Life Desk :
Born on 27 December, more than 200 years ago, Mirza Ghalib is a name that defines eloquence and cadence. He belongs to that timeless league of bards who have defied the ravages of time and have managed to rule the environs of history with their multitudinous talent. Some documented in history, some collected from the descriptions given by his biographers, here are a few interesting facts about the life of this last great poet of the Mughal empire.
1. Ghalib was born in the Kala Mahal area of Agra on 27 December, 1797.
2. He was born as Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan while Ghalib was a pen name that he adopted later. Ghalib in Urdu means conqueror, victor, dominant. His original pen name was Asad which is drawn from his name.
3. Ghalib was married at a very young age to Umrao Begum after which he moved to Delhi where he lived till his death. It is said that he had seven children with her but none of them survived.
4. Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II gave Mirza Ghalib the title of “Dabir-ul-Mulk”, followed by the title of “Najm-ud-daula”, which incorporated him into the nobility of Delhi. ‘Mirza Nosha’ is another title Ghalib received from the Emperor, thus adding Mirza to his name.
5. Mirza Ghalib was appointed as a poet tutor to the royal family along with being appointed as the royal historian of Mughal Court by the Emperor.
6. Ghalib never worked for a livelihood. Instead he lived on the royal patronage of Mughal Emperors or on the generosity of his friends.
7. Ghalib wrote his first poem at the age of 11. He was well versed in languages including Urdu, Persian and Turkish.
8. It is noted that in most of his verses, the gender or identity of the beloved is indeterminate.
9. He breathed his last in his famous haveli, Gali Qasim Jaan at Chandni Chowk, in 1869. It is also known as Ghalib ki Haveli. This 300-year old haveli has been turned into ‘Ghalib Memorial’.
10. It’s said that this haveli was presented to the poet by a physician (hakim), who was a big fan of Ghalib. The poet wrote some of his finest ghazals and verses at this place.
– TNN
