Ghalib

Description

Mirza Asadullah Khan (1797–1869), popularly, Ghalib, is the most influential poet of the Urdu language. He is noted for the ghazals he wrote during his lifetime, which have since been interpreted and sung by different people in myriad ways. Ghalib’s popularity has today extended beyond the Indian subcontinent to the Hindustani diaspora around the world.
In this book, Gopi Chand Narang studies Ghalib’s poetics by tracing the archetypical roots of his creative consciousness and enigmatic thought in Buddhist dialectical philosophy, particularly in the concept of shunyata. He underscores the importance of the Mughal era’s Sabke Hindi poetry, especially through Bedil, whom Ghalib considered his mentor. The author also engages with Ghalib criticism that has flourished since his death and analyses the important works of the poet, including pieces from early Nuskhas and Divan-e Ghalib, strengthening this central argument.
Much has been written about Ghalib’s life and his poetry. A marked departure from this dominant trend, Narang’s book looks at Ghalib from different angles and places him in the galaxy of the great Eastern poets, stretching far beyond the boundaries of India and the Urdu language.

About the Author

Gopi Chand Narang is professor emeritus at University of Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He is a recipient of DLitt (Honoris Causa) from Aligarh Muslim University (2009) and the Central University of Hyderabad (2007). Among the many awards he has received, the most notable are Padma Bhushan (2004), Sahitya Akademi Award (1995), and Padma Shri (1990) from India; and the Sitara-e Imtiaz (2012) and President’s National Gold Medal (1977) from Pakistan.
About the Translator
Surinder Deol was program manager and senior specialist at the World Bank, Washington, DC, USA. He is the author of several books, including The Treasure: A Modern Rendition of Ghalib’s Lyrical Love Poetry (2014), a free verse translation of Divan-e Ghalib; Endless Life (2012), a novel; and A Moment in the Universe (2006), a collection of poems.

Reviews

‘After reading this book one feels enriched and enlightened by a master scholar’s word on Ghalib.’
Gulzar, poet and lyricist

‘If anyone is interested in reading about Ghalib as a visionary love poet, this book should be his or her first choice.’
Javed Akhtar, poet, lyricist, and screenwriter

‘The book offers a nuanced, refreshing perspective on reading Ghalib and it is an invaluable gift for those who want to understand the intellectual and cultural milieu of India, not told by the colonial historians.’
Shafey Kidwai, The Hindu

‘Narang’s Ghalib is an important book not merely because of its profound scholarship or the strength of its argument but because it points out the need for multiple ways of seeing and engaging with the world around us.’
Rakhshanda Jalil, Hindustani Awaaz

‘Dr Narang has opened the knot of Ghalib’s mysteriously magical creativity that no one was yet able to do.’
Nasir Abbas Nayyar, University of the Punjab, Pakistan

Table of contents

Preface: Speech Is Honoured a Hundred Times
When It Appears on Your Miraculous Lips
Acknowledgements

1. Hali’s Yadgar-e Ghalib
2. Bijnouri, Divan-e Ghalib, and Sacred Vedas
3. India’s Thought and Negative Dialectics
4. Buddhist Thought and Shunyata
5. The Sabke Hindi Tradition and Its Indigenous Roots
6. Bedil, Ghalib, Masnavi Irfan, and Indian Thought
7. Dead Leaves, a Romantic Interlude, and a Stricken Heart
8. The First Rendition: Innovative Meaning and the Dialectical Mind
9. The Second Rendition: Innovative Meaning and the Dialectical Mind
10. The Published Divan: Innovative Meaning and the Dialectical Mind
11. Dialectical Mode, Shunyata, and Poetics
12. Landmark Life Events, Masnavis, Prose, Wit and Humour, and the Dialectical Mind

Bibliography
Index
About the Author and the Translator