Over 500 rare manuscripts, including original letters by Mirza Ghalib, rare sketches called Murraq-e-Chughtai by famous Pakistani poet Abdur Rahman, the original collection of Ghalib’s verses called Diwan-e-Ghalib, Diwan-e-Meer and much more constitute the historic Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Library at Ghalib Institute in Mata Sundari Lane.
Most of Ghalib’s collections were burnt by the British during the 1857 Mutiny. Among the ones left, one of his writings in the library reads, “ Allah Allah Dilli Na Rahi, Chavni Hai, Na qila, na shaher, na bazar, na nahar; Qissa mukhtasar – shahar Sahra ho gaya...” (Oh Lord! Delhi turns into a cantonment, devoid of cities, markets, rivers and forts).
The library was founded with the institute in 1969 by Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, the fifth President of Independent India along with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Dr. Zakir Hussain. Over 25,000 rare books and research materials on Ghalib and his contemporaries overlook rare paintings and photographs. Mr. Ahmad was its first secretary while Indira Gandhi was the first chairperson.
“It is not a public library, but a research library where students from India, Pakistan, Central Asia, the U.S. and England come. It has been a favourite hub for poets like Majrooh Sultanpuri, Amrita Pritam, Qurratulain Haider, Sardar Ali Jafri and so on. It came into being on the eve of the 100 death anniversary of Mirza Ghalib in 1969. It has the richest classical collection of the history and cultural heritage of the world from the 17, 18 and 19 Centuries in Urdu and Persian, including 1,500 books only on Ghalib in Persian, Urdu, Hindi, and English,” said Syed Raza Haider, director of the Ghalib Institute.
At 11 a.m. on Saturday, the library will see the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Memorial Lecture by eminent historian Professor Irfan Habib on the “Interpretations of the History of the Indian National Movement”.
