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Urdu ke Naam - اردو كے نام © urdu-ke-naam.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

'besabab huwa Ghalib dushman aasmaaN apna'

Ghalib feigns modesty when he says:
hum kahaaN ke daana thhe, kis hunar meiN yakta thhe
besabab huwa Ghalib, dushman aasmaaN apna


His work has spawned countless admirers--as I have said, there's hardly a master among our 'asaateza' after him, who has not been influenced--and very profoundly at that--by the 'mehr-e-niimroz' or mid-day sun of Urdu verse.
There has been the odd critic too. 'Yaas' 'Yagaana' Changezi went bonkers trying to debunk Ghalib. Others have also criticized Ghalib's sucking up to the British--as they saw it--forgetting the cardinal principle that a poet/artist must be judged against his times and circumstances.

At the risk of being flippant with one of his celebrated lines, one could say:
'Duboya mujh ko hone ne, na hotaa maiN tau kya hotaa'

But it would probably be more more apt to quote the inimitable Ghalib thus:
'aisa kahaaN se lauN ke tujhsa kaheN jisay'
As for his critics, let us repeat what Ghalib said to the va'aez:
'aisa bhi hai koii ke sab achha kaheN jisay?'

1 comment:

vigi said...

Wah! Your love for Ghalib shines through! I'm having a damn good time wandering about your blog! :-)