Mirza Ghalib

If you are a fan of Urdu poetry and haven’t had a chance to read Ghalib may be it is the time to do that. Understanding Ghalib is no easy task, though. You may not the get the real context what he wants to say in the verse. That is where some translation helps. Most of the translations from Urdu to English do kill the real essence but Love Sonnets of Ghalib (Translated by Sarfaraz Niazi) doesn’t do that. I think it is the best reference out there on Diwan-e-Ghalib; at least in English. It is a must have for any Ghalib poetry lover especially people for whom Urdu is not the native language. But I am sure people having Urdu as their native language will also enjoy reading the translations. He provides with the verse translation first and then goes on to explain the context of that verse in detail. Reading Ghalib from this book has been an absolute pleasure. ...

Beauty of Mirza Ghalib aa k meri jaan mein qaraar nahi hai taaqat-e- bedaad-e-intezaar nahi hai (bedaad=injustice) dete hain jannat hayaat-e- dahar k badle nasha ba-andaaza-e-khumar nahi hai (hayat=life, dahar=world) giriya nikaale hai teri bazm se mujh ko haaye k rone pe ikhtiyar nahi hai (giriya=crying, ikhtiyar=control) ham se abas hai gumaan-e-ranjish-e-khaatir khaak mein ushshaq ki gubaar nahi hai (abas=indifferent, gumaan=suspicion, ushshaq=lovers, gubaar=clouds of dust) dil se utha lutf-e-jalva haaye maani gair-e- gul aaina-e-bahar nahi hai (gul=rose) ...

A beauty by Ghulam Ali. First a little bit about history of this ghazal. It was originally written by Mirza Ghalib in Persian. Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum translated it to Punjabi and then Ghulam Ali added to the beauty by rendering it with perfection. Enjoy the masterpiece from the legends: mere shauq da nahi aitbaar tainu aaja vekh mera intezaar a ja avein laran bahanane labhna en ki tu sochna en sitamgaar a ja mere shauq da nahi aitbaar tainu… (sitamgaar - oppressor) ...