Reading Notes W9: Ghalib, Part B

Ghalib is a seminal poet in India and Pakistan with his works gaining more influence as the years pass by. His work is regarded as difficult, although he is well known and quoted among-st the common public as stated in the following context section from The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume E: "Despite the fact that he is a difficult poet, his phrases, images, and ideas have become part of the common speech of Undu and Hindi, which are closely inter-related languages. He wrote haunting love poems in a style that still seems contemporary, and his words and emotions are on the lips of young and old lovers everywhere on the subcontinent" (587). Ghalib suffered through a series of hardships ranging from professional to personal, including the loss of 7 chidlren with his wife as evidenced in the following, "His personal and family life also proved to be deeply unhappy during this period. He and his wife had seven children, but none survived beyond the age of fifteen month, a cycle of tragedies that contributed to their emotional alienation from each other" (587-588); which surely aided in the subjects of his literary works. Ghalib's poem "I've Made My Home Next Door to You" grabbed my attention which the two versions provided represented the relation between lovers and human/god. It's interesting to note the original language Urdu version features the ability to represent both themes simultaneously; "is represented in two parallel translations, one rendering the ghazal as a "secular" piece (a lover's plea and complaint), and the other highlighting the same text as a "sacred" poem (about Love between God and human beings); the original conveys both meanings simultaneously, which is impossible to achieve in a single English version" (590).

Ghalib. "I've made my home next door to you" The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume E. 587-593.