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Journalism of Courage
Mirza Ghalib the poet extraordinnaire,husband,lover and a nawab had devoted his life to the muses. But when he looked back from his deathbed,was it with pride,sorrow or regret? The Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA),considered among the oldest theatre groups in the country,is celebrating its 50th anniversary by revisiting Ghalibs last days in
Aetraaf-e-Ghalib. The play,which premiered two years ago,is now being presented with a fresh perspective,says director Aziz Quraishi.
In Aetraaf-e-Ghalib,he is an old man ill,lonely and in total poverty. In a series of flashbacks,he looks back at various episodes in his life and begins to judge himself, says Laxmana Dalmia,treasurer of IPTA,about the poet,whose works became famous only posthumously.
In the 90-minute-long play,which strings together events from Ghalibs life ,the poet recalls how his wife would complain that his poems were only about his mistress and never about her,even as his mistress complained how she could never become his wife.
Besides,Ghalib also emerges as something of a split personality as he is caught between the poet and the nawab in him, says Quraishi,adding that it was a deliberate choice to have different actors present the three aspects of Ghalib that of a poet,a nawab and an old man. Quraishi himself enacts the role of the old Ghalib. Based on the poets letters,the play is also layered with his ghazals.
Aetraaf-e-Ghalib will be staged at Zakir Hussain Delhi College on Feb 13,India
Islamic Cultural Centre on Feb 14,and Azad Bhavan on Feb 15. It will also be telecast on Doordarshan from Feb 12 to 14.
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