Translating Ghalib - A Tribute, An Effort

SameerJB wrote:
Whether you like Jagjit or Begum Akhtar more depends upon your orientation towards classical music. Actually, Ghulam Ali`s level of classical accomplishment is the same as that of Jagjit Singh - mediocre. Jagjit has a very melodious and impressive voice and he has put it to very good use in evolving his highly successful style of ghazal singing which has been copied by many others. For those who remember, before him, the popular ghazal style was the one used by Talat Mehmood. Both Talat and Jagjit are however limited in their range of voice and singing.

I think it`s less a matter of personal orientation than it is a matter of the relationship between the lyrics and how they`re sung. Old style poetry with classical themes sounds incongruent when sung to guitar and piano music, something does not sit right. I`ve always felt that Jagjit`s style of singing does not do justice to Ghalib`s lyrics, or good poetry in general. He is good for singing songs like ``hontoN say chhoo lo tum``. It is a commentary on Jagjit`s lack of depth that he can`t do justice to anything deeper.

However I think that there is a lot of poetry that sounds great even if it is sung to music that`s not exactly classical. Many twentieth century Urdu poets -- most notably Faiz and Iqbal -- were influenced by Western poetry. And many of their poems that contain that imprint of the West -- in theme or in language -- sound alright with modern instruments and music. To wit, ``Meray dil, meray musaafir``, ``Koi baat karo`` sung by Tina Sani. Even Noor Jehan`s rendition of ``Mujh say pehli si mohabbat meri mehboob na maang`` is very good, and not classical. On the other hand, there are Faiz ghazals that cannot be imagined in anything but classical ``aaey kuchh abr kuchh sharaab aaey``, ``guloN meiN rang bharay baad-e-nau-bahaar chalay`` , or Farida Khanum`s rendition of ``chaand niklay kisi jaanib teri zebaai ka``. (If you haven`t heard this last one, do that ASAP. It`s beautiful.)

Coming back to Ghalib, one ghazal that no one has mentioned, which is my personal favorite is Iqbal Bano`s singing of ``muddat hui hai yaar ko mehmaaN kiyay huay``....I must have listened to it about 1000 times. Ghulam Ali is not the best ghazal singer around, but his ``shauq har rang raqeeb-e-sar o saamaaN nikla`` is quite good. Maybe I am missing something here, but I do not recall any Ghalib ghazal among Mehdi Hassan`s classical greats that I`ve heard...``naavak andaaz jidhar deeda-e-jaanaaN hoN gay``, ``maiN nazar say pi raha hooN, ye samaaN badal na jaaey``, ``dil meiN is tarah say bhoolay huay gham aatay haiN``....can anyone point to a Ghalib ghazal that mehdi hassan has sung in a raag?



Coming

SameerJB wrote:
Whether you like Jagjit or Begum Akhtar more depends upon your orientation towards classical music. Actually, Ghulam Ali`s level of classical accomplishment is the same as that of Jagjit Singh - mediocre. Jagjit has a very melodious and impressive voice and he has put it to very good use in evolving his highly successful style of ghazal singing which has been copied by many others. For those who remember, before him, the popular ghazal style was the one used by Talat Mehmood. Both Talat and Jagjit are however limited in their range of voice and singing.

I think it`s less a matter of personal orientation than it is a matter of the relationship between the lyrics and how they`re sung. Old style poetry with classical themes sounds incongruent when sung to guitar and piano music, something does not sit right. I`ve always felt that Jagjit`s style of singing does not do justice to Ghalib`s lyrics, or good poetry in general. He is good for singing songs like ``hontoN say chhoo lo tum``. It is a commentary on Jagjit`s lack of depth that he can`t do justice to anything deeper.

However I think that there is a lot of poetry that sounds great even if it is sung to music that`s not exactly classical. Many twentieth century Urdu poets -- most notably Faiz and Iqbal -- were influenced by Western poetry. And many of their poems that contain that imprint of the West -- in theme or in language -- sound alright with modern instruments and music. To wit, ``Meray dil, meray musaafir``, ``Koi baat karo`` sung by Tina Sani. Even Noor Jehan`s rendition of ``Mujh say pehli si mohabbat meri mehboob na maang`` is very good, and not classical. On the other hand, there are Faiz ghazals that cannot be imagined in anything but classical ``aaey kuchh abr kuchh sharaab aaey``, ``guloN meiN rang bharay baad-e-nau-bahaar chalay`` , or Farida Khanum`s rendition of ``chaand niklay kisi jaanib teri zebaai ka``. (If you haven`t heard this last one, do that ASAP. It`s beautiful.)

Coming back to Ghalib, one ghazal that no one has mentioned, which is my personal favorite is Iqbal Bano`s singing of ``muddat hui hai yaar ko mehmaaN kiyay huay``....I must have listened to it about 1000 times. Ghulam Ali is not the best ghazal singer around, but his ``shauq har rang raqeeb-e-sar o saamaaN nikla`` is quite good. Maybe I am missing something here, but I do not recall any Ghalib ghazal among Mehdi Hassan`s classical greats that I`ve heard...``naavak andaaz jidhar deeda-e-jaanaaN hoN gay``, ``maiN nazar say pi raha hooN, ye samaaN badal na jaaey``, ``dil meiN is tarah say bhoolay huay gham aatay haiN``....can anyone point to a Ghalib ghazal that mehdi hassan has sung in a raag?



Coming

macgupta:
Thanks for the very nice links.

FYI, some interesting related stuff :

http://www.harappa.com/engr/delhicon.html

http://www.harappa.com/engr/mughal.html

roohi and dost -- please ubb buss kareiN -- Dilli ki woh yaddeiN nu dillayeiN -- kubb ki raakh ho chooki theeN --

roohi -- what a marvellous anthology of Ghalib`s Dilli -- Ghalib`s times --

dil dhoondhta hai phir wahi Dilli ke raat din -- thanks

``Actually, Ghulam Ali`s level of classical accomplishment is the same as that of Jagjit Singh - mediocre.``(DOST-MITTER)

exactly -- and both are lazy -- both have training in classical ragas -- but take the unpolished easy route --

roohi:
Thanks for that evocative (yes temporal, I am copying you!) description of Ghalib`s Dilli, also known as Shahjehanabad.
During the sixties, an attempt was made to revive `Phool walon ki sair`. I was there at Tees Hazari courts, when the Deputy Commission officially inauguraged a procession led by a shehanai nawaaz and drummer. The procession went to both the dargah and the mandir. There was talk about making it an official holiday (as if Indians needed another holiday!). However, the festival faded away in a few years because the fertile soil of Shahjehanabad was missing. By then, the `puraani tehzeeb` of Chandni Chowk had already been taken over by the brown firangi culture of Connaught Place and the `phoon-phaan` and `khao piyo bhangrha pao` culture of Karol Bagh.

Even `my Delhi` has changed a lot. I remember when the ghanta ghar was there. And near the town hall was another landmark, an old park, called Gandhi Maidan, facing the old Minerva theatre. It had a library full of newspapers from many cities and even Pakistan. I used to bicycle there once a week to stay au courrant with what was going on in the world of Elvis Presley and Bill Hailey.

Woh dilli, voh dilli ki galliaan kehan!

``It is said that once Mir declined to recite his poem in Lucknow saying that only a knowledge of Urdu, as it was spoken on the steps of Jama Masjid in Delhi, will enable them to understand what he wrote. ``
The rivalry between the Urdu of Lukhnow and Delhi was legendary. I think that the Dehlvis probably sniggered at the influence of Awadhi which had influenced both the culture and language of that city while the Mughal court had proably retained the persianised version of Urdu.


P.S I hope you are taking a lot of pictures and making videos. The next few years will be the most wonderful and memorable ones; after that you would wish they had never grown up!

SameerJB:
I was much more impressed by your earlier posts describing your hillarious attempts at various translations/poetry than the one reviewing the ghazal rendering by various singers. I have never heard of anyone describing Surraiyas as the best singer of Ghalib. She starred as ``Domani`` in Sohrab Modi`s Ghalib and looked good only because Bharat Bhooshan was not that well-suited for Ghalib`s role. Her rendering of ``Yeh na thee hamari kismat`` and ``Dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai!`` were, however, quite zestful. In that film, ``Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-byaan aur`` was sung by Mohammad Raffi.
Whether you like Jagjit or Begum Akhtar more depends upon your orientation towards classical music. Actually, Ghulam Ali`s level of classical accomplishment is the same as that of Jagjit Singh - mediocre. Jagjit has a very melodious and impressive voice and he has put it to very good use in evolving his highly successful style of ghazal singing which has been copied by many others. For those who remember, before him, the popular ghazal style was the one used by Talat Mehmood. Both Talat and Jagjit are however limited in their range of voice and singing.
Begum Akhtar was, and remains, in a class of her own. Ghazals sung by her and Saigal, not just of Ghalib but of others will, for the coinnoisseurs of music, remain the standard by which others will be measured. I wish I had banjaara`s talents to describe their skill, their control over their voice, the range and the emotions and feelings they brought into their singing. For me, listening to them with my eyes closed and head swaying, transports me to another world.

``Begum Akhtar and Ghulam Ali use excessively ragas and that kills natural melody``(SAMEERJB)

``excessive ragas``? -- sameer miaN -- yeh aap keya kuh raheiN haiN --

janab aisaa zulm nu kareiN -- agar ghazal kee gaiki mein ``excessive ragas`` -- yanee improvizations -- nu hoN to voh ghazal ghazal keya huiee -- ek `tahtul lufz naghma` -- `rap music`-- ho gaiee --

Mehdi Hassan sahib ke zamaaney meiN -- aisee `bey ragi` sapaat ghazal ka sunnaa ya sunnana haraam hee naheeN-- bulke ek Gunaah-e bay luzzat mol lenaa hai...

Ghazl Dhurpud meiN kuch Kheyal meiN kutch
yooN miaN ghazl gaiee jaatee hai................:-)

Banjaara - OK you`re right ... what to do ... Dilli jo ek shahar tha aalam-e-intikhab/ Hum rahne waale hain usi ujde dayar ke

Sorry long cut & paste but it is a great read ... :-)

GHALIB`S DELHI

By: Kaleem Kawaja

Delhi in the time of Urdu poet Ghalib (early to late nineteenth century) was a most interesting mixture of contradictions. It was full of life; art and literature were flourishing as never before; the upper classes were living well, coexistence of different religions and different viewpoints was the central fact of life, yet decadence, corruption and economic exploitation were as much a part of the same milieu. Mir the great 18th century poet rhapsodized in verse that uniqueness of Delhi.

Wo kuchay nahin Delhi kay, awraq-e-musaver thay
Jo shakal nazar aai, ek tasvir nazar aai.
(Those were not the lanes of Delhi, but the work of art
Whatever was there was a masterpiece.)

PRE - 1857 REVOLT
o. THE ETHOS OF DELHI
In the 1800 to 1857 period the population of Delhi was about 150,000. A
century ago in Aurangzeb`s period the population of Delhi is said to be
much more. By comparison, the population of Lucknow in the same period was about 350,000. Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were even larger than Lucknow.

In that unique Delhi every landmark recalled authentic association with
individuals or events from memory. Notice the unique names of localities such as Habash Khan ka phatak, Bangash ki sarai, Haveli haidar Quli, Gali Qasim jan, Jarnail bibi ki haveli, Begum ka bagh, Kucha Ghasi Ram, Baradari sher Afgan, Namak haram ki haveli.

The pastimes of the nobility of Delhi too were a combination of
appreciation of arts as well as decadence. The sandy slopes of Jamuna near Delhi gate - Mahabat Khan ki Reti - were the kite flying arena where patangbazi matches were arranged with teams from as far as Lucknow. Kabutarbazi (Pigeon flying) was another popular sport. Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar`s state processions through the major thoroughfares of Delhi always included one elephant who carried the royal pigeon-house. Quail, partridge and cockfighting were also daily pastimes. It was not uncommon to see the nobility and princes of the fort go about with their prized quails and partridges perched on their shoulders. Once a year, Tairaki ka mela ( the swimming competition) was held on the banks of Jamuna, for which almost the entire city gathered. Several Akharadas (wrestling clubs) were operating in the city. Chess, chauras, gambling, satta, were very popular. On the steps of Jama Masjid, Dastangoes (storytellers) always attracted large crowds.

Chandni Chowk was a favourite meeting place, where people congregated
without any purpose, just to meet and watch the world go by. In the
evenings there was the attraction of a stroll along the bridge of boats
across Jamuna; or the gatherings at the Urdu Bazar, where the studious
could read and others could visit Gudri Bazar to sample a kabab or two, and be entertained by the charm and persuasiveness of the salesman. Taverns were open all night. Foreign liquor (mostly French wine and champagne) were sold openly by English merchants. In the monsoon season there was the Phoolwalon ki sair and in winter the entire family could picnic in the many gardens in the city, watching the fountains and buying chana jor garam and pakoras. Bhands, Bahrupias, and Bhagat Baaz (quick change artists), Kathputilibaaz (puppeteers), acrobats and jugglers provided easy entertainment.

The courtesans and visits to their Kothas were an accepted part of the
gentlemen`s life to mix socially with other women and color such encounters with romance and poetry, yearning, separation and reunion. The image of the courtesan become the image of the beloved and flowed into the literature of the time. Ghalib`s favourite courtesan became very much a subject of many of his poems.

Ghalib himself epitomized the dandies among the noblemen by saying `` There are two Ghalibs, One is the Seljuq Turk who mixes with badshahs and the other who is in debt and poor`` As the popular saying of the time goes:

Delhi kay bankay
Jinkee jotee main sau sau tankay.
(These dandies of Delhi
Whose shoes have a hundred patches.)

o. PHOOL WALON KI SAIR
Every year in the rainy season all communities of Delhi enthusiastically celebrated Phool walon ki sair, the festival of flowers, which began in the reign of Bahadur Shah zafar and then became an annual affair. The origin of this event relates to the British accepting Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Mughal monarch over the family`s recommendation of Mirza Jahangir. Mirza Jahangir reacted with anger towards the British Resident of Delhi, which led to his exile to Allahabad. Mirza Jahangir`s grieving mother Mumtaz Mahal took a vow that if her son was allowed to return to Delhi, she will offer a four poster flower bed to the holy shrine of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki at Mehrauli. Subsequently when the British allowed Mirza Jahangir to
return to Delhi, his mother fulfilled her vow with gusto. The
flowersellers of the time added a pankha at their cost. And these were
carried to the saint`s shrine in a procession.

Note the description of this annual event from Mirza Farhatullah Baig`s
book `Delhi ki akhri shama (The Last Light of Delhi):
`` A few days before the festival, the king, queen and all the ladies and noblemen of the court would leave Delhi by palanquins with the princes riding escort on their steeds. After visiting Humayun`s tomb, Nizamuddin and Safdar Jung, the royal procession reached Mehrauli to be accorded a befitting reception. The Jungli Mahal near the Durgah of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki, was richly decorated with carpets and chandeliers. The king would go to the Jharna the next day, where in the seclusion of kanats and curtains, ladies of the court would relax at leisure. More often there would be a light drizzle and the royal party would move to the Amarian, a mango grove to the east of the Jharna, a beautiful picnic spot, where music and revelry provided soothing relief.

On the first day of the festival the procession of fans and flowers would start from the Jharna with musicians, atheletes, acrobats and soldiers in their colorful uniforms, passing through the richly decorated Bazar of Mehrauli to the Jog Maya Mandir. The next day another similar procession would go to the tomb of Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki.``


o. COMMUNAL HARMONY
In Ghalib`s Delhi, Hindus and Muslims shared common saints, pirs, mazars, dargahs and even popular gods and goddesses. CF Andrews, the renowned British historian describes in his book from his meeting in 1904 in Delhi with Munshi Zakaullah, a well known younger companion of Ghalib, who recounted this feature of those times.

`` The intimate residence together side by side in the same city of Mussalmans and Hindus had brought about a noticeable amalgamation of customs among the common people. The art of living peacefully with neighours of a different religion had reached a very high level during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar. The movement that Shah Waliullah initiated at the end of the 18th century encouraged a freedom of debate on religion hitherto unknown. There were Wahabis guided by the writings of Syed Ahmad Barelvi and there were traditionalists opposing the Wahabis``.

The dominant theme of the age was the Sufi tradition, which had become an accepted way of life in ninteenth century Muslim society in India. Ghalib himself poked fun at the selfrighteous thus .

Kahan maikhanay ka darwaza kahan waiz
Magar hum yeh jantay hain kay wo jata tha kay hum niklay.
(Where is anything common between the tavern and the preacher
But I know this much that as I was leaving, he was going in.)

Perhaps the most lyrical example of Ghalib`s catholicity is his beautiful Persian poem Chirag-e-dair, where he extolls the glory of the temples of Banaras. Ghalib actually did contemplate settling down in Banaras. In a reflection of the true secularism of the age where the walls of religion have been leveled by the simple assertion of their irrelevance Ghalib proclaimed:

Kaabay main ja bajayan gay naqoos
Banaras kay mandir main baandhain gain ahraam.
(In the Kaaba I will play the Hindu conch shell
In the temple I have displayed Islamic rituals.)

o. URDU, THE LIFEBLOOD OF DELHI
The eclectic mood of the time in Delhi played a catalytic role in the
development of the Urdu language to a new height. Even though Mughals made Persian the language of the court, Urdu remained the language of the masses. Even the elite spoke Urdu at home. The Sufis also used Urdu to communicate with the masses. Some of the Shairs (poets) who initiated the switch from Persian to Urdu were: Wali Daccani (1668-1744), Hatim (1669-1734), Mir Dard (1788-1843), Mazhar (1700-1781), Sauda (1730-1780), Mir (1722-1810), Insha (1778-1838). It is said that once Mir declined to recite his poem in Lucknow saying that only a knowledge of Urdu, as it was spoken on the steps of Jama Masjid in Delhi, will enable them to understand what he wrote. By the 1850s Urdu had almost completely replaced Persian as the popular literary medium.

Farhatullah Baig in his immortal classic describes this literary scene thus:

`` Ghalib`s contemporaries included such literary luminaries as Zauq, Alawi,Azurda, Nayyar, Aish, Momin, Shefta, Jauhar, Sehbai, Nazir Akbarabadi and Tufta. Bahadaur Shah, the king, writing under the pen name Zafar, was himself a poet of repute. Under Zafar the Mughal court became the pivot, guiding the efflorescence in Urdu writing. Regular Mushairas (poetic symposiums) were held at the palace twice a month, on the fifteenth and twentyninth. Weekly Mushairas were also held at the Ghaziuddin Madrassa, near Ajmeri Gate. Poet Mamun`s residence was also a regular rendezvous of poets. Each established Shair had his own devoted band of Shagirds (disciples). Indeed, the Ustad - Shagird relationship became an institution in itself. Alai and Hargopal Tufta were two of Ghalib`s prominent shagirds. Veeran was Zauq`s most devoted shagird. Tamkeen and Raqam were two prominent shagirds of Momin.Be it the king or the beggar, everyone was the victim of the poetic inspiration``.

Farhatullah Baig`s authentic description of the preparations at the haveli of Mubarak un Nisa Begum, where the last Mushairah under Zafar was held, indicates the sublime place of Mushairas and Shairs in the Delhi of those days.

Finally, the introduction of the lithographic press in Delhi in 1840, further enlarged the base of Urdu. Diwans of Shairs and Urdu newspapers started publication in earnest. Ghalib`s Urdu Diwan was published in 1841 and his Persian Diwan was published in 1845. Soon publication of Urdu newspapers like Aina-e-Sikandar and Jam-e-Jahan began in Delhi. Newspapers carried news from as far as Kabul or comentaries on the wars between the English and the French in Europe. In fact Ahsan ul Akhbar, an Urdu newspaper from Bombay published lengthy details of Ghalib`s well known arrest in 1847 on charges of gambling.


o. ADVENT OF MODERN EDUCATION, THE DELHI COLLEGE
The Ghaziuddin madrassa functioning in Delhi since 1792 was refurbished in 1824 with special funds to impart the `new learning`. CF Andrews, on the authority of Munshi Zakaullah, describes it thus:

`` English classes were introduced in the Delhi college in 1827, with a
syllabus that included Goldsmith`s `Traveller and Deserted Village`, Pope`s `Essay on Man`, Milton`s `Paradise Lost`, Shakespeare`s plays, Bacon`s `Advancement of Learning` and Burke`s `Essays and Speeches`. Lectures on scientific subjects were very popular with students. Some of the renowned teachers in the Oriental section of the college were: poets Altaf Husain Hali, and Nazir Ahmad, historian Maulvi Zakaullah, Arabic scholar Maulvi Ziauddin and author Muhammad Husain Azad. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was another distinguished product of Delhi College``.

The advent of modern education was not without its detractors as the note from British Colonel William Sleeman`s diary indicates: `` The Nawab of Moradabad reacted to the mention of Copernicious thus: `And do you suppose, Sir, that I would put the evidence of one of your Doorbeens (telescopes) in opposition to that of the holy prophet? No, sir, depend upon it that there is much fallacy in a telescope - it is not to be relied upon. Do not hold its evidence above that of the prophets, Moses, Abraham and Elijah `.

Ghalib himself when requested by Sir Syed Ahmad to write an introduction to his book Ain-e-Akbari on Akbar`s times, told Sir Syed `` Look at the sahibs of England. They have gone far ahead of our oriental forebears. They have rendered wind and wave useless; they are sailing their ships under fire and steam. Why must you pick up straws out of old, time swept barns while a treasure of pearls lies at your feet?``.

POST - 1857 REVOLT
The repurcussions of the unsuccessful revolt of 1857 against the British heralded the systematic demolition of an era and its very basic structure. The entire mileu and the rich tehzib (culture) of Ghalib`s Delhi died with the death of the Mughal reign.

On the night of the fall of Delhi to the British in early 1858, at the end of the short lived revolt, whose titular head was Bahadur Shah Zafar, General Wilson, the Commander of the British forces, celebrated his victory with a festive dinner in the Diwan-e-Khas, the sanctum sanctorum of more than three centuries of Mughal power in India. 21 Mughal princes were condemned, hanged and carted off in one day. Many more were shot dead and their corpses displayed in Chandni Chowk. The British seriously considered demolishing the Jama Masjid and the Red Fort. Fortunately they survived. But by the order of the British, the exquisite Fathepuri mosque was sold to Lala Chunna Mal, a Hindu merchant as his private property and the Zainatul Masjid was converted into a bakery. The British demolished all buildings within a radius of 500 yards of the Red Fort. Similar demolition was carried out around the Jama Masjid. All structures in the way of the new straight boulevards and the railway line that the British planned were demolished. When the British destroyed a kucha or gali or katra and built a broad and straight boulevard over the debris, they dismantled a centuries old way of life and an entire Tehzib.

It was Ghalib`s fate to live to see the total humiliation of his beloved Delhi. In his letters Ghalib describes the mayhem : `` One by one I have seen some of the most famous bazars of Delhi - Khas Bazar, Kharram ka Bazar - disappearing in dust and entire mohallas containing the havelis and kuchas of friends razed to ground``. A letter written in 1859 says `` Delhi meant the Fort, Chandni Chowk, the daily bazar near Jama Masjid, the weekly trip to the Jamuna bridge of boats, the annual Phool walon ki sair. These five things are no more. Where is Delhi now?``.

The nobility of Delhi suffered immeasurably in the aftermath of the revolt. In a letter written in 1859 to his disciple Tufta, Ghalib says `` Hakim Ahsanullah Khan, one of the senior ministers of Bahadur Shah is living in the stable of his own mansion whereas the English are occupying the main house. The wives and children of aristocrats are actually begging from door to door. The moon faced Begums of the red Fort are wandering the streets in filthy clothes, ragged pajamas and broken shoes``. Reminiscing the bygone good times, Ghalib writes in one of his memorable letters in 1863 `` Sitting upstairs in my house I look at the staircase. That is Mir Mehdi coming, and Yusuf Mirza and Miran and Yusuf Ali Khan. Allah, Allah,I am mourning thousands. When I die who is left to mourn me. ``

Yet, a controversy exists about Ghalib`s loyalty to the revolt and his praise of the British in his writing especially his book Dastanbuy. In Dastanbuy Ghalib has praised the English as in a Qasida. Queen Victoria is described as `Splendid as stars`, Lord Ellenborough, the English viceroy is described as `Magnificent as Alexander`. In Dastanbuy he writes `` Since it has been my practice to send a Qasida to whoever becomes the ruler of India, and Delhi, I composed a Qasida of congratulations in praise of the new English rulers``. Yet, Dastanbuy was nothing more than an attempt by Ghalib to survive while all around him were being severly punished by the English.

Towards the end of his life Ghalib saw the British mandated revival of several illustrious Delhi institutions. Phool walon ki sair was revived in 1860s; classes in Delhi College were resumed in 1867; yet the Fatehpuri Masjid remained the private property of Lala Chunna Mal until 1977. Amongst the new structures, the town hall was built opposite the railway station in 1863, a post and telegraph office and a dak bungalow were built near Kashmiri gate. The clock tower was erected in Chandni chowk. Yet,the new Victorian style buildings stood in stark contrast to the rest of Ghalib`s Delhi.

On the literary front one of Ghalib`s last discomforts occurred in 1859 when he wrote a critical commentary Qat-e- Burhan in response to Maulvi Mohammad Husain Tabrizi`s Persian documentary Burhan-e-Qate . Ghalib criticised Tabrizi`s assertion that the Indian school of Persian writers were a better authority on the Persian classics that the Persian classists themselves. For that Ghalib was ridiculed by the orthodox followers of Tabrizi who, angry at Ghalib`s vagabond lifestyle and lack of respect for religion, wanted to rub his nose in the dust. Ghalib`s disciple Hali describes how when Ghalib was very sick and old he lectured Ghalib on the importance of praying five times a day. Ghalib replied ``Yes, I have never kept a fast or said a namaz, and thus am a sinner who deserves to be hung with his face blackened. But without a doubt I have always believed in the oneness of God. Na kutch hota to khuda hota``.

This was the indefinable allure of Ghalib`s Delhi about which Mir who was forced to live in Lucknow said `` The ruins of Jahanabad were ten times better than Lucknow; Oh that I had stayed there to die, not come to live here.``

Muddat hoii mar gaya Ghalib, magar yaad aata hai
Kay hur baat pay kahna kay youn hota to kiya hota.
(Its been a long time that Ghalib died, but we still miss him
His evergreen wit, his never say die attitude.)

---

The writer is the director of the Association of Indian Muslims of America, Washington, DC.

Dost Saab - Thanks, yes they are growing up! This summer they went from being babies to being kids with the simple purchase of brand new bikes ... ever since they got the hang of it it`s like they have wings, and they`re not even off training wheels. We`re always at the park on the bike trail, when we`re not at Gymnastics or Swim Class or play dates - it`s hard to keep up. If I`m on Chowk it`s either raining or someone is sick ... sadly right now my 3 year old has a flu. I`m looking forward to September when they`re at pre-school again 3 mornings !

roohi #56
In the sixties Khwaja Moin-uddin, a dramatist of the highest order, wrote and directed a stage play ``Mirza Ghalib Bunder Road per`` which had a droll but critical look on Pakistan and its people. This drama was initially staged in Karachi and later adapted for television, and was a great hit.

roohi,
It was Zauq, who was offered a lucrative post in the court of Nizam of Hyderabad, which he declined saying:
Kaun jaay zauq per dilli ki galiyaN chhoR ker

dost-mittar,
It was Ghalib who said that in his maqta:

Hai ab iss mamurah maiN qaht-e-gham-e-ulfat Asad
hum ne ye maana ke dilli meiN rahe khaayenge kya

some other verses of this ghazal.

Be niyazi hudd se guzri banda parwar kab talak
hum kaheN ge haal-e-dil aur aap fermayenge kya

khana zad-e-zulf haiN zanjeer se bhaageN ge kyuN
haiN griftaar-e-wafa zindaaN se ghabraayen ge kya

hazrat-e-naseh gur aaveN deeda-o-dil farsh-e-raah
koi mujh ko ye tau samjhado ke samjhaayen ge kya

``Ghalib In New Delhi `` Review of the play from mouthshut.com (what a name!!!)

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, the famous Urdu poet decides to be reborn in Dilli, the city of his dreams. He sends in an application to God, who agrees. Mirza Ghalib is thrown straight on to ISBT, and thus begins his adventures in the city which is now known as New Delhi. Ghalib goes to his house in Ballimaran (a lane in Chandni Chowk), but is mistaken to be Ghalib’s ghost. The local priest drives him to New Delhi, where he takes refuge with Jai Hind, a kind hearted Bihari boy. He also meets Mrs. Chaddha his land-lady, and is disheartened by the fact that she recognizes him only through the voice of Jagjit Singh and the screen-portrayal of Naseeruddin Shah. Ghalib, on the persuasion of Jai Hind and Mrs Chaddha organizes a press conference to announce his ‘arrival’. The press conference is a damp squib as the journalists are more interested in snacks. Injury is added to insult when the journalists declare Ghalib the man they have interviewed to be an imposter of the original. Ghalib also takes the initiative of going to an advertise agency to publicize himself, but as usual returns disillusioned.

The play culminates with Ghalib accepting the changed scenario of India in general and New Delhi in particular. He befriends Shobha De and through her is introduced to Daler Mehendi who now sings his ghazals on [V] Channel. ‘Ghalib In New Delhi’ is a brilliant play written and directed by Dr. M. Sayeed Alam, a Delhi-based theatre personality. Through his witty lines, Alam does for Ghalib what a thousand erudite academies have been unable to do so. Through brilliant one-liners he acquaints us with the socio-political malady that has been ailing our society. Definitely not to be missed.

P.S.: Digamabar Prasad is a lesser-known actor. But as Ghalib, he comes up a mind-blowing performance. I am sure Naseeruddin Shah would applaud him for his efforts.

dost-mittar:

Many critics and serious music lovers with insight of music agree that the best Ghalib`s ghazals ever sung were two ghazals sung by Surriya. She once sang those two ghazals in a function attended by Nehru and as the story goes, tears came out of his yes. The critics might have been more impressed by Nehtu`s tears than Surriya`s singing to assign the best ever status of Ghalib`s ghazals singing by a artist but after reading it from some famous writers, few years back I went out and bought 2-CD set of Surriya`s songs, spnding 25 dollars out of curiosity to listen to best singing of Ghalib`s poetry. I did not like listening for the first time because Surriya`s style was much earlier than my time when Kishore Kumar ran supreme.

In famous Jagjit-Chitra CD from Gulzar`s serial on Ghalib, I think Jagjit singing is superb but Chitra is at best average. I also liked another rather unknown expat Pakistani singer out of England by the name of Najma whose did not make it big although her first CD was pretty good. Her singing of ``bas keh dushwar hae her kaam ka asaaN hona`` is extremely melodious. In my opinion, Begum Akhtar and Ghulam Ali use excessively ragas and that kills natural melody. Some 30-40 years ago, raga perfection and its importance was a big thing for the fans as well as for singers but it compromised melody. Jagjit and Najma do not concetrate too much on dadra and thumri unlike Begum Akhtar and many of the Pakistani ghazal singers like Ghulam Ali who overkill natural sweet melody of rhyming poetry by excessive use of thumri and dadra khyals.

Anyway, listen to Surriya`s singing of ``kehtay heiN keh Ghalib ka hae andaz-e-bayaN aur``. From a Pakistani`s point of view, perhaps the best singing of a ghazal award does not go to Ghalib but Mir by Mehdi Hasan: ``dekh tau dil keh jaaN say uth`ta hae``. Listen to the original recording and not the recordings of the concerts.

Lata and Rafi were the masters of melodies and that made them so popular. However, Urdu poetry (due to poets` choices of the words) in movies did not express the impromptu bursting into singing. The grinding of Persianized phrases always looked as planned and not burst of emotions although songs expressed grief and pain very well and solitary comtemplations. Other day, I was listening to Lata and I could not think of one song that I would like my intimate partner to song for me in privacy, romantic mood, brimming with emotions and arms around each other. English songs are so good in expressing emotion directly. Think about the intense emotions of a love from early childhood breaking up and we hear, ``bachpan ki mohabbat ko dil say na juda karna``. It almost put two lovers a mile apart with restraint emotions. Song becomes a postscript rather than moving with emotions.

That is why I actually like the current trend of Hindi songs compared to the past, unnecessarily persianized Urdu and expression of intense love through foot-thick lead wall or from at least a mile apart from each other.