The Famous Ghalib: The Sound of My Moving Pen

Ralph Russel, Marion Molteno

• Publisher: Roli Books
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9789351940982
• eBook ISBN: 9789351940982
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Collections
• Index: Literature

'Easily the best Urdu scholar in the West.' Shamsur Rehman Farouqi'Marion Molteno has mined a substantial corpus of Russell's writings to string together his most valuable insights into the genre of ghazal... to prepare the uninitiated reader for the final feast of Ghalib's ghazals in English translation. And what a magnificent feast it is!' M. Asaduddin, Jamia Millia IslamiaThe second edition of Ralph Russell's critically acclaimed The Famous Ghalib has been put together according to guidance left by the author/translator before his death in 2008.This book introduces Ghalib to anyone who wants to find out why his poetry has inspired generations of Urdu speakers and many others besides. It explains the form of poetry in which Ghalib wrote, and how he used its symbolism to express his response both to the universal experiences of life and to the times that he himself lived through. With over 200 couplets in Ralph Russell's translations, alongside the original Urdu – and also transcribed using both English and Hindi scripts, this is a must have for all poetry lovers.The translations are as concise as the original, matching Ghalib's intensity with words chosen to convey precise meaning; and they do this in English which flows naturally and with unobtrusive poetic metre.

THE FAMOUS

Ghalib

The Sound of My
Moving Pen

Ralph Russell (1918-2008) has been widely recognized as the greatest western scholar of Urdu. Khushwant Singh described him as ‘much the most revered name of interpreters of Ghalib’s life and works’. For over thirty years he headed the Urdu department at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and throughout his life regularly spent time in both India and Pakistan, writing, working with fellow scholars and as a popular lecturer. After his retirement he pioneered the teaching of Urdu to English speakers in communities across the UK, to encourage greater mutual understanding between people of different backgrounds. His unusual skill as a translator and his insightful writing have opened up an appreciation of Urdu literature to a wide range of readers.

Also by Ralph Russell

The Oxford India Ghalib

Ghalib: Life and letters (with Khurshidul Islam)

Ghalib, the poet and his age

Three Mughal Poets: Mir, Sauda, Mir Hasan (with Khurshidul Islam)

The Pursuit of Urdu Literature: A Select History

An Anthology of Urdu Literature

How not to write the History of Urdu literature

Autobiography:

Vol 1: Findings Keepings (1918-1946)

Vol 2: Losses Gains (1945-1958)

In appreciation of Ralph Russell’s writing on Urdu literature

‘Easily the best Urdu scholar in the West.’

Shamsur Rahman Farouqi, Allahabad

‘A superb translator… the best introductory book to put in the hands of any student interested in Urdu poetry.’

C.M. Naim, University of Chicago

‘A masterly introduction to the Urdu language’s greatest poet.’

Bhupinder Singh, Sunday Tribune

‘Those uninitiated in the tradition of ghazals will find this immensely enjoyable.’

Shams Afif Siddiqi, The Telegraph

‘A veritable feast for connoisseurs of poetry and students of literature alike.’

A.J. Thomas, Deccan Herald

‘Urdu literature has gained immensely from his perspective of an outsider not born to the language.’

Mohammed Asaduddin, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi

‘No one in the West today speaks with such authority about Urdu or is better able to communicate its pleasures to those who do not read the language.’

Francis Robinson, Times Literary Supplement, London

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This digital edition published in 2016

First published in 2016 by

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eISBN: 978-93-5194-121-7

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THE FAMOUS

Ghalib

The Sound of My
Moving Pen

GHAZALS SELECTED AND EXPLAINED BY

Ralph Russell

REVISED EDITION

Marion Molteno

‘These themes I write of come into my mind from the unseen Ghalib, the sound my moving pen makes is an angel’s voice’

Contents

Foreword

PART 1

GHALIB AND HIS POETRY

•Ghalib and the ghazal

• Love, mysticism and dedication

•Images and symbols

• Poetic symbolism and the poet’s experience

•A poet in Mughal Delhi

•Poets against fundamentalists

•Ghalib’s personal philosophy

•Ghalib on his poetry

PART 2

Selections from Ghalib’s ghazals

Appendices:

Index to verses

Poetic vocabulary

Editor’s note

About the editor

Foreword

This book is for anyone who has heard that Ghalib is a great poet and wants to find out why his poetry has inspired generations of Urdu speakers and many others besides. You may have tried reading some of it in translation but found it didn’t make much sense to you. Or you may have listened to his...

Table of contents

• Ghalib