The 221st birth anniversary of the last great poet of the Mughal era, classical Persian and Urdu poet Mirza Asad Ullah Ghalib is being observed on Thursday (Dec 27).
Mirza Ghalib, Ghalib was born on December 27, 1796 in the city of Akbarabad which is presently known as Agra. His full name was Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan and Ghalib was his pen name.
In 1850, Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II bestowed upon Mirza Ghalib the title of “Dabir-ul-Mulk”. The Emperor also added to it the additional title of “Najm-ud-daula”. He also received the title of ‘Mirza Nosha’ from the Emperor. He was also an important courtier of the royal court of the Emperor. As the Emperor was himself a poet, Mirza Ghalib was appointed as his poet tutor in 1854. He was also appointed as tutor of Prince Fakhr-ud Din Mirza, eldest son of Bahadur Shah II,(d. 10 July 1856).
Ghalib started composing poetry at the age of 11. His first language was Urdu, but Persian and Turkish were also spoken at home. He received an education in Persian and Arabic at a young age. He wrote several ghazals during his life which have since been interpreted and sung in many different ways by different people. Ghalib remains popular even now not only in India and Pakistan but all around the world.
He died in Delhi on February 15, 1869. The house where he lived in Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, in Old Delhi, known as the Ghalib ki Haveli. has now been turned into ‘Ghalib Memorial’ and houses a permanent Ghalib exhibition.
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17 November, 2019
