Mirza Ghalib

1.1 Who was he?

Mirza Ghalib was a poet of Delhi. He wrote in both Urdu and Persian. He lived from 1797 to 1869. The Indian Express calls him the pre-eminent poet of Delhi.

1.2 When and where was he born?

He was born on 27 December 1797 at Agra. His family traced their descent from Seljuk kings of Central Asia.

1.3 What was his real name?

He was born as Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan. Ghalib was a pen name that he adopted later. A pen name is a name a poet uses in his poems.

1.4 What do his pen names mean?

His first pen name was Asad. It comes from his own name, Asadullah. Later he found that another poet already used Asad. So he changed to Ghalib. Both names appear in his poems. In Urdu, Ghalib means conqueror, victor or dominant.

Sources: Times of India and Hindustan Times, listed under the cards.

2.1 Who brought him up?

His father, Mirza Abdullah, died fighting when Asad was hardly five. The boy was then cared for by his uncle, Mirza Nasrulla Beg. The uncle was an officer in the British army. He also died when the boy was 9.

2.2 Where did he live after that?

He grew up in the spacious house of his maternal grand uncle. His mother’s uncle owned that house. He spent his childhood there with his cousins. He flew kites and swam in the Yamuna.

2.3 When did he start writing poetry?

He began his poetic career as a boy of 11 in Agra. He wrote the ghazal, the masnawi and the qasida. These are three poetic forms. He wrote them in both Urdu and Persian.

2.4 How did he reach Delhi?

He married Umrao Begum when he was 13. After the marriage he settled in Delhi. He lived there until he died on 15 February 1869, at the age of 71.

3.1 Who was the emperor?

Bahadur Shah Zafar II was the Mughal emperor in Ghalib’s time. Ghalib wrote for him and served at his court.

3.2 Who was Ghalib’s rival?

The rival was Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq. Zauq was the emperor’s own teacher. In 1837 the emperor made Zauq his poet laureate. A poet laureate is the court’s chief poet. Ghalib was upset and sulked.

3.3 What titles did the emperor give him?

The emperor gave him the titles Dabir-ul-Mulk and Najm-ud-Daula. These brought him into the nobility of Delhi. Hindustan Times dates the titles to 1850. He also received the title Mirza Nosha. That title added the word Mirza to his name.

3.4 What jobs did he hold?

In 1854 the emperor made him his tutor for poetry. Later he also became tutor to the emperor’s eldest son, Prince Fakhr-ud-Din Mirza. The emperor also made him royal historian of the court.

4.1 What was his pension?

Ghalib had a share of a family pension from the British. It was Rs 62 and 50 paise a month. He called himself an eater of the salt of the British government. The pension mattered a great deal to him.

4.2 What did he do to raise it?

He argued his case at every level. He wrote to the Resident at Delhi and to the Governor General at Calcutta. He wrote to the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London. At last he wrote to Queen Victoria.

He also went to Calcutta. There he hoped to settle the pension case and escape his creditors.

4.3 Did it work?

No. He never got a paisa more than the original amount.

4.4 What happened in 1857?

Ghalib was a suspect in the revolt of 1857, and his pension was stopped. It was restored in 1860.

4.5 Did he find other help?

Yes. After 1857 he became ustad, or teacher, to the Nawab of Rampur, Yusuf Ali Khan. The stipend was Rs 100 a month.

5.1 What is his Urdu divan?

A divan is a poet’s collection of poems. Ghalib’s Urdu divan holds his ghazals. A ghazal is a poem made of separate couplets. He oversaw its printing four times, in 1841, 1847, 1861 and 1862.

5.2 Why did he love his Persian work?

He wrote a large amount of Persian poetry and was proud of it. He thought it far better than his Urdu verse. Yet readers in India remember him for his Urdu writing.

5.3 What is Dastanbu?

Dastanbu is a Persian diary of the revolt of 1857. He tried to use only old Persian words in it and avoid Arabic words. One source dates the book to 1858.

5.4 What about his letters?

He was a prolific letter writer. Before him, Urdu letters were very ornamental. He made the style chatty and conversational.

Sources: Frances Pritchett, Indian Express and Hindustan Times, listed under the cards.

5.5 What did he think of the West?

He welcomed Western learning. He liked new things like the railway and the post office. He even wanted to learn English.

6.1 What did he see in 1857?

Ghalib lived in Delhi through the revolt of 1857. He saw the siege of the city and the end of a way of life. After the revolt the Mughal court lost its power and its patronage.

6.2 How did his life end?

He died on 15 February 1869 in his house at Ballimaran. He is buried at Nizamuddin near the tomb of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Hindus and Muslims joined his funeral procession.

6.3 Who wrote his life story?

Altaf Hussain Hali was his student. Hali wrote Yaadgaar-e-Ghalib, a biography of the poet.

6.4 How do we remember him today?

His last house, in Gali Qasim Jan, Ballimaran, is now a heritage site and museum.

The Ghalib Academy at Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi, was inaugurated in 1969 by President Zakir Hussain. Its museum shows a statue, photographs, books and documents. In 1988 Gulzar made a TV serial called Mirza Ghalib.

7.1 What traps repeat?

• Which pen name? Asad came first. Ghalib came later.
• Which titles? Dabir-ul-Mulk and Najm-ud-Daula.
• What happened to the pension? It was stopped after 1857 and restored in 1860.
• Which book is which? The Diwan holds Urdu ghazals. Dastanbu is a Persian diary.

7.2 How should you remember it?

Link each date to one event. 1797 is birth. 1857 is the revolt. 1869 is death. Then add the books and the two pen names.