Letters of Ghalib

Ghalib in Nastaliq

The Letters of Ghalib were written by Mirza Ghalib, a gifted letter writer. He wrote Urdu poetry prose. His letters gave foundation to easy and popular Urdu. Before Ghalib, Urdu letters were highly ornamental. He made his letters "talk" by using words and sentences as if he were conversing with the reader. According to him Sau kos se ba-zaban-e-qalam baatein kiya karo aur hijr mein visaal ke maze liya karo.

His letters were very informal, sometimes he just wrote the name of the person and started the letter. One letter used a literature basis. They have been translated into English by Ralph Russell, The Oxford Ghalib.

Ghalib was a chronicler of a turbulent period. One by one, Ghalib saw the bazaars – Khas Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Kharam-ka Bazaar, disappear, whole mohallas (localities) and katras (lanes) vanish. The havelis (mansions) of his friends were razed. Ghalib wrote that Delhi had become a desert. Water was scarce. Delhi was now “ a military camp”. It was the end of the feudal elite to which Ghalib had belonged. He wrote:

"An ocean of blood churns around me-
Alas! Were these all!
The future will show
What more remains for me to see."