himself seen the change that now seemed to be just around the corner.<ref name="Shamsur Rahman Faruqi"/> Sir Khan never again wrote a word in praise of the Ai’n-e Akbari and in fact gave up<ref>He did edit another two historical texts over the next few years, but neither of them was anything like the Ai’n-e Akbari.</ref> taking an active interest in history and archaeology and became a social reformer.

<gallery>
File:Mirza Ghalib's tomb with Chusath Khamba at the back.JPG|Mirza Ghalib's tomb near [[Chausath Khamba]], [[Nizamuddin West|Nizamuddin]] area [[Delhi]]
File:Mirza Ghalib's tomb 04.jpg
File:Inscription in Mirza Ghalib's tomb 05.jpg|Inscription in Mirza Ghalib's Mausoleum
File:Mirza Ghalib and others tomb 06.jpg
File:Mirza Ghalib's tomb 07.jpg
File:Mirza Ghalib's tomb 08.jpg
File:Tombstone Mirza Ghalib.jpg|Tombstone of Mirza Ghalib
File: Front gate of Ghalib's Tomb compound.jpg|Front gate of Ghalib's Tomb compound
</gallery>

==Religious views==

Ghalib placed a greater emphasis on seeking of God rather than ritualistic religious practices; although he followed Shia theology and had said many verses in praise of [[Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sabri |first=Zahra |date=2016-12-03 |title=Three Shi'a Poets: Sect-Related Themes in Pre-Modern Urdu Poetry |url=https://iowcwp.mcgill.ca/article/view/3 |journal=Indian Ocean World Centre Working Paper Series |language=en |issue=2 |issn=2371-5111}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mirza Ghalib: A Liberal Poet |url=https://www.pixstory.com/story/mirza-ghalib-a-liberal-poet/61653 |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=Pixstory |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Appendix 2. Ghalib Concordance, with Standard Divan Numbers |date=2017-12-31 |work=Ghalib |pages=115–120 |publisher=Columbia University Press |doi=10.7312/ghal18206-008 |isbn=9780231544009 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Ghalib states:

{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|{{nq|ہے پرے سرحد ادراک سے اپنا مسجود}}
{{nq|قبلے کو اہل نظر قبلہ نما کہتے ہیں}}
|The object of my worship lies beyond perception's reach;
For men who see, the [[Kaaba|qibla]] is a compass, nothing more.<ref name=Dalrymple>{{cite book|author=William Dalrymple|title=The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ln11sxANjTkC|year=2009|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-1-4088-0092-8}}</ref>{{rp|79}}}}

Like many other Urdu poets, Ghalib was capable of writing profoundly religious poetry, yet was skeptical about some interpretations of the Islamic scriptures done by certain religious leaders.<ref name="Dalrymple"/>{{rp|41}} On the idea of paradise, he once wrote in his Persian masnavi (مثنوی), "Abr-i-Guhar Baar" :
{{cquote|How canst Thou burn with a fire-mark in Hell a heart that finds no rest even in a garden? And, in Paradise, it is true that I shall drink at dawn the pure wine mentioned in the [[Quran]], but where shall I find again the star of dawn I used to see on earth, and my crystal cup? Where in Paradise are the long walks of intoxicated friends in the night, or the drunken crowds shouting merrily? In that holy tavern, silent and still, how canst Thou introduce the sounds of the flute and the gay bustle of the taverns of this earth? Where shall I find, there, the intoxication of raining clouds? Where there is no autumn, how can spring exist? If the beautiful [[houries]] are eternally in one's heart, what of the sweet thought of them? Where will be the sadness of separation and the joy of union? How could we be thankful to an unknown beauty? What will be the pleasure of a sure fruition of love, without waiting? Where shall we find, there, a girl who flees away when we would kiss her? Where will be, there, one who betrays us with false oaths of love? The beauties of Paradise will obey us and their lips will never say anything bitter; they will give us pleasure, but with a heart forever closed to the desire for pleasure. Will there be in Paradise oglings, the pleasure of coquettish glances from afar? Where will it be, in Paradise, the dear window in a well-known wall?.
| author = [[Mirza Ghalib]]
| source = In his Persian masnavi, Abr-i-Guhar baar <ref>[[Ralph Russell]], "Ghalib: The Poet and His Age" (1997), p.81.</ref>
}}

He staunchly disdained the practices of certain [[Ulema]], who in his poems represent narrow-mindedness and hypocrisy:<ref name="Dalrymple"/>{{rp|41}}
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|{{nq|کہاں مے خانہ کا دروازہ غالبؔ اور کہاں واعظ،}}
{{nq|پر اتنا جانتے ہیں کل وہ جاتا تھا کہ ہم نکلے}}
|What's the relation between the Preacher and the door of the tavern,
but believe me, Ghalib, I am sure I saw him slip in as I departed.<ref name="Dalrymple"/>{{rp|41}}}}

In another verse directed towards certain maulavis (clerics), he criticized them for their ignorance and arrogant certitude: "Look deeper, it is you alone who cannot hear the music of his secrets".<ref name="Dalrymple"/>{{rp|41}} In his letters, Ghalib frequently contrasted the narrow legalism of the Ulema with "its pre-occupation with teaching the baniyas and the brats, and wallowing in the problems of menstruation and menstrual bleeding" and real spirituality for which you had to "study the works of the mystics and take into one's heart the essential truth of God's reality and his expression in all things".<ref name=Dalrymple/>{{rp|80}}

During the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|anti-British Rebellion]] in Delhi on 5 October 1857, three weeks after the British troops had entered through [[Kashmiri Gate (Delhi)|Kashmiri Gate]], some soldiers climbed into Ghalib's neighbourhood and hauled him off to Colonel Brown ({{langx|ur|کمانڈنگ آفیسر کرنل براؤن|Kamānḍing Āfīsar Karnal Brāūn}})<ref>Altaf Hussain Haali (1897) [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib/hali/index.html ''Yaadgaar e Haali'']. p. 39</ref> for questioning.<ref name="Dalrymple"/>{{rp|41}} He appeared in front of the colonel wearing a Central Asian Turkic style headdress. The colonel, bemused at his appearance, inquired in broken Urdu, "Well? You Muslim?", to which Ghalib replied sardonically, "Half?" The colonel asked, "What does that mean?" In response, Ghalib said, "I drink wine, but I don't eat pork."<ref name=Dalrymple/>{{rp|41}}

===Naʽats of Ghalib===
A large part of Ghalib's poetry focuses on the [[Naʽat]], poems in praise of Muhammad, which indicates that Ghalib was a devout Muslim.<ref name="schimmel">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZ-el6s2J0gC|title=And Muhammad is His Messenger – The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety|isbn=9780807841280|author=Annemarie Schimmel|page=115|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1985}}</ref> Ghalib wrote his ''Abr-i gauharbar'' ({{langx|ur|ابر گہر بار|lit=The Jewel-carrying Cloud}}) as a Naʽat poem.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZ-el6s2J0gC|title=And Muhammad is His Messenger – The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety|isbn=9780807841280|author=Annemarie Schimmel|page=81|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1985}}</ref> Ghalib also wrote a [[qasida]] of 101 verses in dedication to a Naʽat.<ref name="schimmel"/> Ghalib described himself as a sinner who should be silent before Muhammad as he was not worthy of addressing him, who was praised by God.<ref name="schimmel"/>

==Views on Hindustan==
In his Persian poem ''Chiragh-i-Dair'' ({{langx|ur|چراغ دیر}}, The Lamp of the Temple) which was composed during his trip to [[Varanasi|Benares]] during the spring of 1827, Ghalib mused about the land of [[Hindustan]] (India) and how [[Islamic view of the Last Judgment|Qiyamah]] (Doomsday) has failed to arrive, in spite of the numerous conflicts plaguing it.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ralph Russell|author2=Khurshidul Islam|title=Ghalib 1797–1869: Life and Letters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppCYQgAACAAJ|date= 1994|publisher=Oxford University Press India|isbn=978-0-19-563506-5|chapter=Ch. 7}}</ref>

{{cquote|Said I one night to a pristine seer<br />
(Who knew the secrets of whirling Time)<br />
'Sir you well perceive,<br />
That goodness and faith,<br />
Fidelity and love<br />
Have all departed from this sorry land.<br />
Father and son are at each other's throat;<br />
Brother fights brother.<br />
Unity and Federation are undermined.<br />
Despite these ominous signs<br />
Why has not Doomsday come?<br />
Why does not the Last Trumpet sound?<br />
Who holds the reins of the Final Catastrophe?'.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ramachandra Guha|title-link=India After Gandhi|title=India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy|date=2011|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-330-54020-9|chapter=Prologue}}</ref>
}}

== Persian works ==

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Ghalib-Farsi-Kalam-Iran.jpg|thumb |left|<small>Release of Book Kulyat-e-Ghalib Farsi at a function sponsored by Iranian Ministry of Arts and Culture, in Tehran  in September 2010</small>]] -->
[[File:A copy of the cover page of Ghalib's Qaat'i-e Burhaan.jpg|thumb|Cover Page of Ghalib's Qaat'i-e Burhaan]]

Ghalib held Persian in high regard, and his knowledge of the language was a point of pride for him.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Rahman|first=Munibur|date=2000|title=ḠĀLEB, Mīrzā ASAD-ALLĀH Khan|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/galeb|website=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Citation|last=Alam|first=Muzaffar|title=2. The Culture and Politics of Persian in Precolonial Hindustan|date=2019-12-31|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/9780520926738-007|work=Literary Cultures in History|pages=167–168|publisher=University of California Press|doi=10.1525/9780520926738-007|isbn=9780520926738|s2cid=226770775|access-date=2021-12-28|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He believed his compositions in Persian were superior to those in Urdu, and hoped readers would evaluate him by the former:<ref name=":3"/>

{{Cquote
| quote = See my Persian [poetry] so that you may see colorful pictures of many hues.
Pass over my Urdu collection; it’s only a sketch.
}}

The majority of Ghalib's poetic compositions in Persian were ''qasidahs'' dedicated to numerous patron rulers. Ghalib also created ''ghazals'' and ''[[mathnawi]]s'' in Persian. His first published work in the language was a collection of poems titled ''May-ḵāna-ye ārzū'', released in 1845. He also created prose works, such as ''Panj ahang'', initially published in 1849. ''Mehr-e nīmrūz'', published in 1855, was a history of the universe from its creation to the death of Mughal Emperor [[Humayun]]. Another such historical work was ''Dastanbu'', an eyewitness account of the [[1857 revolt]] and its aftermath. Ghalib's last significant work in Persian was ''Qaat'i-e Burhaan'', a critique of ''[[Burhan-i Qati|Burhaan-e-Qaat'i]]'', a controversial Persian dictionary.<ref name=":2"/>

In 2010, [[Maulana Azad National Urdu University]] published a compilation of 11,337 poems by Ghalib titled "Kulliyat-e-Ghalib Farsi".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140809152619/http://www.ghalibinstitute.org/p/publication.html Serial No. 84], Publications of Ghalib Institute, New Delhi.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090324033958/http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/20/stories/2009032059020200.htm Anthology of Ghalib's Persian poetry released – ANDHRA PRADESH]. The Hindu (20 March 2009). Retrieved on 18 December 2018.</ref> A few years before his death, Ghalib had written over 11,000 Persian poems in Persian while also writing over 1,700 Urdu poems.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – The Tribune Lifestyle|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100324/ttlife1.htm}}</ref>

==Contemporaries and disciples==
Ghalib's closest rival was poet [[Zauq]], tutor of [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]], the then Mughal emperor with his seat in Delhi. There are some amusing anecdotes of the competition between Ghalib and Zauq and exchange of jibes between them. However, there was mutual respect for each other's talent. Both also admired and acknowledged the supremacy of [[Meer Taqi Meer]], a towering figure of 18th century Urdu Poetry. Another poet [[Momin Khan Momin|Momin]], whose ''ghazals'' had a distinctly lyrical flavour,<ref name="mobizilla.pk">{{Cite web|title=- The best platform for urdu poetry|url=https://mobizilla.pk/|access-date=11 June 2021|website=mobizilla.pk|language=en-US}}</ref> was also a famous contemporary of Ghalib. One of the towering figures in Urdu literature [[Altaf Hussain Hali]] was a ''shagird'' ({{langx|ur|شاگرد|lit=student}}) of Ghalib. Hali has also written a biography of Ghalib titled ''Yaadgaar-e-Ghalib''.<br />

Ghalib was not only a poet, he was also a prolific prose writer. His letters are a reflection of the political and social climate of the time. They also refer to many contemporaries like Mir Mehdi Majrooh, who himself was a good poet and Ghalib's lifelong acquaintance. The poems written by Ghalib were tough to understand. He sometimes made the sentence syntax so complex that people had difficulty in understanding them. Once, Hakeem Agha Jaan Aish aka Aish Dehlvi, a poet of Ghalib's era, read a couplet in a Mushaira mocking Ghalib:<ref>Mutaala-e-Ghalib, 2nd edition, Danish Mahal Aminuddaula park publisher Lakhnow, 1987, p. 9.</ref>
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|اگر اپنا کہا تم آپ ہی سمجھے تو کیا سمجھے
مزا کہنے کا جب ہے اک کہے اور دوسرا سمجھے

|It is not praised if you are the only one to understand what you speak
Interesting is the situation when you speak and the others understand}}

Ghalib felt bad for this and wrote:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib/ghazal_index.html|title=Divan-e Ghalib: Ghazal index}}</ref>
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|نہ ستائش کی تمنّا نہ صلے کی پروا
گر نہیں ہیں مرے اشعار میں معنی نہ سہی

|I don't need appreciation neither do I need any return
Let not be if there is no meaning in my couplets}}

This style was the definition of his uniqueness

In prose Ghalib brought a revolution in Urdu literature by developing an easy, simple and beautiful way of writing.
Before Ghalib Urdu was a complex language, Ghalib introduced a simple style of prose in Urdu which is like a conversation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sir Abdul Qadir |title=Famous Urdu poets and writers |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urduhindilinks/abdulqadir/02ghalibprose.pdf |chapter=Ghalib as a master of Urdu prose |year=1947 |publisher=New Book Society}} [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.59032/page/n3 archive]</ref>

===Ghalib's grave===
Ghalib was buried in [[Nizamuddin East|Hazrat Nizamuddin]] near the tomb of [[Nizamuddin Auliya]]. The side view of Mazar-e-Ghalib is shown in the image.
[[File:Mazar-e-Ghalib.jpg|thumb|Side view of Mazar-e-Ghalib]]
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|rtl1=y|lang=ur-Aran
|مزے جہان کے اپنی نظر میں خاک نہیں
سواے خون جگر سو جگر میں خاک نہیں<ref name="Ghalib">{{cite web |url=http://smriti.com/urdu/ghalib/45.html|title= Mirza Ghalib|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher= smriti.com |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref>

|The happiness of the world is nothing for me
for my heart is left with no feeling besides blood.}}
'''Unique Style of writing'''

Ghalib is often famous for his unique and peculiar style of poetry. For example, he says
<blockquote><poem>
{{lang|ur|کوئی ویرانی سی ویرانی ہے }}
''koī vīrānī sī vīrānī hai ''
{{lang|ur|دشت کو دیکھ کے گھر یاد آیا }}
''dasht ko dekh ke ghar yaad aayā'' 
</poem></blockquote>
This couplet has two meanings. On one hand, he says that there is loneliness all over the place, which is quite scary and makes him want to return to his secure and cosy home. On the other hand, a second meaning can be taken from this: there is this loneliness which resembles my home. My home is also a deserted place just like this one. That duality is something which Ghalib thrives on.<ref>{{Cite web|date=9 May 2021|title=Sad Poetry in Urdu images [100+] for Broken Heart|url=https://mobizilla.pk/sad-poetry-in-urdu/|access-date=11 June 2021|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2022}}
[[File:A view of Ghalib ki Haveli.JPG|thumb|[[Ghalib ki Haveli]], interior]]
He died in [[Delhi]] on 15 February 1869.<ref name="IA" /><ref name="britannica" /> The house where he lived in Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, [[Chandni Chowk]], in [[Old Delhi]] known as the ''[[Ghalib ki Haveli]]'' is now a museum dedicated to him.<ref>{{cite book |title=The best of the best places in the world : the 100 most awe-inspiring places on earth. |date=2012 |publisher=Reader's Digest Book and Home Entertainment (India) |location=Mumbai, India |isbn=9781780201580 |page=85 |url=https://archive.org/details/bestofbestplaces0000unse/page/84/mode/2up?q=%22Ghalib+ki+Haveli%22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tiwari |first1=Piyush |last2=Rao |first2=Jyoti |title=Delhi's Changing Built Environment |date=22 December 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-44136-6 |page=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pitEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT268 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Books explaining Ghalib's poetry ===
There have been numerous Urdu books attempting to explain the poetry of Ghalib, with Dr Sohail Baloch, a literary critic from Pakistan, listing 107 of those.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Bilal |date=16 February 2024 |title=Dr Rauf Parekh explains why Ghalib continues to be extensively studied by literary scholars |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1158094-dr-rauf-parekh-explains-why-ghalib-continues-to-be-extensively-studied-by-literary-scholars |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227104227/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1158094-dr-rauf-parekh-explains-why-ghalib-continues-to-be-extensively-studied-by-literary-scholars |archive-date=27 December 2024 |website=[[The News International]]}}</ref>

=== Ghalib's ghazals in music ===
Ghazal maestros like [[Jagjit Singh]], [[Mehdi Hassan]], [[Iqbal Bano]], [[Abida Parveen]], [[Farida Khanum]], [[Tina Sani]], Madam [[Noor Jehan]], [[Mohammed Rafi]], [[Asha Bhosle]], [[Begum Akhtar]], [[Ghulam Ali (singer)|Ghulam Ali]], [[Lata Mangeshkar]], [[Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan]], [[Rahat Fateh Ali Khan]] have sung his ghazals.<ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=84460&Cat=4 "Ghalib forgotten on his 214th birth anniversary amid political chaos"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222182124/http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=84460&Cat=4 |date=22 February 2014 }}, Zaib Azkaar Hussain, ''The International News'', 18 December 2011.</ref>

===Films and TV serial on Ghalib===
[[Bharat Bhushan Bhalla|Bharat Bhushan]] plays Ghalib and [[Suraiya]] plays his [[tawaif]] lover, Chaudvin in the film ''[[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]]'' (1954). The musical score of the film was composed by [[Ghulam Mohammed (composer)|Ghulam Mohammed]] and his compositions includes renditions of Ghalib's ghazals.<ref name="e178">{{cite web | last=Sood | first=Samira | title=Mirza Ghalib: The movie was the perfect marriage of the poet's words with Suraiya's voice | website=ThePrint | date=20 Jun 2020 | url=https://theprint.in/feature/mirza-ghalib-the-movie-was-the-perfect-marriage-of-the-poets-words-with-suraiyas-voice/444978/ | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref><ref name="e705">{{cite web | last=Pradhan | first=Aneesh | title=Listen: Tabla player Ghulam Mohammed’s music for ‘Pakeezah’ and other films | website=Scroll.in | date=28 Jan 2023 | url=https://scroll.in/article/1042601/listen-tabla-player-ghulam-mohammed-music-for-pakeezah-and-other-films | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref>

A Pakistani film named ''[[Ghalib (film)|Ghalib]]'' was released in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jang.com.pk/news/895358|title={{nq|برصغیر کے عظیم شاعر مرزا غالب کی زندگی پر بننے والی فلم ’’غالب‘‘}}|date=9 March 2021|language=en-Urdu|access-date=}}</ref> The film was directed and produced by Ataullah Hashmi for S.K. Pictures. The music was composed by [[Tassaduq Hussain]]. The film starred Pakistani film superstar [[Sudhir (Pakistani actor)|Sudhir]] playing Ghalib and Madam [[Noor Jehan]] playing his tawaif lover, Chaudvin. The film was released on 24 November 1961 and reached average status at the box-office, however, the music remains memorable in Pakistan to this day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/683191/movie-on-ghalibs-life-elicits-mixed-response|title=Movie on Ghalib's life elicits mixed response|work=Dawn|date=25 December 2011|access-date=}}</ref>

[[Gulzar (lyricist)|Gulzar]] produced a TV serial, ''[[Mirza Ghalib (TV series)|Mirza Ghalib]]'' (1988), telecast on [[DD National]]. [[Naseeruddin Shah]] played the role of Ghalib in the serial, and it featured ''ghazals'' sung and composed by [[Jagjit Singh]] and [[Chitra Singh]].<ref name="w529">{{cite web | last=Bohra | first=Anurag Singh | title=How Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar and Jagjit Singh brought Mirza Ghalib to life in the 80s | website=The Indian Express | date=27 Dec 2017 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/mirza-ghalib-tv-show-5000763/ | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref><ref name="q278">{{cite web | last=Keshri | first=Shweta | title=Mirza Ghalib to Kirdaar: 4 Gulzar gems you must watch today | website=India Today | date=18 Aug 2017 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/television/what-s-hot/story/mirza-ghalib-to-kirdaar-4-gulzar-gems-you-must-watch-today-lifetv-1030282-2017-08-18 | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref> The serial's music has since been recognised as Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh's [[masterpiece|magnum opus]], enjoying a cult following in the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="n436">{{cite web | last=Khan | first=Siraj | title=A Creative Fountainhead Like Gulzar Cannot Slow Down | website=The Wire | date=30 Jul 2022 | url=https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/gulzar-poems-north-america-tour?utm=authorlistpage | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref><ref name="j071">{{cite web | title=How Jagjit Singh redefined the modern ghazal | website=Kashmir Observer | date=13 Feb 2017 | url=https://kashmirobserver.net/2017/02/13/how-jagjit-singh-redefined-the-modern-ghazal/ | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref>

Another television show, ''Mirza Ghalib: The Playful Muse'', aired on DD National in 1989; various ghazals by Ghalib were rendered in different musical styles by singers and musicians in each episode.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mirza Ghalib: The Playful Muse (1989) |url=https://indiancine.ma/CLLL/info |website=Indiancine.ma}}</ref>

===Stage plays on Ghalib===
[[File:Mirza Ghalib 1969 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Ghalib on a 1969 stamp of India]]
Ghalib's life is the subject of various plays regularly performed in Northern India<ref name="j327">{{cite web | last=Moosvi | first=Mehdi | title=Urdu Drama Festival: potent narratives | website=The Hindu | date=16 Jul 2018 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/potent-narratives/article24432233.ece | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref> and Pakistan, including ''Ghalib in New Delhi'', which has been staged over 500 times since its premiere in 1997.<ref name="d618">{{cite web | last=Bakhsh | first=Zenaira | title=Mirza Ghalib returns. Uses Instagram, attends Ambani wedding, told to ‘go to Pakistan’ | website=ThePrint | date=11 Aug 2024 | url=https://theprint.in/feature/mirza-ghalib-returns-uses-instagram-attends-ambani-wedding-told-to-go-to-pakistan/2216904/ | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref> Other stage works include the Pakistani play ''Dozakhnama'' by Azad Theatre, which portrays a fictional meeting between Ghalib and [[Saadat Hasan Manto]] in hell.<ref name="h105">{{cite web | last=Ahmed | first=Shoaib | title=What would Ghalib and Manto talk about in hell? Upcoming play Dozakhnama will tell us | website=Images | date=21 Jun 2016 | url=https://images.dawn.com/news/1175651 | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref> These plays are based on his personal and professional relationships as well as fictionalized interpretations of his life.<ref name="j427">{{cite web | title=‘Anti-national’ Mirza Ghalib defends himself in new play | website=The Indian Express | date=26 May 2017 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/anti-national-mirza-ghalib-defends-himself-in-new-play-4674401/ | access-date=19 Nov 2024}}</ref>

Starting from the ''Parsi Theatre'' and ''Hindustani Theatre'' days, the first phase of his stage portrayal culminated in [[Sheila Bhatia]]'s production, written by Mehdi Saheb. Mohd Ayub performed this role so many times that many theatre-goers used to call him Ghalib. The Sheila Bhatia production celebrated his famous ghazals which used to be presented one after another. Ghalib's character lacked subtlety and he was shown philandering with the courtesan, Chaudvin, famously played by Punjabi singer Madan Bala Sandhu. Later [[Begum Abida Ahmed]], wife of the late President [[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]], supported many very costly productions. This was perhaps the golden period of plays celebrating Ghalib's life, including many other productions such as [[Surendra Verma]]'s play which was performed by the [[National School of Drama]]. ''Qaid-e-Hayat'' (Imprisonment of Life, 1983), written by Surendra Verma, talks about the personal life of the poet Ghalib, including his financial hardships and his tragic love for Katiba, a woman calligraphist, who was working on his ''diwan''. Over the years, it has been directed by numerous theatre directors, including [[Ram Gopal Bajaj]] in 1989, at the National School of Drama.  This period also saw numerous college and university productions performed by students' groups.  Writers whose scripts were popular during this period include Jameel Shaidai, Danish Iqbal and [[Devender Singh]].  Ghalib also inspired a chain of comedies. One such classic comedy is ''Ghalib in New Delhi'' which has been staged more than three hundred times by Dr. Sayeed Alam.  Danish Iqbal's play ''Main Gaya Waqt Nahin Hoon'' and Sayeed's play ''Ghalib Ke Khutoot'' are still being performed at various Indian cities.{{when|date=December 2017}}{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} The name of play 'Main Gaya Waqt Nahin Hoon' was later changed to 'Anti-National Ghalib',<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-26 |title='Anti-national' Mirza Ghalib defends himself in new play |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/anti-national-mirza-ghalib-defends-himself-in-new-play-4674401/ |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> which has had several successful shows in DelhiNCR. Now being produced under the banner of Aatrangi Pitaara Foundation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thepatriot.in/reports/ghalib-has-been-called-back-to-the-court-28353 | title=Ghalib has been called back to the court! | date=20 August 2022 }}</ref>

The late Sheila Bhatia began this trend on productions about Ghalib, in Delhi.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ghalib and his troubles |url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/01/11/stories/2008011150120300.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116061146/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2008/01/11/stories/2008011150120300.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 January 2008 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=11 January 2008 }}</ref>

===Ghalib's poetry in films===
The 2015 film [[Masaan]] contains various examples of poetry and shaayari by Ghalib, along with works by [[Akbar Allahabadi]], [[Basheer Badr]], [[Brij Narayan Chakbast|Chakbast]], and [[Dushyant Kumar]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lakhani |first1=Somya |title=Secret Love: How Hindi poetry has become 'cool' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/secret-love-hindi-kavita-youtube-channel-hindi-literature-3024758/ |access-date=17 April 2019 |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=11 September 2016}}</ref> {{failed verification|date=August 2020}} Explaining this as a conscious tribute, the film's lyricist [[Varun Grover (writer)|Varun Grover]] explained that he wanted to show 
the character of Shaalu (played by Shweta Tripathi) as a person whose hobby is to read Hindi poetry and [[Urdu poetry|shaayari]], as this is a common hobby of young people in Northern India, especially when in love, but this aspect is rarely shown in Hindi films.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hindi Kavita - Kuch ban jaate hain - Uday Prakash: Varun Grover in Hindi Studio with Manish Gupta |publisher=Hindi Kavita |date=25 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pal |first1=Sanchari |title=Meet the NRI Who Returned To India To Make Millions Fall in Love with Hindi Poetry |url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/68222/manish-gupta-youtube-hindi-poetry/ |website=www.thebetterindia.com |date=14 September 2016 |publisher=The Better India |access-date=17 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Grover |first1=Varun |title=How the magic of Dushyant Kumar's poetry inspired this Bollywood lyricist |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/how-the-magic-of-dushyant-kumars-poetry-inspired-this-bollywood-lyricist/ |access-date=17 April 2019 |newspaper=The Indian Express}}</ref><ref name="mobizilla.pk"/>

===Google Doodle===
Ghalib was commemorated on his 220th birth anniversary by Search Engine [[Google Search|Google]] which showed a special doodle on its Indian home page for him on 27 December 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/mirza-ghalib-legendary-poet-urdu-language-171227070501541.html|title=Mirza Ghalib: Legendary poet of the Urdu language|date=27 December 2017|work=aljazeera.com|access-date=27 December 2017|language=en}}</ref>

===Statue in Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi===
[[File:Ghalib statue, Jamia Millia Islamia.jpg|thumb|Ghalib Statue at the [[Jamia Millia Islamia]]]]
A statue of Ghalib was inaugurated in early 2000 in [[Jamia Millia Islamia]] in [[Delhi]]. The status depicts Mirza Ghalib as a great Urdu poet. It is located inside the gate number seven of the university campus.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/azad-mural-flag-to-be-unveiled-in-nagpada/articleshow/68072075.cms|title=Azad mural, flag to be unveiled in Nagpada &#124; Mumbai News - Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]]|date=20 February 2019 }}</ref>

===Wall mural in Mumbai, India===
[[File:MirzaGhalibMuralMumbaiIndia.jpg|thumb|Wall Mural of Mirza Ghalib at the junction of Mirza Ghalib Road in Nagpada, [[Mumbai]], India, depicting the life and times of Ghalib and his impact on India]]
A wall mural (or [[relief]]) was inaugurated on 21 January 2019 at the Mirza Ghalib Road (formerly known as Clare Road) in the Nagpada Locality of [[Mumbai]].<ref name="Mumbai Mirror 2019">{{cite web |last1=Jyoti |first1=Punwani |title=BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, lyricist Javed Akhtar present at inauguration of Ghalib mural - Mumbai News |url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/ghalib-unites-urdu-marathi-and-hindi/articleshow/67732721.cms |website=[[Mumbai Mirror]] |access-date=22 April 2022 |language=en |date=29 January 2019}}</ref> The mural measuring 10&nbsp;ft. x 42&nbsp;ft. depicts Ghalibs life and his works. It also depicts the impact that Ghalib had on poetry and art in India. The mural is located outside a Municipal Garden near the Madanpura Area of Mumbai, which was once a hub for art, literature, writers and poets.

==See also==
{{Portal|Poetry}}
*[[Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences#Ghalib Study Centre|Ghalib Study Centre, Ibn Sina Academy]]
*[[Ghalib Academy, New Delhi]]
*[[Mirza Ghalib College]], [[Gaya, India|Gaya]]
*[[Ghalib Museum, New Delhi]]
*[[List of Persian poets and authors]]
*[[Persian language in the Indian subcontinent]]
*[[List of Urdu language poets]]
*[[Urdu poetry]]

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Tijarwi |first1=Mohammad Mushtaq |title=G̲h̲ālib aur Alvar |date=2019 |publisher=Ghalib Institute |location=New Delhi |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1132238536 |oclc=1132238536|language=ur}}
* ''Urdu letters of Mirza Asaduʼllāh Khan Galib'', tr. by Daud Rahbar. SUNY Press, 1987. {{ISBN|0-88706-412-4}}.
* {{cite encyclopedia | title = ḠĀLEB, Mīrzā ASAD-ALLĀH Khan | last = Rahman | first = Munibur | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/galeb | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 3 | pages = 258–259 | year = 2000 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mirza Ghalib}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Mirza Ghalib}}
* {{Librivox author |id=4952}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Persian literature}}

[[Category:Ghalib| ]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Mughal Empire people]]
[[Category:Poets from British India]]
[[Category:Mughal nobility]]
[[Category:Urdu-language poets]]
[[Category:1797 births]]
[[Category:1869 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Persian-language poets]]
[[Category:Writers from Agra]]
[[Category:Writers from Delhi]]
[[Category:Indian Persian-language writers]]
[[Category:Poets from Delhi]]
[[Category:Kashmiri writers]]
[[Category:Indian prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:People imprisoned for debt]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of India]]