Poetic Justice

Urdu is considered the language of poets,the language of ‘tehzeeb’ or courtly manners. Strongly influenced by Turkish,Arabic and Persian,some of the greatest lyrics and compositions of India have been written in this language,which is most widely spoken in Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Jharkhand,Andhra Pradesh,Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. Among the poets,quite a few stand out,but one of the most popular and influential poets was Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan,better known by his pen name,Mirza Ghalib.Witness to the end of the era of the Mughals,Ghalib,who lived his life in Delhi,penned many ghazals,usually pertaining to subjects of love and philosophy. He also wrote extensively about the ultimately failed Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Now,in an attempt to breath new life into the slowly dying language of Urdu,the Muslim Welfare Education Society,in association with the F.B.Foundation and the Rasik Mitra Mandal staged a play based on Ghalib’s life on Wednesday,entitled Mirza Ghalib ki Haveli.

“The play incorporates a lot of Ghalib’s own life into it,” says Mujeeb Khan,director of the play. “The play utilizes his poetry,ghazals and jokes. It shows part of Ghalib’s life that is little known to the general populace.” But this is not the USP of the play. There is something unique about the play,which Khan explains,saying,“In the play,Mirza Ghalib’s haveli is a character in its own right. The idea came from newspaper reports stating that Mirza Ghalib’s house in Delhi has fallen into disrepair. Ideally,the home of such a great man should be well preserved,and that’s when we realised that his house was a metaphor for the native languages of India,which have reached their peak but are slowly decaying.”

“The play is an attempt to spread popularity about Urdu,especially among the youth. Once the language was widely spoken,but it is slowly falling into disuse,” says Wahib Diyabani of the Muslim Welfare Education Society. Khan adds,“Urdu was the language of not only Ghalib,but great men like Nehru and Premchand. And its not only Urdu,but all the languages of India that are slowly starting to fade away.” He strongly feels that the death of a language spells the end of a culture.

Another interesting part about the play is that for the first time,a poet,Ibrahim Ashq,will play the role of Mirza Ghalib. Khan says,“Only a poet can understand the emotions of a poet,which is why we felt Ashq was perfect for the part. He also has a lot of reflections of Ghalib in himself,for example,they are both shayars.”

Ashq himself is honoured to be playing the role of Ghalib. “Mirza Ghalib is one of the most revered poets in Urdu. I too am a poet,and for me,to play out the life of one of the most famous members of my fraternity is like a dream come true. Yeh to sone par suhaga ho gaya,” he exclaims.