Mirza Ghalib was a great egotist: Gulzar

Gulzar, who attributes his poetry to Mirza Ghalib, feels the legendary poet was a great egotist and enjoyed being different from others.

"He was a great egotist and he knew that and perhaps revelled in it. I think he deserved to have that arrogance. He insisted on writing in Urdu while other poets preferred Persian and Ghalib was proud that he was writing in the language of people," Gulzar, who was here to launch Pavan Kumar Varma's book Ghalib, told reporters.

As a tribute, Gulzar has commissioned a bust of the poet to commemorate his 214th birth anniversary on December 27 when it will be installed at Ghalib's Gali Qasim Jaan home in Chandni Chowk.

"Delhi has statues and busts of so many politicians. But what about our artistes," he asked.


"The bust (of Ghalib) was made on the basis of a portrait by former president Zakir Hussain. There are not many pictures of Ghalib. He had a photo of him, which sold at Rs 2, a huge amount at that time," he said.

Gulzar will also take part in the annual candle march from the Townhall to Gali Qasim Jaan on the eve of Ghalib's birthday.

"Ghalib is very important for everyone. You should know about him even if you are not familiar with his language. I don't say that you don't teach Shakespeare in courses but introduce Ghalib, Premchand, Tagore, Kalidas and Bashir," he said.

Gulzar said he was not sure that what he was doing will bring any positive changes.

"I am not sure that things will change or people will start reading Ghalib after we do this candle march but I will carry on doing whatever I can. I also don't believe that we should drag government in it. The public should come forward and if their voice is strong enough, government will be forced to do their bit," Gulzar said.

The lyricist-director, who took retirement from directing movies to devote time on books, said the idea behind making a serial on Ghalib in 1988 was to introduce people to the poet, who is known for his way with words and emotions.

"His poems, his lifestyle, his behaviour everything are a great inspiration. At a time when people used to carry their religion on their shoulders Ghalib talked about humanity. The man lost seven children and carried a huge sadness inside him but despite that he was known for his sense of humour," Gulzar added.

Author Pavan Kumar Varma said that he decided to write a book on Ghalib after he failed to get anything on the poet in Delhi.

"We don't take pride in our heritage. Ghalib was the soul of Delhi. He was the metaphor of the city's history and culture but things related to him continue to disappear. Through a movement we have been able to salvage part of his house, which was converted into a museum in 2001," he said.