ASAD - 100

Originally posted on rec.music.indian.misc in 1997

Another milestone in the series :-) And once again, keeping with the tradition (!) it's time to look at a sher by GHalib and also a sher about Ghalib. Cool ! No problem. :-)

Before presenting a sher, thanks to all who have supported the series, sent their comments, suggested other interpretations, pointed out mistakes, added their knowledge and all such things. Thanks a lot !

How would one describe Ghalib ? I am sure different people will have different ideas about it. One of the main qualities I absolutely adore in his Poetry is his use of Logic ! No other poet can come close to him, in that aspect. In fact, if there is any candidate from the world of poetry to be included in Douglas Hofstadter's Eternal Golden Braid, then it has to be Ghalib. As Ansari Mohsin said in his mail, "The man is incredible. A lesson in logic, creativity, and magic". Very apt !

Logic leads to philosophy. And philosophy requires questioning. Which, too, is abundant in GHalib's poetry. I could go on and on, but to illustrate this nature of Ghalib's poetry, let me present a sher by Ghalib himself.

It's a prophecy which came true ...

hui muddat, ki 'GHalib' mar gaya, par yaad aata hai,
wah har ek baat par kehna, "ki yoN hota, to kya hota ?" !

How do I praise this Sher ? How do I ?
Isn't this sher true ? Isn't it SO TRUE ? Hasn't this very ability to question made AsadulaakhaN into Ghalib ? Don't we remember him as a "philosopher poet" ? I have no words to describe what I feel, when I read this sher again and again. Again and again.

Ghalib has captured his entire poetry - his self - into just one sher !

With these feelings of devotion, we complete the century of this series.

- Abhay.
ASAD _also_ stands for "A Sher A Day" !