One of the best-known Urdu poets of all times, Mirza Ghalib is a name that is synonymous with Urdu poetry. Born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, Ghalib was a pen name he adopted. It is like a pseudonym that most poets and writers adopt in the literary world. The life history of Ghalib is truly interesting and Ghalib biography indeed makes a good read. Ghalib was born in Agra, India in Turkish aristocratic ancestry on 27th December 1796.
Not much is known about Ghalib's education and it has always confused scholars, as there are no written records of his forma education and early life. However, it is said that his friends were some of the most respected and intelligent people of Delhi. He got married at a very young age in a noble family around the year 1810. It is said that Ghalib had seven children, but sadly none of them survived. This pain has found its way into his poetry. His spouse was a contrasting personality when compared to him. She was a god fearing and a very reserved person as compared to Ghalib who was a carefree and unrestricted person.
It is said that Ghalib had a weakness for drinking and gambling. These two vices were something that he was truly fond of in his lifetime. Though gambling was considered an offence at that time, Ghalib never seemed to have bothered about it. He himself said that he was not a strict Muslim in the true sense of the term. Ghalib also had a scandalous affair with a courtesan who was a fan of his poetry. In fact, one can find a record of an FIR filed against Ghalib in a police station in Delhi regarding his affair with the woman. Ghalib never strived for earning a decent livelihood and led his life on the generosity of his friends or state sponsorship. Though no one gave him due importance then, fame came much later. Today, he is the most written about poet and the most read poet in Urdu. On February 15th 1869, this great poet breathed his last.
Most notably, he wrote several ghazals during his life, which have since been interpreted and sung in many different ways by different people. He is considered to be the most dominating poet of the Urdu language.
Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan was." A free-thinking Muslim who lived in the tumult of increasingly colonized India, Ghalib’s poetry of praise for God and creation is marked by an attitude that, while not disbelieving, acknowledging how the Great One can disappoint. The poems are full of unrequited loves and unanswered prayers, and Ghalib’s voice is wry and rueful as he examines the role of illusion in faith and romance. In "The Candle That Has Gone Out," he describes the Garden of Paradise as "a bouquet on the bedstead of forgetfulness."
