Ghalib 1797-1869: Life and Letters (Oxford India Paperbacks) - Softcover

Ralph Russell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019563506X ISBN 13: 9780195635065

Publisher: OUP India, 1994

Synopsis

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869), noble, poet, and wit of Mughal Delhi in the twilight years before the crushing of the revolt of 1857 finally extinguished Mughal power, has long been possibly the most famous and the most popular of the poets of Urdu and Persian that the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent has produced. His frankness, his humorous good nature, and his cheerfully avowed unorthodoxy with regard to the more irksome formalities of his Muslim religion, made him something of a legend even in his own lifetime. Collections of his numerous letters to his friends were published just before his death, and not many years later his friend and younger contemporary Hali wrote his Memoir of Ghalib, itself one of the classics of Urdu literature. Hitherto very little of Ghalib has appeared in English, and that little has circulated almost entirely within India and Pakistan. The present volume consists in the main of translations from Hali's Memoir, Ghalib's Persian and Urdu letters, his diary of the revolt of 1857, and other materials. These materials are arranged, with the minimum of connective narrative, to tell the story of his life.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869), noble, poet, and wit of Mughal Delhi in its twilight years before the revolt of 1857, is the most famous and popular of the Urdu poets that the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent has produced. His frankness, his humorous good nature, and his cheerfully avowed unorthodoxy with regard to the more irksome formalities of his Muslim religion, made him something of a legend even in his own lifetime. Collections of his numerous letters to his friends were published just before his death, and not many years later his friend and younger contemporary Hali wrote his Memoir of Ghalib, itself one of the classics of Urdu literature. The present volume consists in the main of translations from Hali's Memoir, Ghalib's Persian and Urdu letters, his diary of the revolt of 1857, and other materials. These materials are arranged to tell the story of his life.

About the Author:

Ralph W. Russell received his MA in Finance from the University of Michigan. he has been a Certified Financial Planner for more than 15 years, and has had his own firm for almost 10 years. Mr. Russell lives with his wife and son in a western suburb of Chicago.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP India
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 019563506X
• ISBN 13: 9780195635065
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 404
• Editor: Ralph Russell, Khurshidul Islam