'How many remember Ghalib, Faiz, Kabir and Tagore'

In our special series on the India You Didn't Know, eminent painter S H Raza remembers Indian greats Ghalib, Tagore, Faiz and Kabir -- and lauds our inheritance of different forms of Indian classical music.

We Indians have inherited a rich cultural heritage which demands that we study it, understand it and be worthy of it. But when one sees objectively what is happening today, I feel that it is quite a disaster. We are not able to treasure what a truly remarkable heritage we have inherited, at least a majority have failed to do so.

I have stayed in Europe for about 60 years and now I am very happy to have come back home this year. I still cherish fond memories of my childhood in Madhya Pradesh, where my father was a forest officer, and I held a close bond with the tribals there.

I also love travelling to the Ajanta and Ellora caves. But today, I feel a lot of people get carried away with petty and inconsequential things in life. We should go back to our roots and study the Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana, the Bible and Quran. It is not merely about wearing a cross or a kurta pyjama.

How many of us can recall the truly great Hindi and Urdu writers and poets? How many of us remember the works of Ghalib and Faiz, Tagore and Kabir? Not many, I fear.

Unfortunately today, I feel the public at large are more focussed and interested in the things that are so superficial; money is not everything. Yes, one should have it, but it is never the objective of art, religion or culture.

Full report here Rediff

A sneak peek into Ghalib's letters

Come Sunday and Delhiites will have a rare insight into the personal letters that legendary poet Mirza Ghalib wrote to his friends, disciples, relatives and even government authorities.

‘Ghalib Ke Khat’ by Delhi-based Pierrot`s Troupe is unique in the sense that it does not feature the Urdu poet reading or writing his letters.

"Instead the people those received Ghalib`s letters will read them out. His much-celebrated letters are read and reviewed by his wife, Umrao Begum, his maid, Wafadar, and his disciples and friends, including the legendary Har Gopal Taftah," says writer-director of Pierrot`s Troupe, M Sayeed Alam.

"This is also for the first time that Tom Alter is not playing the role of Ghalib in our production. Tom portrays the role of Har Gopal Taftah in this play," Alam told reporters.

Full report here Spicezee

When in doubt, turn to Faiz, Ghalib

At a gathering of Indian and Pakistani businessmen in New Delhi that came to a close Wednesday, May 19, industry leaders from both countries mostly spoke to each other in English as they suggested ways to increase economic ties between the two countries.

But every now and then, when searching for the mot juste, they turned to Urdu and Hindi, and particularly to the couplets of famous Urdu poets like the 20th century’s Faiz Ahmed Faiz and the 19th century’s Mirza Ghalib, whose work is part of the courtly tradition of mushaira, a form of competitive but friendly spoken word shared by Pakistan and northern India.

Former Pakistani finance minister Shahid Javed Burki drew many laughs with an Urdu colloquialism about fools that he used when speaking about the difficulties that Indian and Pakistani leaders face in taking steps towards each other that might play badly in the news at home.

Wajid Jawad, managing director of Pakistani garment manufacturer Associated Industries, quoted not one but two couplets during his talk on the textile trade, repeating what he had said to a Pakistani journalist about his feelings just ahead of his upcoming trip to New Delhi.

Full report here WSJ

Why did Ghalib’s death anniversary pass unnoticed?

February 15 passed as an ordinary day — unnoticed, unclaimed and unsung. It was the day on which the famous Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib died 141 years ago. The poet that set new trends in Urdu poetry.

Noted Urdu critic and philosopher Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui termed it a general apathy among the literati and men of letters who ignored the death anniversary of the great poet. He mentioned Idara Yaadgar-e-Ghalib (Ghalib Library) at Nazimabad that has become inert after the death of Mushfiq Khwaja. Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu Pakistan, according to Dr Siddiqui, should have commemorated the day but it has become a dormant body, having hardly 58 members.

“It is lamentable that even literary figures don’t remember the great poets and writers of the past. Only one television channel showed the portrait of the poet with two or three of his couplets. It is not enough, but still encouraging because other channels did not even bother to mention him on his death anniversary,” Dr Siddiqui said.

Full report here News