A 42-foot-long mural of prominent Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib, aimed at debunking his Bollywood-promoted image as a drunken and depressed poet, was unveiled in Nagpada on Monday evening.
The mural now dons the facade of the Padmakar Tukaram Mane garden in Nagpada. Coincidentally, the garden also has a children’s playground and Ghalib, in one of his most famous couplets, had said, “ Baazicha-e-atfal hai duniya mere aagey; hota hai shab-o-roz tamasha mere aage [This world is like a children’s playground in front of me, where I see a new show (of human behaviour) day and night].”
Born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, he was popularly known by his pen name ‘Ghalib’, which is the Urdu word for overpowering. He was born in Agra in 1797 and later shifted to what is now known as Old Delhi, where he died in 1869 in the Ballimaran area.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sanctioned the mural, which has been created after several months of hard work by artists Tushar Shinde and Damodar Aware. Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, local corporator Rais Shaikh, lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar and other political dignitaries were present at the inauguration.
Up close and personal
Mr. Mehta said, “Along with the construction of roads, bridges and other public amenities, the BMC also shoulders the responsibility of maintaining the culture, heritage and music of the country. The construction of this mural is one such example.” Mr. Shaikh said, “This is a way of providing people with a chance to know about the great poet and his works.”
The unveiling was followed by a cultural programme at Veer Jijamata Udyan in Byculla, where tributes were paid to the poet. The significance of the mural, which depicts two important phases in Ghalib’s life, was discussed as one of his most famous ghazals, “ dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai (What is wrong with you, O innocent heart?)” played in the background.
The mural displays Ghalib at the mushaira at the Red Fort in the presence of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as well as the 1857 mutiny, in which Ghalib lost his family members. Ghalib is said to have recited several of his verses and couplets in Zafar’s court, many of which were later made famous as ghazals by popular Sufi singers such as Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Sabri Brothers of Pakistan.
Bollywood’s most recent tribute to Ghalib was seen in the 2014 movie Kick, in which actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui played an antagonist who recited Ghalib’s verses while performing evil deeds.
Mr. Akhtar engaged in a dialogue with Hindi and Urdu playwright Javed Siddiqui, where the history and significance of Urdu as a language was discussed. Mr. Akhtar said, “Urdu as a language was alienated at the time of Independence, but it can never be kept apart as it originated from India. Ghalib is relevant in every era. Be it the confusion or the problems of life, one can always find the solution in the poems of Ghalib. Also, Ghalib was a personality which could only exist in India, because the language has its roots in the country.”
