Thanks to the good offices of Francesca Orsini, and the generosity of Alok Rai and his family, we now have access to a print of what was apparently the only photo ever made of Ghalib. This is such a moving and fascinating glimpse of him! We owe a real debt of gratitude to the owners of the photo for making this scan available. - Francis Pritchett, Jan. 2010
{1,1}*
naqsh faryaadii hai kis kii sho;xii-e ta;hriir kaa
kaa;Ga;zii hai pairahan har paikar-e ta.sviir kaa
نقش فریادی ہے کس کی شوخیِ تحریر کا
کاغذی ہے پیرہن ہر پیکرِ تصویر کا
naqsh faryaadii hai kis kii sho;xii-e ta;hriir kaa
kaa;Ga;zii hai pairahan har paikar-e ta.sviir kaa
the image/painting is a plaintiff– about whose mischievousness of writing?
of paper is the robe of every figure of the picture
I’m a HUGE fan of Ghalib.. and of the Urdu language. btw, I’m a Bengali Hindu, but that doesn’t stop me from worshipping Ghalib. here are a few lines from the genius:
safinaa jab ki kinaare pe aa laga ghalib,
Khuda se kyaa situm-o-zaure nakhuda kahiye.
(when the boat has reached the shore,
why complain that the boatman was unjust?)
looking at this photo is like looking at a photograph of God Himself.
Btw, I’d like to know the history behind this photograph. who took this photograph? If i ever had a chance to meet the guy (which i know I’ll never have), I’d have kissed his hand a thousand times for leaving behind such a priceless treasure for posterity.
Thank you for the impassioned, heartening comments! I myself am quite a devotee of Ghalib and try not to miss a chance where personal experience or another individual’s insight brings any of his verses to life.