Thoughtful Journey of Ghalib

WHY ONE MORE BLOG ON GHALIB?

2008-12-07T23:38:00.001-08:00

YOU MAY JUSTIFIABLY WONDER THAT WHY ONE MORE BLOG IS NEEDED, WHEN VAST VOLUME ON GHALIB (DECEMBER 27, 1797AD – FEBRUARY 15, 1869AD) IS ALREADY AVAILABLE ON THE NET. PERHAPS, THE FOLLOWING MAY EXPLAIN MY MOTIVATION.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN ENGLISH, ONE WOULD BE ABLE TO READ THE CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED SELECTION OF GHALIB'S GHAZAL VERSES, AND THEIR INTERPRETATION. AND, THAT WOULD ENABLE ONE COMPREHEND AND ENJOY GHALIB’S URDU POETRY IN PROPER BACKDROP, AS ONE WOULD APPRECIATE THE DISCERNIBLE CHANGES IN HIS POETRY, AND NOTICE BOTH, THE CONTINUITY AND THE CHANGE.

GENESIS OF THE BLOG

2008-12-07T23:36:00.000-08:00

Ghalib (December 27, 1797AD – February 15, 1869AD) attracts highly diverse people – not only pauper and affluent, beggar and alms-giver, literary and scientific, uneducated and erudite, layperson and polymath, lover and beloved, men and women, young and old, but even the oppressor, those sunk into past, and reactionary, along with the oppressed, forward looking, and progressive . The apparently plausible reason(s) appear to be one or more of the following: that his poetry offers something or the other to every one; his play on words is enjoyed by one and all; some of his verses are best exponents of particular situations or emotions. To quote him:

See the beauty of speech that what s/he said.
I felt as if this too, in my heart is.
Dekhnaa taqreer kee lazzat keh jo us ney kahaa
Main ney yeh jaanaa keh goyaa yeh bhee merey dil men hai

I have not been a student of literature (except studying it at the school level, where I pursued science stream) nor I have any particular inclination towards poetry; but, to me, and a few of my friends, some of Ghalib’s thoughts have been the star attraction. However, there is no denying that we also enjoy his play on words and playful verses. One of these friends wished to read Ghalib in English, as he could not read Urdu, his mother tongue. The following verse, which later turned out to be the hallmark of Ghalib’s poetry, was our starting point:

When nothing was, then God was; had nothing been, then God would have been.
Undoing, my being has been; had I not been, then what would have been?
Nah thaa kuchh to khudaaa thaa, kuchh nah hotaa to khudaa hotaa
Duboyaa mujh ko honey ney, nah hotaa main to kyaa hotaa?

We scanned the available books on Ghalib, and felt the need to study the way his poetry evolves. We were surprised that, notwithstanding vast literature on Ghalib’s poetry, no attempt had been made to trace its evolution. To us, a chronological study appeared essential – especially to appreciate contradictory verses, such as the following, representing extreme dejection to brimming with satisfaction:

Migrate, now, to such a place, where no one is.
No fellow poet, none with the same language.
Rahiyey ab aisee jagah chal kar jahaan koei nah ho
Ham sukhan koei nah ho aur ham zabaan koei nah ho

No yearning for praise, no concern for reward.
If my verses are devoid of meaning, be so.
Nah sataaish kee tamanna nah siley kee parwah
Gar naheen hain merey asha’ar men ma’nee nah sahee

These issues of mysticism, this explanation of yours, Ghalib.
To you, we would have taken for a saint, if were not given to wine.
Yah masaail-e tasawwuf, yeh teraa bayaan Ghalib
Tujhey ham walee samajhtey, jo nah baadah-khwaar hotaa

There are also other very good poets in the world.
It is said that Ghalib’s style of narration is different.
Hain aur bhee dunyaa men sukhanwar bohat achchhey
Kahtey hain keh ghaalib kaa hai andaaz-e bayaan aur

Next, for several reasons, to study selected verses is considered prudent. After all, Ghalib’s one verse is:

Cannot see Tigris in the drop, and whole in the part,
Adolescents’ play that would be, not an insight.
Qatrey men dajlaa dikhaei nah dey, aur juzw men kul
Khel ladkon kaa huaa, deedah-e beenaa nah huaa

I agree with the above; however, I feel that the verse would hold equally well upon reversing the first line:

Cannot see the drop in Tigris, and the part in whole,
Adolescents’ play that would be, not an insight.

I have attempted at stealing an insight, and to quote:

With a special style, Ghalib has sung subtle points.
A call is, to the people with discerning eye.
Adaa-ey khaas sey ghaalib huaa hai naghmah saraa
Salaa-ey a’am hai yaaraan-e nuktah daan key liyey

I think that if my slaughter of Ghalib's chronologically arranged select Urdu poetry, at the altar of translation, has any redeeming feature, it is that the evolution of his thoughts gets dramatically revealed. He raises questions, and is soon able to answer – for himself, and for us!

The translation, no doubt, has huge scope for making it "poetic"; but I doubt if Ghalib’s thoughtful journey can have a substantially different presentation. And, that is the justification – if one were needed – for adding one more blog (that would hopefully lead to a book) to the vast array of works on Ghalib. However, it is the labour of love; and, to quote Ghalib:

In love, there is no force; it is that fire, Ghalib
With efforts, that cannot be ignited nor extinguished.
I’shq par zor naheen, hai yeh who aatish ghaalib
Keh lagaaey nah lagey, aur bujhaaey nah baney

PRELUDE

2008-12-07T23:33:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow Travelers

Before discussing Ghalib's poetry, I wish to share views on how to read Ghalib, in order to understand him holistically. I think that the best way would comprise the following steps:

1. Arrange Urdu poetry of Ghalib chronologically. (Because Urdu was his mother tongue, and he expressed in Urdu naturally. Arranging the outpour chronologically helps understand the contradictions and the evolution.)

2. Select verses of Urdu ghazals that stand out for one reason or the other. (Because ghazal verses provide best opportunity to covertly express views, and Ghalib exploited the same. And, certain pruning is desirable, i.e., a selection is preferred over whole of it. The ghazal’s verse, and not the ghazal, forms the basic building block of the edifice of thought.)

3. Take note of even those ghazals and verses that were not included by Ghalib in his last selection. (Because some of these deserve to be taken note of; and, after almost two centuries, one is not bound to be governed by his selection.)

4. Translate into English. (So that a large body of people can interact/ share.)

5. Interpret verses, keeping in mind the other verses of the period as also in the larger backdrop of entire chronologically arranged poetry. (Because Ghalib was a great intellectual, and the scope for multiple interpretations is great.)

One can easily see that the above-mentioned methodology is invaluable for proper comprehension of his verses, and traverse his trajectory of thought. However, notwithstanding that he could comprehend Nature, including society, a great deal, and could also cleverly grapple with some of the most important, and even eternal, questions, an important point to remember is that Ghalib was, after all, a poet, and not a conscious philosopher; and, therefore, some contradiction can be, and is, found even in ghazals’ verses of his last selection.

Knowing Urdu, the foregoing can be easily attempted because Kalidas Gupta Reza’s Urdu book [deewaan-e Ghalib kaamil, nuskha-e Gupta Reza, teesraa jadeed aur baa-tasweer edition, tarmeem aur izaafe ke saath, February 15, 1995; Published by: Sakar Publishers Private Limited, 107 Juli Bhawan –1, 10 New Marine lines, Mumbai – 400 002, India] encompasses Ghalib’s entire Urdu poetry, and has the following features of our interest:

• The outpour is chronologically arranged.

• Every verse is dated based on its first publication.

• The verses, coined later, and inserted in an earlier ghazal, have been identified.

• In case of revision of a verse, revised and original, both, versions are given.

One Anecdote

I recall an anecdote from my school days, when our Urdu teacher (a male poet, a North Indian Muslim, a scholar, a freedom-fighter, a cool and good teacher, and a communist), while explaining poetry, opined that everyone was entitled to interpret poetry as none had been ensconced in poet’s heart; and, hence, he would not fail any student! At that time, the latter part attracted us, the students, most, whereas, much later, notwithstanding numerous works on Ghalib’s poetry, the first part has given me courage to interpret a selection of his chronologically arranged Urdu ghazals’ verses.

REVELATIONS

2008-12-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

Presentation of selected verses in chronological order, lends to the distinction of four phases – Teenage Debut (“D”, 19-19⁺ years), Youthful Explorations (“E”, 24 – 29 years), Blooming (“B”, 29⁺ – 54 years), and Twilight (“T”, 55-70 years) i.e., DEBT - and reveals Ghalib’s consistency of ideas and development of thought.

CONSISTENCY OF IDEAS

Praising Own Poetry

Notwithstanding Ghalib’s blind praise of Bedil's poetry at the beginning, his acute consciousness about greatness of his own poetry recurs in his verses. At the debut itself, he tells that he enjoys writing poetry, else he knows that he is ahead of his times, i.e., he is not understood by his generation.

The love for imagination’s delight makes me sing. (D)

I am the nightingale of a yet-to-be created flower garden.

hoon garmee-e nishaat-e tasawwur sey naghmah sanj

main a'ndleeb-e gulshan-e naa aafreedah hoon

The youthful Ghalib boasts about effectiveness of his poetry using the hyperbole that by his mere idea in respect of wildness, the desert got burnt.

Please tell, of thought’s substance, where is the heat? (E)

Some thought about wildness had occurred that the desert got burnt.

a'rz keejey jauhar-e andeshah kee garmee kahaan

kuchh khayaal aayaa thaa wahshat kaa keh sahraa jal gayaa

During blooming phase, his poetry had started receiving acclaim even from knowledgeable people with differing perceptions.

I get, from him, some praise for my verses. (B)

Gabriel, though, agrees with me not.

paataa hoon us sey daad kuchh apney kalaam kee

rooh-ul-qudus agarcheh meraa ham zabaan naheen

In twilight, he acknowledges other stalwarts, but terms himself as numero uno.

There are also other very good poets in the world (T)

It is said that Ghalib’s style of narration is different.

hain aur bhee dunyaa men sukhanwar bohat achchhey
kahtey hain keh Ghalib kaa hai andaaz-e bayaan aur

Extolling Sins

Ghalib is a proud sinner; and, that makes it obligatory to find out what he means by ‘sin’. One realises that the yearnings become sinful in a society where to explore, to wander, is taboo. And, therefore, his sinful attitude need not offend an honest person; of course, the case of hypocrite preacher (naaseh) would be different.

Sin signifies rebellion against decadent order, struggle against oppression, revolt against anything that inhibits strivings of mankind for realisation of humanity’s full potential. Sin symbolises everything positive and progressive, and is based on reasoning.

In short, to take nothing for granted, and raise questions in order to have a holistic understanding of Nature (where Nature encompasses all) because of love for her, is sinful (for the reactionaries, the vested interests); and, it is that sin, which Ghalib celebrates in his poetry.

The débutante Ghalib tells God not to enquire about his sins’ details; and the reason is not that he is ashamed of his sins, but because such a query reminds him of the sins that he could not commit! Desires are sins and also insatiable.

The count of scars of smothered desires, I am reminded of. (D)

From me, the account of my sins, O’ God, do not ask.

aataa hai mujh klo daagh-e hasrat-e dil kaa shumaar yaad

mujh sey nerey gunaah kaa hisaab ai khudaa nah maang

Young Ghalib finds it in the realm of possibility that God would be agreeable to sins, and therefore tells the lover not to be apologetic about.

Is it far that Mercy finds acceptable? (E)

Do not offer excuses with shame

rahmat agar qubool karey kya ba'eed hai

sharmindagee sey u'zr nah karnaa gunaah kaa

In bloom, he demands from God that he should be congratulated for the sins that he could not commit – in case there is any penalty for the committed ones; i.e., to him, the two are equally absurd.

As well for the yearning of non-committed sins, be patted. (B)

O’ God, if these committed sins entail punishment.

naa kardah gunaahon kee bhee hasrat kee miley yaad

yaa rab agar in kardah gunaahon kee sazaa hai

Life-after-death

Next, one is struck by his rejection of the concept of heaven or life-after death. At the debut, he tells that because of the behaviour of the earthly beauties, he has developed prejudice against heaven (as houries, the heavenly beauties, are supposed to be the star attraction out there).

Due to excess of oppression and cruelty, have lost sense. (D)

The beauties have made me biased against life-after-death.

kasrat-e jaur-ositam sey ho gayaa hoon bey-dimagh

khoob rauyon ney banaaya a'aqbat bad khoo mujhey

Young Ghalib finds the deal to barter this world with the promised heaven unacceptable.

Give heaven in exchange for the worldly life. (E)

Commensurate with the hangover, the intoxication is not.

deytey hain jannat hayaat-e dahr key badley

nashshah bah andaazah-e khumaaar naheen hai

During ‘Blooming’, he accepts that the concept of heaven is soothing, even if the reality is otherwise.

About heaven, I know the truth, but (B)

To keep the heart glad, Ghalib, this thought is good.

ham ko ma'loom hai jannat kee haqeeqat lekin

dil key bahlaaney ko ghaalib yeh khayaal achchhaa hai

And, in twilight, when the time to depart from the world approaches, the lover wants hell to be combined with heaven, so that there is more space for the leisurely walk.

Why not with heaven, unite hell, O' God? (T)

For the stroll, some more environ, let there be.

kyun nah firdaus men dozakh ko milaa len, yaa-rab?

sair key waastey thodee see fazaa aur sahee

Worldly Affairs

Not subscribing to post-death life and being proud of sins suggest Ghalib’s interest in the affairs of this world. And, indeed, that is what he categorically states even if at the debut, he finds himself unequal to the task of understanding her secrets.

For worries of the world, I rack brain. (D)

What am I? And, what this burden is?

fikr-e dunyaa men sar khapaataa hoon

main kahaan aur yeh wabaal kahaan

Right from the beginning, he understands that to be in love with this world demands that one rebels against the status quo.

To the world of love, the merchandise that goes, (D)

The goods of life return as the lover of revolt.

dayaar-e i’shq men jaataa hai jo saudaa garee saamaan

mataa'e zindagaanee haa baghaawat daadah aataa hai

He is conscious of the difficulties involved in the domain of love. But, he is not deterred as he derives pleasure from continual strivings for (elusive) excellence.

Nature is interested in pleasures of longing; what to do! (D)

Desire, to me, means unfulfilled desire.

taba' hai mushtaaq-e lazzat haa-ey hasrat kyaa karoon
aarzoo sey hai shikast-e aarzoo matlab mujhey

Faced with livelihood problems, he cajoles himself to take hardships in stride.

Asad, be boozy of acceptance of fortune’s vicissitudes; (D)

That disgrace to mad saint’s perception, the complaint of bad employment is.

asad, saaghar kash-e tasleem ho gardish sey gardoon kee

keh nang-e fahm-e mastaan hai, gilah bad rozgaaree kaa

The young lover informs the beloved that notwithstanding his suffering from resource crunch, he remained drowned in her thoughts; and, kept expressing in form of poetry, goes unsaid.

Though I remained under the oppressions of livelihood, (E)

But towards your thoughts, was not negligent.

go main rahaa raheen-e sitam haa-ey rozgaar

lekin terey khayaal sey ghaafil naheen rahaa

Love enabled the youthful lover poet forget his personal pain and introduced him to real pleasures of life, but it also brought him the realisation of the sorrows of the suffering humanity, for which he had no remedy.

From love, the disposition got the taste of life. (E)

For pain, found cure; got pain, sans cure.

i'shq sey tabeea't ney zeest kaa mazah paayaa

dard kee dawaa paaei, dard-e be dawaa paayaa

The sorrows of love and livelihood recur in his poetry. The mature Ghalib finds sorrows of love unbearable, but finds no escape, as in the absence of sorrows of love, sorrows of livelihood would have engaged him.

Sorrow, although, kills; but how to escape? Because have the heart. (B)

Sorrow of love, if were not; sorrow of livelihood would have been.

gham agarcheh jaan gusal hai, peh kahaan bachen keh dil hai

gham-e i'shq gar nah hotaa, gham-e rozgaar hotaa

The following verses show that, since debut itself, he is conscious about toiling people’s exploitation. The lover finds that in the life’s work-place, Lily, the neutral observer, is remorseful because peasant’s toil does not bring him succour, and the grain is consumed by lightning.

In the life’s work place, Lily is saddened. (D)

Relief for the lightning striking the granary, the peasant’s warm blood is.

kaargaah-e hastee men laalah daagh saamaan hai

barq-e khirman-e raahat, khoon-e garm-e dahqaan hai

In his bloom, the poet understands, and is forthright in telling that he survives on the labour of toiling populace, and that is an unpleasant facet of his development.

In my development is concealed an adverse aspect. (B)

The flash of lightning striking the granary is to the toil of peasant.

meree ta'meeer men muzmir hai ek sorat kharaabee keee

hayoolaa barq-e khirman kaa, hai khoon-e garm dahqaan kaa

EVOLUTION OF THOUGHT

In youth (1821-26), he is attracted by the issue of existence and, in accordance with one school of thought of his times, takes objects as expression of God.

Although, you are in everything; (E)

But, there is nothing like you.

har chand keh har shai men too hai

par tujh see koei shai naheen hai

He, however, emphasises that reality changes every moment, and that the Nature continually evolves.

Yes, don’t be deceived by existence! (E)

Even though would say, it is; it isn’t.

haan, khaaiyo mat fareb-e hastee

har chand kahen keh hai, naheen hai

What one observes, exists; and, non-existence is nothingness. However, the emphasis on ever-changing reality continues.

Existence is; nor is something absence, Ghalib. (E)

After all, what is; O’ isn’t.

hastee hai, nah kuchh a'dam hai, Ghaalib

aakhir to kyaa hai, ai naheen hai

But, very soon, in the first blooming (1826⁺), he is able to discover the most fundamental law of philosophy. The following verse has been discussed at some length later on.

From negation drips affirmation; as if, (B)

At the instant of creation, one is not endowed with the spot for mouth.

nafee sey kartee hai asbaat taraawish, goyaa

dee hai jaa-ey dahan, us ko dam-e eijaad naheen

To say that, at this stage, he understands all dimensions of this principle may not be correct. However, there is no denying that he appreciates its essence, and his poetry beautifully represents its different facets.

The undoing of the existing, i.e., negation, can be meaningful in two ways. One, it may give birth to a new object and, thus, it is an affirmation (by the new) through negation (of the old). For instance, through negation of colonialism dripped affirmation in the form of sovereign nation states.

Alternatively, annihilation of the existing can invest it with meaning; e.g., notwithstanding human avarice desiring perpetuity for one, life is interesting because death makes it finite.

What-all delightful affairs, greed is engrossed in? (B)

Were not to die, then what to savour life?

hawas ko hai nishaat-e kaar kyaa kyaa

nah ho marnaa to jeeney kaa mazaa kyaa

Towards the end of second phase of blooming (1846), Ghalib grapples with the issue of God’s existence. He is wonderstruck by manifestations of Nature, and finds metaphysical view of things incompatible with observed reality.

The essence of mystical experience, witness and witnessed is one. (B)

I am bewildered then how to account for observation

asl-e shahood-o shaahid-o mashhood aek hai

hairaan hoon phir mushaahidah hai kis hisaab men

Referring to philosophical dictum presuming God’s existence in everything, he finds that incompatible with societal disorder as also with different facets of Nature.

When, without you, none exists, / Then, O’ God, what this tumult is? (B)

How these fairy-faced people are? / What amorous glance, coquetry, and ogle are?

Why the fold of jet-black tress is? / What the sight of collirium-stained eyes is?

Wherefrom greenery and flower have come? / What thing cloud is? What air is?

jab keh tujh bin naheen, koei maujood

phir yeh hangaamah, ai khudaa kyaa hai?

yeh paree chehrah log kaisey hain?

ghamzah-o a’shwah-o adaa kyaa hai?

shikan-e zulf-e a’nbareen kyun hai?

nigah-e chashm-e surmah saa kyaa hai?

sabzah-o gul kahaan sey aaey hain?
abr kyaa cheez hai? hawaa kyaa hai?

Ghalib, therefore, concludes God to be unique, a singularity.

Who can see Him because that incomparable is singular? (B)

If even smell of duality existed, then would have encountered somewhere.

usey kaun dekh saktaa, keh yagaanah hai woh yktaa

jo duei kee boo bhee hotee, to kaheen do chaar hotaa

And in third phase of blooming, while peaking in 1847⁺, he resolves – not to say solves – the most basic contradiction pertaining to God’s existence, by coming out of His domain, and focusing on human being. The eternal nature of God makes Him irrelevant, and human existence becomes all-important. Without humanity, the existence of timeless God, that initial impulse, would be meaningless.

When nothing was, then God was; had nothing been, then God would have been. (B)

Undoing, my being has been; had I not been, then what would have been?

nah thaa kuchh, to khudaa thaa, kuchh nah hotaa, to khudaa hotaa

duboyaa mujh ko honey ney, nah hotaa main, to kyaa hotaa?

After having resolved the basic questions troubling his mind, the poet shifts his focus on to union with the beloved in twilight phase (1851-1865).

The lover poet tells that, under new playfulness, the dominant and experienced poet would be tested in the domain of union; now, union is no longer a hollow promise, and the beloved would be actually paying him a visit.

What promise, you would see her visit my home, Ghalib. (T)

In the new mischief, now, it is the test of ancient sky.

woh aawen gey merey ghar, wa’dah kaisaa, dekhnaa, ghaalib

naey fitnon men ab charkh-e kohan kee aazmaaish hai

Notwithstanding that he has resolved the riddle of God, the issue of God’s existence continues to engage his attention. He wonders if God were like the cruel king Namrud because he has had a tough time in spite of being true.

Was that Namrud’s godhood? (T)

Servitude did me no good.

kyaaa woh namrood kee khudaaei thee
bandagee men meraa bhalaa nah huaa

He, however, realizes that humanity cannot be privy to every secret of Nature.

Who can say that whose manifestation is this? (T)

S/he has unfurled that veil, which can be lifted, but not.

kah sakey kaun keh yeh jalwah garee kis kee hai

pardah chhodaa hai woh us ney keh uthaaey nah baney

And, finally, the arrogant Ghalib becomes humble, and departs with the yearning to have done more.

Gave away life, was given by Him only. (T)

Truth is that the due could not be paid.

jaan dee, dee huei usee kee thee

haq to yoon hai keh haq adaa nah huaa