Mayank Chhaya-
In some sense, Mirza Ghalib is to poetry what Albert Einstein is to physics. People have a clear sense of their genius but only rather amorphous comprehension of it. There are, of course, millions in India and around the world who may be able to recite a verse or two or a dozen from Ghalib’s astonishing oeuvre.
Today marks the 225th birth anniversary of this truly world class poet. I am not one of those who can effortlessly recall a large body his works but there are some that have stayed with me. The one here remains one of my favorites because it comes across as almost Vedantic.
It goes:
हस्ती के मत फरेब में आ जाइयो असद
आलम तमाम हल्क़ा–ए–दाम–ए–ख़याल है
(Hasti ke mat fareb mein aa jaiyo Asad
Aalam tamaam halqa-e-daam-e-khayal hai)
ग़ालिब
Do not be taken in by the deceptions (lures) of existence
The universe is but links of a chain of thought
–Ghalib
To read poetry is to second-guess the poet. This is particularly true of great poets, including, of course, Ghalib.
The only verses of Ghalib that I can recite from memory are the following two. It is no coincidence that while one captures the great poet-philosopher’s epic intellectual conceit, the other a near Vedantic view of existence.
बाज़ीचा–ए–अतफ़ाल है दुनिया मेरे आगे
होता है शबो–रोज़ तमाशा मेरे आगे
Baazicha-e-atafal hai duniya mere aagey
Hota hai shabo-roz tamasha mere aagey
The world is like a children’s playground for me
Where spectacle unfolds day and night
***
हस्ती के मत फरेब में आ जाइयो असद
आलम तमाम हल्क़ा–ए–दाम–ए–ख़याल है
(Hasti ke mat fareb mein aa jaiyo Asad
Aalam tamaam halqa-e-daam-e-khayal hai)
ग़ालिब
Do not be taken in by the deceptions (lures) of existence
The universe is but links of a chain of thought
–Ghalib
One can argue that there is no need to second-guess the meaning of these verses because it is self-evident in the way Ghalib has expressed it. I am not so sure. Poets do not necessarily express the way they are often interpreted. So many things are written impulsively or reflexively in a very particular context without really thinking about their more profound meaning. It is not inconceivable that a poet does not write something with the express intention of being profound.
Even for a poet of Ghalib’s peerless caliber, there ought to have been times when he just impulsively wrote something that went on to acquire increasingly deeper meaning for subsequent generations than he might have intended because of its reiteration in changing sociocultural contexts. A century and a half after his death and 225 years his birth are reasonably long periods for very diverse generations of admirers of poetry to have interacted with these very verses and inferred their own meanings. Or, in other words, second-guess.
One can only assume that Ghalib’s state of mind when he wrote these verses, as part of full ghazals, was what the words in the verses reveal. We cannot be certain about that assumption. That is why it is an assumption.
My point is the meaning of all poetry, at any rate good and great poetry, is necessarily second-guessed to some degree. That is where science so fundamentally differs from poetry. There is no second-guessing a scientist in terms what is already established via theories and mathematical equations. That may be one of the reasons why more people are drawn to poetry than physics because while the former allows a freedom of interpretation, the latter does not. Of course, there is an exception like quantum mechanics where interpretations do come into play. That is another matter altogether.
Let me return to my original observation about Ghalib being to poetry what Albert Einstein is to physics and the fact that while people have a clear sense of their genius, they have only rather amorphous comprehension of it. Ghalib’s poetry and by that, I mean his choice of words was not necessarily simple. He did not necessarily write it to cater to the lowest common denominator of his day. That has a great deal to do with the fact that he was a master of the Persian language which makes frequent appearances into his writing. As a language Persian is just a language like any other but since its currency was limited even in his time and even more so now Ghalib often comes across as abstruse.
Notwithstanding, he remains a superstar poet whose name recognition is much greater than understanding of his poetry.
I have described poetry as an unnecessary art. Unlike prose, which is necessarily time-intensive, poetry, unless it is epic, is more often than not instantaneous. That is because it often results from an evanescent inspiration. It has to be captured in that moment otherwise it comes across manufactured or contrived. I have always considered poetry to be, apart from being an unnecessary talent, an affliction. It results from a massive chemical disturbance inside one’s brain. It has to be expressed as soon as it occurs even if it happens to be rough and raw. For accomplished poets, who have been doing it for a long time, it takes birth fully formed and polished.”
Poetry is an unnecessary talent. That said, not all talents should be judged for their worldly utility. The real worth of poetry lies in its inspirational quotient.
I have not done a scientific study to say this but I am fairly certain that great poetry has inspired people to do great things. The poet is necessarily an inspirer or an illuminator. Poetry is a catalyst. If a single poetic line inspires people with genuine utility-oriented talents to do great things that help humanity at large, then poetry serves its purpose as does the poet. However, it is not the poet’s business to do things. Poets lead a life of conceit where doing worldly/mundane/utilitarian things is anathema.
This is why Ghalib endures.
For someone who writes a verse or two or a dozen perhaps every other day, today bears no particular significance for me personally. Poetry is not seasonal or a passing observance. It is a way of life just as painting or prose is. I am reminded something I wrote last year which even Ghalib could have said.
मर्ज़ अगर दिल का हो तो
इलाज दिमाग़ का कराना चाहिए
(Marz agar dil ka ho to
Ilaj dimagh ka karana chahiye)
Loosely translates as:
If your heart is afflicted (as in love)
You should treat your head
So here is to Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan aka Ghalib. (27 December 1797—15 February 1869).
