Shahzad Ahmed Ansari Encyclopaedia on Mirza Ghalib

Annotation

Ghalib was one of the founders of the modern Urdu ghazal. He received limited recognition in his lifetime, but with the passage of time he has been acknowledged as an absolute master of his art. He has become the most quoted Urdu poet. His poetry has an unresistable charm and beauty. It has with irony and a wealth of human experience. His diction can be sweet and simple or so complex and pregnant with meaning that it lends itself to multiple inter-pretations. This is the mark of a true genius. The poetry of Ghalib is analysed by putting together verses scattered through the Diwan concerning different subjects and using various Sufi symbols. The philosophy, sensibility and the world view of Ghalib are thus defined in a new way. The book captures evocatively the spirit of the man and the essence of the times he lived in.