Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And it’s no surprise that Ghalib is one of the most adored, emulated (and imitated) Urdu poets. More than a hundred and fifty years after he passed into the ages, Ghalib’s legacy lives on and has acquired new vigour in contemporary music, literature, cinema and pop culture.

Perhaps the most enduring of his legacies is the ghazal, a poetic form that is often misconstrued to be a form of song. Ghalib’s ghazals have been rendered and interpreted by voices ranging from Suraiya and Iqbal Bano to Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh. His poetic tradition has been borne forth by titans of Urdu poetry like Muhammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, to Gulzar in the present day.

Encompassing themes both pedestrian — love and heartbreak — and weighty — existence and god, Ghalib remains relevant and evergreen in our times. With this episode, host Amit Basole brings the 6-part series to a climactic finale, leaving you with signposts and resources to continue your journey of discovery.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Acknowledgements:

Dil-e-nadaan from the film Mirza Ghalib (1954) starring Bharat Bhushan and Suraiya (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQfQlSaUMt4&t=60s

Jab us zulf ki baat chali performed live at the BBC by Mehdi Hassan (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygG0lMVq80o

YouTube - Aah ko chahiye performed by Ghulam Ali on the PTV program Nikhar (1970’s vintage)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m09R8FgoZ4w

YouTube - Mirza Ghalib’s Diya hai dil agar usko bashar hai kya kahiye performed by Iqbal Bano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfuhscO0hhg

Naqsh Fariyaadi Hain Kiski from the film Mirza Ghalib starring Naseeruddin Shah and performed by Jagjit Singh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqQrrwDIYdA

'Dil-e-Nadaan' performed by Ayushmann Khurrana and Shweta Subram from the film Hawaizaada (2015) | Label: T-Series (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeOkMCNIFFI

Former BJP leader Sushma Swaraj Vs former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh engage in a parliamentary debate in shayari style | ABP News (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJhiZFCh52c&t=4s

Naseeruddin Shah informal on Gulzar's Mirza Ghalib in Urdu Studio with Manish Gupta (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUiS1UgTx4Y

Bridgerton on Netflix | Season 2: “Have you read Ghalib?”

https://www.netflix.com/in/title/80232398

Mirza Ghalib ka hai Kaifiyat har ek ki apni apni | Label: Saregama India (YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sszBp0oerrM

Explore further:

Website: A Desertful of Roses - The Urdu Ghazals of Mirza Asadullah Khan “Ghalib” by Prof. Frances Pritchett

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib/

Book: Ghalib - A Wilderness At My Doorstep: A Critical Biography byMehr Afshan Farooqi; Penguin Allen Lane (18 January 2021) | Amazon India store

So far in this series, we have explored various facets of Ghalib — Ghalib the lover, Ghalib the mischievous, Ghalib the belligerent. Yet, the question has always lingered after reciting his verses: Was Ghalib being a deliberately difficult poet? Did his poetry demand grappling with the intellect in an effort to understand it? Or, was it trite and meaningless and merely designed to confound?

If you want to view him with a postmodern lens, Ghalib’s discourse does not limit his meaning, says host Amit Basole. So, what was Ghalib driving at — what was his philosophy?

Discover the nuances and twists of Ghalib’s poetry in this episode. You will be left romancing a phrase that was used to describe the poet — Mushkil Pasand, one who favours difficulty.

Listen to delve deeper.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Acknowledgements:

Bharat Ek Khoj opening - सृष्टी से पहले सत् नहीं था. असत् भी नहीं. अन्तरिक्ष भी नहीं.

𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛"𝘽𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩 𝙀𝙠 𝙆𝙝𝙤𝙟"𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡~ 𝗡𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘆𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗸𝘁𝗮~ नासदीय सूक्त【𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝘆𝗺𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻】

Bharat Ek Khoj end credits

Bharat Ek Khoj | End Title | Credits |Mantra 🕉

Ghalib is timeless, but he is equally very much a man of his times.

In this episode, we revisit the man in the moment. We eavesdrop on the days of his youth, a teenaged poet writing in chaste Persian. We hobnob with his coterie of disciples and patrons, friends and foes.

We hear from Ghalib’s contemporaries in the poets’ society, some of whom taunt him saucily for the apparent incomprehensibility of his verse. The most prickly of these rivalries, we learn, was with Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq, the court poet of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, as well as other luminous contemporaries like Amir Khusrau. Their war of words, by all means, makes for beautiful listening.

With friends like these, one may ask, did Ghalib need enemies?

Of course, in the end, our favourite poet has the last word.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Acknowledgements:

Misra uthaiye Hazrat

Naqsh Fariyaadi Hain Kiski HQ Mirza Ghalib Jagjit Singh post HiteshGhazal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqQrrwDIYdA

8:12 to 9:02 - To Maulvi Abdul Razzak Shakir - on changing his style when he became older and attained “tamiz” (date unmentioned)

Ghalib Ke Khutoot 11, غالب کے خطوط, Zia Mohyeddin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADtuHXHfQ8A

Zauq passes by on his palki, Ghalib comments.

Mirza Ghalib Poetry - Movie Clip (Best Scene)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrNlIWVNXOk

Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum

Mirza Ghalib - Movie Clip (Best Scene)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI7xMPnS_aQ&t=169s