A JOURNEY WITH GHALIB – 19 I was prompted to the path of chronological study of Ghalib’s poetry because my reading of his several verses differed with the reputed interpreters of Ghalib – irrespective of their school of thought! I confess that I have tried to be scrupulous in translating the verses and honest and logical in interpreting them. I doubt if a much different reading of Ghalib’s ghazals is possible if the following methodology is adopted: i) the entire ghazal outpour of Ghalib is chronologically studied, ii) each couplet is treated as ‘stand-alone’, iii) other couplets of the same ghazal and couplets from other phases on the same topic are kept in view, iv) other ghazals from the same period are noted, and v) due cognisance is taken of the Backdrop, comprising space and times and his life history. The way of thinking represented by the following verse of Ghalib seems to have helped him evolve a holistic view of all-encompassing Nature. It has been ages that Ghalib died, but comes to mind, That saying on every issue, that “if it were so then what would have been”. ہوئی مدّت کہ غالب مر گیا پر یاد آتا ہے وہ ہر یک بات پر کہنا کہ " یوں ہوتا تو کیا ہوتا " हुई मुद्दत केः ग़ालिब मर गया पर याद आता है वोह हर यक बात पर कहना केह “यूं होता तो क्या होता” huei muddat keh ghaalib mar gayaa, par yaad aataa hai woh har yak baat par kahnaa keh “yoon hotaa, to kyaa hotaa” Ghalib passed away long ago, but one still recalls his pet approach of exploring alternative possibilities. If it were so, then what would the implications, the repercussions, have been. He tried to grapple with the world in a holistic manner and boldly put a question mark on each and every assumption. For him, the observations and experiences were supreme; and, based on these, he derived inferences using intellect. In the ultimate, he had just one postulate, an abstract impulse for creation of the universe, called God, or negation, or nothingness, from which dripped affirmation of all-encompassing Nature. There is no doubt that to his partisans, Ghalib’s Urdu poetry haunts and also provides solace even after more than hundred and fifty years, in spite of the rapid changes since the second half of the nineteenth century. However, he is not remembered only for his above-mentioned attitude though that might well have been his fundamental logic for resolution of issues that his mind probed. He is also remembered for – i) placing the human on the highest pedestal , ii) giving expression to human emotions, iii) providing lovable brain-teasers, iv) poetry with open spaces that can be interpreted at several levels, v) beautiful wordplay, and vi) helping understand all-encompassing Nature.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Sep 2013 23:53:36 +0000
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