Delhi's poetic corner

Denied due acknowledgement in his lifetime, maverick poet Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869) had prophesied that the world would acknowledge his greatness posthumously, as in this Persian couplet:

Kaukabam dar adam auj-e-qubuli budah
Shohrat-e-sheram ba giti bad-e-man khwahid shudan
(The star of my luck will occupy highest pedestal in the heaven/ After I depart from this world, my poetry will eminence gain.)

No wonder, Markende Katju, chairman of the Press Council of India, has pressed the government for a Bharat Ratna to be bestowed upon Ghalib.

The newest chapter in commemorating Ghalib was added on December 27, 2011 — on the day of his 214th birth anniversary — when the ICCR (Indian Council for
Cultural Relations) rejuvenated and beautified his restored haveli (mansion) in Shahjahanabad, at old Delhi’s Gali Qasim Jaan, under the expertise of Showcraft Productions.

The haveli has been turned into a memorial-cum-museum. It has been brought to life with rare pictures, illustrations, exhibits, and the ambience of Ghalib era. It is said that the exhibits would include the Ghalib era shamadaans (candle-stands), qalam-dawats (pens and inkpots), Ghalib and his wife Umrao Begum’s clothes, his age-old diwans (compilations), unique paintings beside other invaluable things like his chausar and huqqa.

Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan, better known as Ghalib, a nom de plume he adopted in the tradition of all classical Urdu poets, lived in this mansion for most of his life. The mansion was originally almost 400 square yards, but now only 130 square yards have been restored.

The haveli was acquired by the Delhi Government in December 1999 and
restored to its original splendour after a PIL was filed by the NGO — Friends for Education— in October 1996. Earlier, it was in a dilapidated condition and housed shops selling wood, coal and building material.

Professor Gopi Chand Narang, a celebrated Urdu scholar, opines that a lot more needs to be done to make Ghalib’s house a famous destination, much like Shakespeare’s house in Stratford-upon-Avon. Ghalib’s haveli enshrines the poet’s many memories. It is here that the bard penned 1,100 couplets in Urdu and 6,700 in Persian, apart from writing numerous letters.

The haveli also accommodates four replicas of his Diwan-e-Ghalib, placed in glass cases. Most pictures have been from the record of the author. Paintings also
reveal that Ghalib relished taley kebabs, bhuna gosht, sohan halwa, pickles, vinegar, daal murabba, sliced cashew nuts and mishri.

“The objective is to make the haveli an important marker on the tourist heritage trail of Delhi. The exhibition and the soundtrack will weave together a lively tale of Ghalib’s life and works, which will be attractive to both foreign and Indian tourists,” said Suresh K Goel, director general of ICCR. Keeping this in view, the ICCR is also planning to introduce arched heritage gates and plaques at the entrance of Bazaar Ballimaran and Gali Qasimjan.

The Mughlai arches in Ghalib mansion remind us of Zafar Mahal. The entire
Ghalib haveli gives a nostalgic touch to Ghalib’s times.

Emperor Bahadurshah Zafar was Ghalib’s trusted friend. Nevertheless, Ghalib lamented the defeat of his mentor Bahadurshah Zafar. He tolerated the English so far as his livelihood was concerned. In one of his couplets, he laments the loss of the mutineers whose bodies were hung on the trees of Chandni Chowk:

Chowk jiski kahein, who maqtal hei
Aaj ghar bana hei namoona zindaan ka
(The road crossing has turned into
guillotine. Each house has become a
replica of prison.)

The connoisseurs of Ghalib and lovers of Urdu the world over are excited about the beautification of Ghalib haveli. Not only this, Sayeed Alam, a young director of Urdu drama, has taken Ghalib to the youth with his creation, Ghalib in New Delhi, a sarcastic commentary by Ghalib, who visits Delhi in present times. It’s a must for all the connoisseurs of Ghalib to visit his haveli at least once.