Mirza Ghalib is the greatest Urdu Poet. His poetry is still relevant 150 years after his death. He wrote in both Urdu and Persian and although his Persian Divan is many times longer than his Urdu Divan, his fame rests on his poetry in Urdu. Ghalib remains popular not only in the Indian subcontinent but also among the Hindustani diaspora around the world.
Haiñ aur bhī duniyā meñ suḳhan-var bahut achchhe
kahte haiñ ki ‘ġhālib’ kā hai andāz-e-bayāñ aur
Mirza Ghalib’s looks at the world as if it is a playground where everyone is busy in some mundane activity and merrymaking rather than aspiring for something of greater value.
bāzīcha-e-atfāl hai duniyā mire aage
hotā hai shab-o-roz tamāshā mire aage
I am quoting Ali Haider Nazm Tabatabai,
“Before Ghalib, the ghazal was primarily an expression of anguished love; but Ghalib expressed philosophy, the travails and mysteries of life and wrote ghazals on many other subjects, vastly expanding the scope of the ghazal.”
