Skip to main content

Ghalib’s Delhi mansion, engulfed in darkness for 364 days, "remembered" on his birthday

By Our Representative
It is indeed lamentable that in this age of communication boom and the onslaught of self-centricity, people appear to have forgotten Mirza Ghalib, about whom, once well-known English novelist Graham Greene wrote that he happens to be the best poet in all languages in terms of thought content. His three-day 221st birth anniversary, “Yadgar-e-Ghalib”, was celebrated in Delhi by Ghalib Memorial Movement under the patronage of renowned Kathak dancer Uma Sharma and other eminent citizens, ending with candle light march on December 30 in Delhi.
Sponsored by the Ghalib Memorial Movement and supported by Friends for Education, the NGO that had got Ghalib mansion restored in 1997, the candle march began at the Town Hall, Chandni Chowk in the old Delhi walled city area, to Ghalib’s Gali Qasimjan haveli.
A mushaira (poetic gathering) for the connoisseurs of Urdu poetry was held on the opening day on December 28, including poets like, Gulzar Dehlvi, Manzar Bhopali, Khushbir Singh Shad, Kunwar Ranjeet Singh Chauhan, Moin Shadab, Sharf Nanparvi, Alok Shristava and the second day, that is, December 29, saw Uma Sharma’s perfect rendition of the ballet, “Shama Jalti he her rang mein seher honey tak,” by her team and youthful artists.
Apart from Kathak maestro and Ghalib lover Uma Sharma, others who participated in the march included , bureaucrat-cum-poet Madhup Mohta, Iqbal Ahmed Khan and Imran Khan, both qawwals, actor Badrudduja Siddiqui Najmi, and activist and chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Firoz Bakht Ahmed.
The three day carnival, “Yadgar-e-Ghalib”, began at the India Islamic Cultural Centre with the traditional mushaira (poetic gathering) that included.
Uma Sharma stated that Ghalib’s name was misused for vested interests, but nobody bothered about preserving his poetic legacy including the agencies that are supposed to look after art and culture. poetry.
Littereateur Pavan K Varma, a participant, said that Ghalib’s poetry is unique, not only for the intensity of feelings but also for the exquisite charm and profound thoughts that are part of his beautiful world with the concept of interfaith bonding and that the government must help artists like Uma Sharma who are trying to revive poets like Ghalib.
Another participant, K Sareen, said, all through the vintage selling street of Chandni Chowk, one became nostalgic witnessing the attarwalas (perfume sprayers), pankhewalas (fan holders), mashals (torches), nagadas (huge trumpets), huqqas (old smoking system) and pandaans (betel leaf boxes).
The nafeeri and tasha (musical instruments of the Mughal era) artistes gaily accompanied the procession to Ghalib’s house at Gali Qasimjan.
At the haveli, while paying homage, Uma Sharma narrated how the struggle to restore Ghalib mansion was begun by activist Firoz Bakht with the help of the Ghalib Memorial Movement two decades ago — a time that she started visiting and conducting programmes at the Ghalib haveli. Uma Sharma praised the efforts of Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister, and Vineet Palliwal for helping her ideas take concrete shape.
Madhup Mohta stated that the glorious thing about Ghalib is that his poetry never fitted into watertight compartments because his world in the ghazals was too vast and too contradictory.
Bakht, who founded the NGO Friends for Education, opined that poetry is a dying art and the children of this era do not know who Ghalib is and, therefore, the Government of Delhi must make it a point to take Ghalib to schools for the heritage tours to his Gali Qasimjan haveli. Besides, he emphasized, the Haveli-e-Ghalib, instead of being a dead monument, must be a living one by starting a reading room and an evening session to begin Urdu computer classes here so that the local community benefits.
“Apart from that information booklets on Ghalib, his picture postcards too must be availed, the responsibility of which should be of one of the Urdu platforms that are the nodal agencies of the Delhi government like Urdu Academy, National Council for Promotion of Urdu language etc.”, he added.
The haveli became crowded as ordinary people poured in to listen to prominent citizens on what was being done to restore the memory of Ghalib. Badrudduja, who is also a resident near Ghalib’s mansion, lamented that the great poet is rarely remembered except on his birthday. "The haveli is engulfed in darkness for rest of the 364 days", he said.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.