Mirza Ghalib's connections with Kolkata

November 02, 2021

Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan (27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869) also known by the pen names of Ghalib and Asad was an Indian poet who wrote in Urdu and Persian and is renowned for his work Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula.

His works describes the fall of the Mughal empire, the establishment of the British East India Company Rule and the Sepoy mutiny – the political scenario during his lifetime.

Mirza Ghalib was born in Kala Mahal, Agra into a family of Mughals who moved to Samarkand (in modern-day Uzbekistan) after the downfall of the Seljuk kings. At the age of thirteen, Ghalib married Umrao Begum, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh and settled at Delhi.

He visited Kolkata to appeal to the East India Company to restore the full pension in lieu of his family estate annexed by the British.

Ghalib had left for Kolkata on November 1826 and reached the capital of British India in February 1828. In one of his couplets, he had written: “Triumphant we reached Calcutta and washed away the scar of distance from loved ones with wine”.

In his numerous letters from Kolkata, Ghalib has referred to places like Simla Bazar, Gol talab (now Hedua Park) and Chitpur Bazar.

He is said to have visited visited the Kathal Bagan mosque on Dr Lal Mohan Bhattacharya road (Sealdah) and the Calcutta Madrasah College.

As per Srijato, who has written on Ghalib “Even today when I read him today, I feel he was way ahead of his times”.

The highly westernized ambience of the 19^th century Calcutta had left a strong impact upon him.

At the request of Maulvi Sirajuddin Ahmad whom he had befriended while at Kolkata, Ghalib composed ‘Gul-e ra’na’ – a selection that is evenly split between 455 Urdu and 455 Persian verses.

He left Kolkata in August 1829. Although his petition case remained unresolved, Ghalib cherished fond memories of Kolkata and wrote “One should be grateful that such a city exists. Where else in the world is there a city so refreshing?”

Indian cinema paid tribute to the legendary poet through a film (in sepia/black and white) named Mirza Ghalib (1954).

Almost 190 years after Mirza Ghalib visited Kolkata, the city offered tributes in a week-long celebration titled Bayaad-e-Ghalib (Remembering Ghalib), on the International Mother Language Day organised by the West Bengal Urdu Academy.