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Ghalib, the man, the times
A brilliant biography of one of India’s greatest poetsMirza Mohammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib began writing poetry in Persian at the age of nine and the pre-eminent poet of the time, Mir, predicted a great future for the precocious genius when he was shown his verse. But success and material rewards did not come to Ghalib easily, for the times were against him, and he did not suffer fools gladly even if they occupied positions of importance.Ghalib was at the height of his powers when events took a turn for the worse. First came the decline of the Mughal court, then the rise of the British Empire and, finally, the Revolt of 1857. Though Ghalib lived through the upheavals and purges of the Revolt, in which many of his contemporaries and friends died and his beloved Delhi was irrevocably changed, he was a broken man and longed for death. When he died, on 15 February 1869, he left behind some of the most vivid accounts of the events of the period ever written. In this illuminating biography Pavan K. Varma evocatively captures the spirit of the man and the essence of the times he lived in.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
23 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Pavan K. Varma
33 books89 followersPavan K. Varma is a former Indian Foreign Service officer and was an adviser to the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, with cabinet rank. With effect from June, 2014 he was a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) until July 2016. He is currently the National General Secretary and National Spokesman of the Janata Dal (United).
Varma is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi where he studied History (Honours) and received the first position. He was President of the St. Stephen’s College Debating Society as well as the star debater and elocutionist of the University of Delhi. He also won the Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyar Memorial Essay Prize at St. Stephen’s. Subsequently, he acquired a degree in Law from the University of Delhi.
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. His career as a diplomat has seen him serve in several locations, including New York and Moscow. In New York, he was with India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. His assignments in India include that of Press Secretary to the President of India, Spokesman in the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
Varma is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi where he studied History (Honours) and received the first position. He was President of the St. Stephen’s College Debating Society as well as the star debater and elocutionist of the University of Delhi. He also won the Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyar Memorial Essay Prize at St. Stephen’s. Subsequently, he acquired a degree in Law from the University of Delhi.
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. His career as a diplomat has seen him serve in several locations, including New York and Moscow. In New York, he was with India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. His assignments in India include that of Press Secretary to the President of India, Spokesman in the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
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November 12, 2021
Book: Ghalib: The Man, The Times
Author: Pavan K. Verma
Publisher: Penguin India (14 October 2000)
Language: English
Paperback: 232 pages
Item Weight: 200 g
Country of Origin: India
Price: 495/-
Aah ko chaahiye ek umr asar hone tak
Kaun jeeta hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak?
Daam-e har mauj meiN hai halqaa-e sadkaam-e nahang
DekheN kya guzre hai qatre pe gohar hone tak
Aashiqi sabr-talab aur tamanna betaab
Dil ka kya rang karooN khoon-e jigar hone tak
Hum ne maana ke taghaaful na karoge lekin
Khaak ho jaayenge hum tum ko khabar hone tak
Partav-e khur se hai shabnam ko fana ki taaleem
MaiN bhi hooN ek inaayat ki nazar hone tak
Ek nazar besh nahiN fursat-e hasti ghaafil
Garmi-e bazm hai ek raqs-e sharar hone tak
Gham-e hasti ka Asad kis se ho juz marg ilaaj
Shama har rang meiN jalti hai sahar hone tak.
This book is astonishing. I can securely announce that this book has been one of my best reads of 2021. I guess, this is much on account of my permanent fondness for the Ustad himself.
When Ghalib became a professional poet, lack of acknowledgment as one was his main apprehension and, in varying degrees, it was to remain with him almost all his life.
On immeasurable occasions, both in prose and in poetry, he expressed his displeasure over the lack of admiration of his work.
Also, ever since he became a householder, he was plagued with a resource crunch and led a life under debt.
Ghalib changed his pen name from Asad to Ghalib in 1816, though at times, even much later in life, he used Asad as well.
Ghalib writes about his profession, ‘The love of poetry which I had brought with me from eternity assailed me and won my soul saying, “To polish the mirror and show the meaning—this too is a major task… My pen became my banner, and the broken arrows of my ancestors became my pens…”’
Ghalib’s distinctive personality traits, besides a natural capacity for Urdu ghazal, were an unusual mind, a curious attitude, sense of humour and jousting, bluntness, recognition of his own greatness, sociable nature, consideration, directness—and especially, truthfulness.
Ghalib attached great importance to his status.
Once, annoyed at being asked the details of his address, Ghalib told that he was not an artisan that a postman would need a muhalla (locality) and the police station to locate him, and asked the questioner to address him by name at ‘Delhi’.
In 1842, James Thomason, Secretary to the Government of India, wished to appoint a teacher of Persian at the Delhi College. Ghalib’s name was amongst those suggested and he was the first to be called for the interview. When Mr Thomason was informed of Ghalib’s arrival in his palanquin, he sent someone to accompany Ghalib.
However, the poet waited for the Secretary to in person extend to him the habitual welcome.
After substantial time, Mr Thomason came out and explained to Ghalib that a formal welcome was unsuitable because he had come as a candidate for an interview.
Ghalib replied that he expected the job to bring him greater honours than accorded hitherto. When, citing regulations, the Secretary expressed helplessness, Ghalib asked to be excused and left—though being under debt, he badly needed to augment his income.
Throughout his life Ghalib participated in mushāʿiras hosted at venues ranging from private houses to the royal court. Steeped in etiquette, these literary gatherings for poetry recitation also served as opportunities to socialize, smoke the hookah, chew betel nut, earn the admiration of some new patron, and train one’s pupils -- for the spine of poetic education was the master-pupil relationship, in which the pupil (shāgird) submitted poems to the master (ustād) for correction.
Though Ghalib never really had such an ustād himself, he had plentiful pupils, including Muslims, Hindus, a British officer, a variety of aristocratic nawabs, and finally Bahadur Shah himself. Ghalib often provided his corrections to their verses through the recently reconfigured East India Company post office, which allowed him to keep up an unrestrained and miscellaneous circle of friends.
Ghalib’s confrontation to religious rules like the prohibition of alcohol was often articulated within the Sufi tradition that had been prominent in Persian and Arabic poetry for over a millennium. By the nineteenth century, intoxication from wine drinking was a well-established metaphor for the rapture of divine revelation.
The Sufi vision of “the Divine creating the world in order to know Himself as in a mirror”6 explains a great deal about the ubiquitous mirror imagery in Ghalib’s poetry. But the stylized nature of the ghazal makes it difficult to tell much about Ghalib’s personal religious life from his poetry alone. In the stagecraft of poetry, it is all too easy to take the play for the playwright.
From his letters, however, we can see how Ghalib resisted doctrinaire attitudes and turned away any requests to engage in religious polemic. We also find him abjuring atheism and proclaiming his love for the Prophet Muhammad—only to colorfully lambaste a preacher for hectoring him.
His respect for Ali (the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, especially beloved by Shia Muslims) is also palpable, though it would be a mistake to draw strong conclusions about his sectarian affiliations. His wide circle of friends was religiously diverse, and he deplored sectarian controversies.
When mutinous sepoys of the East India Company army marched from Meerut to Delhi in 1857, killing British officers and civilians, they proclaimed their loyalty to the elderly Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah; Delhi became the center of a rebellion that spread across much of North India.
The jails were emptied, mansions were looted, the postal service was disrupted, social order was at an end. The streets were full of riotous lower-class ruffians, for whom Ghalib felt deep disdain. Stranded in his house, he endured real physical privations and intense emotional suffering.
When the British finally retook the city, the terrors continued. The British executed suspected rebels en masse; many members of the royal family were hanged. After the expulsion of almost all the city’s Muslims (whom the British blamed for the revolt), only a quarter of the original population of Delhi remained. The emperor was tried as a rebel and exiled to Burma; Queen Victoria now directly ruled British India.
Delhi was wracked by famine and disease. The time of the rebellion and its aftermath was the hardest period in Ghalib’s life. He lost many friends on all sides and was deprived of almost all his precarious sources of income. After 1857, he virtually ceased to compose ghazals. Finally, in 1860 his British pension and durbar honors were restored, to his immense relief.
In the last years of Ghalib’s life, his eyesight and hearing began to fail. Yet he continued to court controversy by insisting on his superior knowledge of Persian, thus involving himself in lexicographical pamphleteering, vicious name-calling, and even lawsuits.
In response to a particularly nasty insult, Ghalib is reported to have smiled and said, “The idiot doesn’t even know how to abuse a man. If your man is elderly or middle-aged you abuse his daughter…. If he’s young, you abuse his wife…and if he’s only a boy, you abuse his mother. This pimp abuses the mother of a man of seventy-two. Who could be a bigger fool than that?”
When a friend asked why he had not replied to an attack, Ghalib said, “If you are kicked by a donkey, do you kick it back?”
Ghalib died in 1869. On his deathbed he was still waiting and hoping (in vain) for a gift of money from a patron that would enable him at least to clear his debts.
The funeral was held outside Delhi Gate, and he was buried near the shrine of the thirteenth-century Sufi saint Nizam al-Din Auliya (though Ghalib’s present tomb dates only from 1955). According to Hali, there was a disparity about whether the funeral should be held with Sunni or Shia rites.
Hali ends the tale by saying that it would have been a more appropriate compliment had they used both.
nukta-chīñ hai ġham-e-dil us ko sunā.e na bane
kyā bane baat jahāñ baat banā.e na bane
maiñ bulātā to huuñ us ko magar ai jazba-e-dil
us pe ban jaa.e kuchh aisī ki bin aa.e na bane
khel samjhā hai kahīñ chhoḌ na de bhuul na jaa.e
kaash yuuñ bhī ho ki bin mere satā.e na bane
ġhair phirtā hai liye yuuñ tire ḳhat ko ki agar
koī pūchhe ki ye kyā hai to chhupā.e na bane
is nazākat kā burā ho vo bhale haiñ to kyā
haath aaveñ to unheñ haath lagā.e na bane
kah sake kaun ki ye jalvagarī kis kī hai
parda chhoḌā hai vo us ne ki uThā.e na bane
maut kī raah na dekhūñ ki bin aa.e na rahe
tum ko chāhūñ ki na aao to bulā.e na bane
bojh vo sar se girā hai ki uThā.e na uThe
kaam vo aan paḌā hai ki banā.e na bane
ishq par zor nahīñ hai ye vo ātish 'ġhālib'
ki lagā.e na lage aur bujhā.e na bane…….
Author: Pavan K. Verma
Publisher: Penguin India (14 October 2000)
Language: English
Paperback: 232 pages
Item Weight: 200 g
Country of Origin: India
Price: 495/-
Aah ko chaahiye ek umr asar hone tak
Kaun jeeta hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak?
Daam-e har mauj meiN hai halqaa-e sadkaam-e nahang
DekheN kya guzre hai qatre pe gohar hone tak
Aashiqi sabr-talab aur tamanna betaab
Dil ka kya rang karooN khoon-e jigar hone tak
Hum ne maana ke taghaaful na karoge lekin
Khaak ho jaayenge hum tum ko khabar hone tak
Partav-e khur se hai shabnam ko fana ki taaleem
MaiN bhi hooN ek inaayat ki nazar hone tak
Ek nazar besh nahiN fursat-e hasti ghaafil
Garmi-e bazm hai ek raqs-e sharar hone tak
Gham-e hasti ka Asad kis se ho juz marg ilaaj
Shama har rang meiN jalti hai sahar hone tak.
This book is astonishing. I can securely announce that this book has been one of my best reads of 2021. I guess, this is much on account of my permanent fondness for the Ustad himself.
When Ghalib became a professional poet, lack of acknowledgment as one was his main apprehension and, in varying degrees, it was to remain with him almost all his life.
On immeasurable occasions, both in prose and in poetry, he expressed his displeasure over the lack of admiration of his work.
Also, ever since he became a householder, he was plagued with a resource crunch and led a life under debt.
Ghalib changed his pen name from Asad to Ghalib in 1816, though at times, even much later in life, he used Asad as well.
Ghalib writes about his profession, ‘The love of poetry which I had brought with me from eternity assailed me and won my soul saying, “To polish the mirror and show the meaning—this too is a major task… My pen became my banner, and the broken arrows of my ancestors became my pens…”’
Ghalib’s distinctive personality traits, besides a natural capacity for Urdu ghazal, were an unusual mind, a curious attitude, sense of humour and jousting, bluntness, recognition of his own greatness, sociable nature, consideration, directness—and especially, truthfulness.
Ghalib attached great importance to his status.
Once, annoyed at being asked the details of his address, Ghalib told that he was not an artisan that a postman would need a muhalla (locality) and the police station to locate him, and asked the questioner to address him by name at ‘Delhi’.
In 1842, James Thomason, Secretary to the Government of India, wished to appoint a teacher of Persian at the Delhi College. Ghalib’s name was amongst those suggested and he was the first to be called for the interview. When Mr Thomason was informed of Ghalib’s arrival in his palanquin, he sent someone to accompany Ghalib.
However, the poet waited for the Secretary to in person extend to him the habitual welcome.
After substantial time, Mr Thomason came out and explained to Ghalib that a formal welcome was unsuitable because he had come as a candidate for an interview.
Ghalib replied that he expected the job to bring him greater honours than accorded hitherto. When, citing regulations, the Secretary expressed helplessness, Ghalib asked to be excused and left—though being under debt, he badly needed to augment his income.
Throughout his life Ghalib participated in mushāʿiras hosted at venues ranging from private houses to the royal court. Steeped in etiquette, these literary gatherings for poetry recitation also served as opportunities to socialize, smoke the hookah, chew betel nut, earn the admiration of some new patron, and train one’s pupils -- for the spine of poetic education was the master-pupil relationship, in which the pupil (shāgird) submitted poems to the master (ustād) for correction.
Though Ghalib never really had such an ustād himself, he had plentiful pupils, including Muslims, Hindus, a British officer, a variety of aristocratic nawabs, and finally Bahadur Shah himself. Ghalib often provided his corrections to their verses through the recently reconfigured East India Company post office, which allowed him to keep up an unrestrained and miscellaneous circle of friends.
Ghalib’s confrontation to religious rules like the prohibition of alcohol was often articulated within the Sufi tradition that had been prominent in Persian and Arabic poetry for over a millennium. By the nineteenth century, intoxication from wine drinking was a well-established metaphor for the rapture of divine revelation.
The Sufi vision of “the Divine creating the world in order to know Himself as in a mirror”6 explains a great deal about the ubiquitous mirror imagery in Ghalib’s poetry. But the stylized nature of the ghazal makes it difficult to tell much about Ghalib’s personal religious life from his poetry alone. In the stagecraft of poetry, it is all too easy to take the play for the playwright.
From his letters, however, we can see how Ghalib resisted doctrinaire attitudes and turned away any requests to engage in religious polemic. We also find him abjuring atheism and proclaiming his love for the Prophet Muhammad—only to colorfully lambaste a preacher for hectoring him.
His respect for Ali (the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, especially beloved by Shia Muslims) is also palpable, though it would be a mistake to draw strong conclusions about his sectarian affiliations. His wide circle of friends was religiously diverse, and he deplored sectarian controversies.
When mutinous sepoys of the East India Company army marched from Meerut to Delhi in 1857, killing British officers and civilians, they proclaimed their loyalty to the elderly Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah; Delhi became the center of a rebellion that spread across much of North India.
The jails were emptied, mansions were looted, the postal service was disrupted, social order was at an end. The streets were full of riotous lower-class ruffians, for whom Ghalib felt deep disdain. Stranded in his house, he endured real physical privations and intense emotional suffering.
When the British finally retook the city, the terrors continued. The British executed suspected rebels en masse; many members of the royal family were hanged. After the expulsion of almost all the city’s Muslims (whom the British blamed for the revolt), only a quarter of the original population of Delhi remained. The emperor was tried as a rebel and exiled to Burma; Queen Victoria now directly ruled British India.
Delhi was wracked by famine and disease. The time of the rebellion and its aftermath was the hardest period in Ghalib’s life. He lost many friends on all sides and was deprived of almost all his precarious sources of income. After 1857, he virtually ceased to compose ghazals. Finally, in 1860 his British pension and durbar honors were restored, to his immense relief.
In the last years of Ghalib’s life, his eyesight and hearing began to fail. Yet he continued to court controversy by insisting on his superior knowledge of Persian, thus involving himself in lexicographical pamphleteering, vicious name-calling, and even lawsuits.
In response to a particularly nasty insult, Ghalib is reported to have smiled and said, “The idiot doesn’t even know how to abuse a man. If your man is elderly or middle-aged you abuse his daughter…. If he’s young, you abuse his wife…and if he’s only a boy, you abuse his mother. This pimp abuses the mother of a man of seventy-two. Who could be a bigger fool than that?”
When a friend asked why he had not replied to an attack, Ghalib said, “If you are kicked by a donkey, do you kick it back?”
Ghalib died in 1869. On his deathbed he was still waiting and hoping (in vain) for a gift of money from a patron that would enable him at least to clear his debts.
The funeral was held outside Delhi Gate, and he was buried near the shrine of the thirteenth-century Sufi saint Nizam al-Din Auliya (though Ghalib’s present tomb dates only from 1955). According to Hali, there was a disparity about whether the funeral should be held with Sunni or Shia rites.
Hali ends the tale by saying that it would have been a more appropriate compliment had they used both.
nukta-chīñ hai ġham-e-dil us ko sunā.e na bane
kyā bane baat jahāñ baat banā.e na bane
maiñ bulātā to huuñ us ko magar ai jazba-e-dil
us pe ban jaa.e kuchh aisī ki bin aa.e na bane
khel samjhā hai kahīñ chhoḌ na de bhuul na jaa.e
kaash yuuñ bhī ho ki bin mere satā.e na bane
ġhair phirtā hai liye yuuñ tire ḳhat ko ki agar
koī pūchhe ki ye kyā hai to chhupā.e na bane
is nazākat kā burā ho vo bhale haiñ to kyā
haath aaveñ to unheñ haath lagā.e na bane
kah sake kaun ki ye jalvagarī kis kī hai
parda chhoḌā hai vo us ne ki uThā.e na bane
maut kī raah na dekhūñ ki bin aa.e na rahe
tum ko chāhūñ ki na aao to bulā.e na bane
bojh vo sar se girā hai ki uThā.e na uThe
kaam vo aan paḌā hai ki banā.e na bane
ishq par zor nahīñ hai ye vo ātish 'ġhālib'
ki lagā.e na lage aur bujhā.e na bane…….
January 31, 2023
great biography of one of the greatest writers who ever lived. a shame there is not more of his work / biography in translation, as he is considered the best Urdu poet of all time & neck and neck with Hafiz in Persian verse. knowing his work in Urdu made this read more enjoyable
June 10, 2019
A decent primer into the socio-cultural backdrop of the critically endangered 'Nawabi' culture and the elite situated within 19th Century Delhi. Ghalib, who is introduced and represented via a decent part of his work, turned out to be a mere spectator of the chaotic decline, induced by the colonial forces, of the old order that sparked the very air that he inhaled. The love, the adulation, the envy and the outrage that the man inspired, in contemporary times and beyond, easily lends itself into a tale of a man, imbibed and forged in the fires of Classical literature, donning the role of a chameleon, fluid and versatile. The questions that Ghalib raises are contemporaneous and are marked with metaphysical underpinnings, as opposed to simple odes towards glorifying the excesses that are very easily attributed to him. Pavan Varma in his quest to find Ghalib, eventually ends up writing a panegyric on his own. The love towards Delhi, which the author shares with his subject, is vivid as opposed to a simplistic romanticised understanding.
December 25, 2018
This is probably the most enjoyable book that I have read this year.Although it chronicles the struggles of the legendary poet throughout his life,it is interspersed with a lot of wit and humour.Without missing a beat on Ghalib,the author also portrays the city of Delhi as a silent background character in almost all the chapters.I particularly enjoyed the translated poems in English because the man is brought to life through these epic shayars and gives us an insight to his philosophical and intellectual prowess.I will recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing the man and the times that he lived in.
January 26, 2025
I liked this one in parts. I wish the author had created a better sketch of a man whose name the new generation knows but does not know who he was. One of the most celebrated poets of the 19th century, Ghalib deserved a better portrayal. There is too much back and forth on the timeline which doesn't help the reader. While a lot of the English translations of the poems are great I wish the original ones esp in urdu were also put there. I think the assumption was that the reader of this book knew Ghalib well. So I would not recommend this book to anyone who did not know much about Ghalib.
April 15, 2020
Succinct account of the bard's life.
While there is great detail of Mirza Ghalib's life, i think because of the lack of material certain events and topics have been stretched too long and it becomes a drag to go through it.
While there is great detail of Mirza Ghalib's life, i think because of the lack of material certain events and topics have been stretched too long and it becomes a drag to go through it.
February 6, 2018
An intimate look at the glorious tragedy of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib’s life. A moving rendition of 1857 Delhi. A book that will stay with the reader for a very long time.
May 23, 2021
Decent biography!
March 30, 2025
किसी शायर की शायरी को समझने के लिए उसको समझना जरूरी है
मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब के जीवन पर लिखी गई एक बेहतरीन किताब
जो भी ग़ालिब को जानना चाहते हैं उनके लिए ये एक Must Read है
मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब के जीवन पर लिखी गई एक बेहतरीन किताब
जो भी ग़ालिब को जानना चाहते हैं उनके लिए ये एक Must Read है
November 26, 2014
"haiN aur bhee duniya meiN suKHanwar bohot achche
kehte haiN ki 'GHalib' ka hai andaaz-e-bayaaN aur "
“हैं और भी दुनिया में सुख़न्वर बहुत अच्छे
कहते हैं कि ग़ालिब का है अन्दाज़-ए बयां और”
(there are many people who are very good at writing poems, but it is generally acknowledged that Ghalib commands a unique style of delivery)
Mirza Mohammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib is one of the most prominent names in the world of urdu / Persian poetry and also beyond that. Infact, if I were to say that there exist the time when the terms as urdu poetry, ghazals, sher and shaaiyri etc were considered to be synonymous with Ghalib, it wouldn’t be an overstatement. While a lot has been said and written about the literary splendour of Ghalib, there exist a little information about the man himself and his life.
Pavan Varma’s Ghalib – The Man The Times is an biographical account of Ghalib’s memoirs during his lifetime and also the essence of the time he lived in, the way both Ghalib’s life and his Delhi evolved over the period forms the gist of the book. The book is special not only for the way it has been written but for the person about which it has been written.
Ghalib was born during the time which, on one side, witnessed the fading of the power and influence of one of the greatest regal dynasties of the world, the Mughals and, on the other side, saw the emergence of British imperialism in India which was to overtake the whole country in the coming decades. This biographical piece on Ghalib’s life and his Delhi spans over five chapters beginning with “Än Empire in Decline” which talks about the birth of Ghalib and changing politico scenario in Delhi and ending with “The Last Years” which portrays the final years of his life.
Ghalib – The Man The Times is meant to be experienced and not just read – Pick up the book, sit back and surrender to its flow which would take you to the times of the legend and the inclusion of the verses and couplets of Ghalib at relevant places adds to its overall charm.
Highly recommended for all those who wants to have a slice of history of Ghalib’s life and his times; and for others make an exception and take a dip & you will not regret!!
Read the complete review here >>>
http://musingsofawanderingheart.blogs...
kehte haiN ki 'GHalib' ka hai andaaz-e-bayaaN aur "
“हैं और भी दुनिया में सुख़न्वर बहुत अच्छे
कहते हैं कि ग़ालिब का है अन्दाज़-ए बयां और”
(there are many people who are very good at writing poems, but it is generally acknowledged that Ghalib commands a unique style of delivery)
Mirza Mohammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib is one of the most prominent names in the world of urdu / Persian poetry and also beyond that. Infact, if I were to say that there exist the time when the terms as urdu poetry, ghazals, sher and shaaiyri etc were considered to be synonymous with Ghalib, it wouldn’t be an overstatement. While a lot has been said and written about the literary splendour of Ghalib, there exist a little information about the man himself and his life.
Pavan Varma’s Ghalib – The Man The Times is an biographical account of Ghalib’s memoirs during his lifetime and also the essence of the time he lived in, the way both Ghalib’s life and his Delhi evolved over the period forms the gist of the book. The book is special not only for the way it has been written but for the person about which it has been written.
Ghalib was born during the time which, on one side, witnessed the fading of the power and influence of one of the greatest regal dynasties of the world, the Mughals and, on the other side, saw the emergence of British imperialism in India which was to overtake the whole country in the coming decades. This biographical piece on Ghalib’s life and his Delhi spans over five chapters beginning with “Än Empire in Decline” which talks about the birth of Ghalib and changing politico scenario in Delhi and ending with “The Last Years” which portrays the final years of his life.
Ghalib – The Man The Times is meant to be experienced and not just read – Pick up the book, sit back and surrender to its flow which would take you to the times of the legend and the inclusion of the verses and couplets of Ghalib at relevant places adds to its overall charm.
Highly recommended for all those who wants to have a slice of history of Ghalib’s life and his times; and for others make an exception and take a dip & you will not regret!!
Read the complete review here >>>
http://musingsofawanderingheart.blogs...
September 21, 2012
Mirza Mohammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib popularly known as Mirza Ghalib or Ghalib, is a famous name in the world of Urdu and Persian poetry, and beyond. Ghalib was born at a time when power of one of the greatest imperial dynasties in human history, the Mughals, with an unbroken rule of centuries, was fading and the power of English imperialism in India was rising. He was born at a time when the de jure sovereignty still remained with the Hazrat Zill e Subhani Mughal Emperor who had turned into a British pensioner as the de facto power had gradually passed to the British.
Read the complete review on my blog
http://thebookoutline.blogspot.in/201...
Read the complete review on my blog
http://thebookoutline.blogspot.in/201...
March 29, 2016
I excellent book to unravel the social background under which Ghalib wrote under .In a society definetly clinging unto memories of a bygone past with the British influence all prevaisive Ghalib journey through that period in times a iconclast and in times a traditionalist .
Some of the poems were discovered through this book a definite addition to the library to anyone interested in Ghalib. Could probably do with a update as source material has definetly been discovered further since this was published
September 24, 2016
I absolutely love this book. I picked it up from the library, and I may buy a Kindle edition, because I will keep referring back to it.
In this, Pavan Varma gives us a very clear picture of the times, the culture and the environment in which Ghalib lived. His growth as a poet, his trauma during the Mutiny, his struggles are explained so very clearly. The style is lucid, and the book is immensely readable.
This is a timely tribute to the man, his poetry and his legacy. It is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the Delhi of the times.
In this, Pavan Varma gives us a very clear picture of the times, the culture and the environment in which Ghalib lived. His growth as a poet, his trauma during the Mutiny, his struggles are explained so very clearly. The style is lucid, and the book is immensely readable.
This is a timely tribute to the man, his poetry and his legacy. It is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the Delhi of the times.
March 10, 2010
Stirring stuff.
Read
August 16, 2011It is interesting book about Ghalib and his time. We got to know much about his life, his poetry, his peers and his time.
September 16, 2011
Good one..
January 3, 2024
A detailed book on the life of Ghalib and his times. The only problem is the academic nature of Pavan Varma's writing.
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