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It wasnt only verses Mirza Ghalib,the poet laureate of the Mughal court,had written more than 800 letters in his lifetime.

It wasnt only verses Mirza Ghalib,the poet laureate of the Mughal court,had written more than 800 letters in his lifetime,his subjects ranging from his domestic help to the war of Independence in 1857. A Delhi-based theatre group called Pierrots Troupe now brings us these letters in a new play called Ghalib Ke Khat,with stage veteran Tom Alter cast as Munshi Hargopal Tafta,the disciple to whom Ghalib addressed most of his letters.

Historians have often fallen back on Ghalibs letters to get an overview of Mughal Delhi but Ghalib himself considered these missives as no more than casual scribbles. To him,they were like SMSes or e-mails since letter-writing in the 19th century was an aesthetic pursuit,full of flamboyant Persian words and decorative phrases. His letters were in Urdu and very personal in tone, says M Sayeed Alam,the director.

But even if he didnt intend them to be so,the letters do give glimpses of an era long past. The hour-long play begins with Ghalibs wife Umraoh reading out from a book of Ghalibs letters to her maid. As she mentions the different people Ghalib had written to,they emerge on the stage to read out the letters they had received, says Alam. After the revolutionaries are crushed by the British in 1857 and the last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar imprisoned in Rangoon,Ghalib laments in a letter: Allah! Allah! Hazaron ka matamdar hoon/ Main maroonga toh mujhko kaun royega. He talks about his mentally challenged brother who had made the mistake of stepping outdoors and was shot dead by the British police. And with grief,he reveals his financial woes after the British stopped his pension Ek paisey ki aamad nahin/bees aadmi roti khaney wale maujood.

Incidentally,the troupe is known for their plays centred around Ghalib. Their repertoire includes Ghalib,Ghalib in New Delhi and the monologue version of Ghalib ke Khat,which they have performed in India and abroad.

The play will be staged today at Sri Ram Centre. Contact: 9810255291; 40506826

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It wasnt only verses Mirza Ghalib,the poet laureate of the Mughal court,had written more than 800 letters in his lifetime.

It wasnt only verses Mirza Ghalib,the poet laureate of the Mughal court,had written more than 800 letters in his lifetime.