International Seminar on Ghalib : Ambassador's Inaugural Address

H.E. Ambassador's Inaugural address in International Seminar on Ghalib held on 15.10.2023 with the collaboration of Farhangistan-e Zaban o Adab e Farsi-
Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am sure that the knowledgable Ghalib scholars participating in today's seminar will tell us all about the literary and technical aspects of Ghalib's poetry. I hope we will also get to know about Ghalib's huge body of work in Farsi, which is less known in India.
But apart from scholars and literary critics, Ghalib is equally loved and admired by common Indians, no matter what their mother-tongue or religion may be. As the only non-scholarly speaker today, I want to speak about some general aspects of Ghalib's life and poetry that have made him so loved among ordinary Indians.
Ghalib is so popular in India that people often use his most famous Asha'ar as common conversational expressions in specific situations.
For instance, when receiving guests, people may naturally say 'Wo aaye ghar mein hamaare, Khuda ki kudrat hai; ham kabhi unko kabhi apne ghar ko dekhte hain'. [By the power of God, the Maashooq has arrived at our home; Sometimes we look at her, sometimes we look at our House (to realise how unworthy our house is to receive such a beautiful guest)].
Or when Indian young men fall in love, they may rue their inability to convey the seriousness of their passion to their Beloved by recalling Ghalib's famous sher "un ke dekhe se jo aa jaatī hai muñh par raunaq; vo samajhte haiñ ki bīmār kā haal achchhā hai". ['When she looks at me, my face lights up with happiness; so she doesn't believe how love-sick I am!].
So what makes Ghalib so loved in India? What makes Indians rely on his poetry to express their joys and sorrows, and in times of love and loss? Let me touch upon just two possible explanations.
First, as we know, India is a multi-religious country. Virtually every major faith of the world is present in India. It is quite clear that such a society can not survive without a flexible mindset that accepts the fundamental one-ness of all spiritual traditions. No where is this spirit of religious openness more apparent than in Ghalib's poetry.
__
Let us look at two examples of this from Ghalib's poetry itself.
nahīñ kuchh sub.ha-o-zunnār ke phande meñ gīrāī vafādārī meñ shaiḳh o barhaman kī āzmāish hai
[there is no gripping power in either the Islamic rosary or in the Hindu sacred thread; it is faithfulness that is the true test of both the Sheikh and the Brahmin]
Or
vafādārī bah shart̤-e ustuvārī aṣl-e īmāñ hai mare but-ḳhāne meñ to kaʿbe meñ gāṛho barahman ko
[Steadfastness in following one's faith is the basic principle of religion If a Brahmin dies in the idol-temple, then he deserves to be buried in the holy Kaaba]
__
Clearly, Ghalib truly represents the inclusive and accommodative spiritual traditions of India, which have always emphasised the one-ness of all human beings, the fundamental same-ness between all religions. It is this same spirit which the ancient Indian scripture Rigveda tries to explain, when it says, "Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahudavadanti" - "There is only one truth, but different wise men call it by different names". Hence, it is not surprising that Ghalib appeals to strongly to the Indian mind.
__
The second aspect of Ghalib that makes him so popular among the common people of India is his famous wit and sense of humour. There are dozens of stories about Ghalib poking fun at his fellow-poets, at figures of authority, and even at himself. Even religious dogma was not spared Ghalib's wit, as we see in Ash'aar like,
ham ko ma.alūm hai jannat kī haqīqat lekin dil ke ḳhush rakhne ko 'ġhālib' ye ḳhayāl achchhā hai
__
People in India love hearing about Ghalib's weakness for mangoes. He was so famously fond of mangoes that people used to tease him for it. There is a much-loved story that he was once sitting outside his house with a friend who did not like mangoes. A donkey passed by on the street, smelt some mango-peels lying by side of the road, but moved on without eating them. The friend tried to pull Ghalib's leg by pointing out, "see Mirza, even donkeys don't like mangoes". Ghalib immediately responded, "only donkeys don't!". Even today, Ghalib's observation is often directed at those very few Indians who don't have a taste for our delicious national fruit!
__
Similarly, Ghalib's fondness of wine was also legion, and there are many humorous stories about it! In many of his own Ash'aar Ghalib himself makes fun of his weakness for drink. Such as,
go hāth ko junbish nahīñ āñkhoñ meñ to dam hai rahne do abhī sāġhar-o-mīnā mire āge
Or
maiñ aur bazm-e mai se yūñ tishnah-kām āʾūñ gar maiñ ne kī thī taubah sāqī ko kyā huʾā thā
__
It is all these aspects of Ghalib's life, his words, his poetry and his personality because of which we in India are fond of recalling, again and again, and in Ghalib's own words:
Hain aur bhi duniya me sukhan-var bahut acche Kehte hain ki Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayaan aur

[@sarapazoki7664]

very nice .Thank you 👏👏👌👌🙏🙏🙏