Ghalib: The Man, the TimesA brilliant biography of nineteenth century India's greatest poet.Mirza Mohammad Asadullah Khan Ghalib began writing poetry in Persian at the age of nine and the pre-eminent poet of the time, Mir, predicted a great future for the precocious genius when he was shown his verse... But success and material rewards did not come to Ghalib easily for the times were against him, and he did not suffer fools gladly even if they occupied positions of importance. Ghalib was at the height of his powers when events took a turn for the worse. First came the decline of the Mughal court, then the rise of the British Empire and, finally, the Revolt of 1857. Though Ghalib lived through the upheavals and purges of the Revolt, in which many of his contemporaries and friends died, and his beloved Delhi was symmetrically and irrevocably changed, he was a broken man and longed for death. When he died, on 15 February 1869, he left behind some of the most vivid accounts of the events of the period ever written. In this path-breaking biography Pavan K. Varma captures evocatively the spirit of the man and the essence of the times he lived in. |
Contents
Preface | 8 |
The City of Good Living | 40 |
A Turbulent Genius | 86 |
Copyright | |
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acceptance Agra Ahmad Baksh Khan Ahmed Buksh Khan Akbar Akbar Shah II appears Assud Bahadur Shah Zafar Bazaar Beg Khan Bombay British British officials British Resident C.F. Andrews Calcutta Chandni Chowk Chief Secretary claim couplets courtesan cultural Dastanbuy death Delhi College Diwan-i-Ghalib Emily Bayley English favour feudal Fraser Ghalib wrote Ghalib's Delhi Ghazals Ghazals of Ghalib Government Governor Governor-General Hakim Hali Hawkins Hindu honour Hyder Ibid India Jafri Jama Masjid Kaaba Kashmiri Gate later letter life-style literary lived Loharu Lord Lake Lordship Lucknow matter Maulvi Metcalfe Mirza Momin Mughal court Mughal emperor Mughal king mushairah Muslim Nawab never nobility Nussur Oolla palace pension Persian Ghazals perwanah petitioner poet poetic poetry political praise qasida Rampur Red Fort remained Revolt royal rulers rupees sense sepoys shagird Shamsuddin social tariqah tion trans Tufta walls wine write Yusuf Hussain Zakaullah Zauq