More than 150 years have passed since he last drew breath, but his verse lives on. Having written his first poem at age 11, Mirza Asadullah Khan ‘Ghalib’ ushered in a revolution in Urdu literature with his stirring verses.
Born in Agra in 1797, he rose to become a crown jewel of the court of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. A gifted poet, he wrote extensively in Persian and Urdu.
Over the decades, his works have inspired countless plays, songs and movies.
Take this quiz to see how much you really know ‘Ghalib’.
(Quiz compiled by Vartika Singh)
Ghalib is a grossly overhyped poet. So is Mir Taqi Mir.
This usually happens when there are vey few quality poets in a language. The ones that are, get hyped up and acquire a larger than life image.
Urdu literature and poetry pales in comparison to the literary oeuvre of most Indian languages including, but not limited to, Assamese.