Urdu poetry lovers across the world are celebrating this month, as an incredibly rare manuscript written by one of the most famous Urdu poets of all time is finally published. The previously undiscovered Mirza Ghalib manuscript is now widely available both in print and digital formats, with twice the number of verses that were originally published in the Divan that has been treasured and loved by Urdu poetry fans for so long.

The discovery of the new manuscript has been nothing short of a revolution for the world of Urdu poetry, and poetry in general. With almost one thousand ‘lost‘ verses written by Ghalib, as well as notes from his own hand in the margins, those who have known and loved Ghalib’s words are now rejoicing at the publication of this enormous body of work.

Shahab Sattar, publisher of the rare manuscript comments, “The publication of these missing verses means an enormous amount of Ghalib fans – that cannot be overstated. With thousands of new lines and hundreds of pages of new verses, with notes from Ghalib’s own hand, fans are now given an unparalleled glimpse into this poet’s true genius.”

Sattar adds, “We’re always urging Urdu poetry fans, scholars and academics to rediscover the magic of Ghalib’s work, and now they have the perfect opportunity to immerse themselves in his talent once more. We hope this new publication will reopen much of the discussion and debate that has died down in recent years regarding Ghalib’s poetry, and we’re thrilled that a new generation will now get to discover his work, thanks to the attention this new manuscript has drawn.”

The newly-published manuscript is now available from a multitude of retailers, including Amazon, Apple iBooks, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace and the Kindle Store. The book can be purchased in paperback format, or it can be downloaded in a digital format for use on a whole manner of devices, from smartphones to e-readers. The new edition contains a dynamic new foreword by Mehr Afshan Farooqi, as well as a lengthy introduction discussing the enormous impact of Ghalib’s works, and why his words are still cherished across the globe today.

Fans of Urdu poetry are being invited to rediscover the magic of Mirza Ghalib through a plethora of previously ‘unknown’ verses of ghazals which have now been published.

Available in paperback format, as well as an online download which can be read on Kindles, tablets, smartphones and laptops, there’s nothing standing in the way of avid Ghalib fans who want to consume his entire works for the first time. Featuring twice the number of verses that were published in the original Divan, this brand new edition is allowing fans to rediscover the words of the most famous Urdu poet of all time, as well as opening up his lost verses to a new era of discussion, debate and conversation.

Shahab Sattar, publisher of this unique manuscript comments, “It’s an enormously exciting time to be a fan of Urdu poetry right now. The publication of this revolutionary new edition reveals hundreds of new verses that have never been previously seen by the general public, igniting discussion and giving fans a deeper insight into one of the most famous poets of all time.”

Shahab adds, “To reflect the enormity of this publication, we’ve ensured that it’s available in as many formats as possible, to ensure that no Ghalib fans or academics are at risk of missing out. The new edition is available in paperback, and also in a digital format that can be read on tablets, e-readers and smartphones.”

The new publication comes from a unique manuscript which was originally discovered 50 years of Ghalib’s death. Filled with ‘rejected verses’ that never made it to Ghalib’s “official” publication of his Divan, the manuscript was also littered with personal notes and additions from Ghalib’s own hand, personalizing the document even further. Now, Ghalib lovers across the world can not only rediscover their love for the great poet with all of the originally published verses – fans can also cement their adoration of this unique talent with more than twice the number of classic ghazals that are now available to read.

The edition is further enhanced with the inclusion of meaningful introduction by Mehr Afshan Farooqi, Associate Professor in the Department of Middle-Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia, USA and a foreword by Shahab Sattar.

Copies, both paperback and digital, are now available to buy from a selection of top retailers, including Amazon, Apple iBooks, Smashwords, CreateSpace and Kindle Store.

For more information about the publication, or to buy a copy today, visit the website: http://www.rediscoverghalib.com/

Fans of Urdu poetry can rejoice, as an incredibly rare Mirza Ghalib manuscript finally goes into publication, with twice the number of verses that were published in the original Divan.

The revolutionary discovery of the new manuscript in 1917 sent shockwaves through the world of Urdu literature and poetry, with fans across the world clamouring to see the ‘lost’ verses. For a long time, there was a battle to get the ‘forgotten verses’ published for the wider world to enjoy. Now, Ghalib lovers everywhere can rediscover the works and words of the most famous Urdu poet of all time, with previously unknown Ghazals and a multitude of notes and additions from Ghalib’s own hand.

Shahab Sattar, publisher of this rare manuscript from his personal collection comments, “The initial discovery of the lost manuscript was an incredible find, and we’re thrilled that the lost verses of the greatest Urdu poet can now be released to the world. Of the 1900 verses found in the new document, only 700 were included in the original Divan, meaning Ghalib lovers can now devour more than twice the number of classic verses and ghazals.”

Shahab adds, “The publication of this Divan will change the landscape of known Ghalib poetry and ignite plenty of debate and discussion among academics and fans alike.”

The manuscript in question is said to have been Ghalib’s very own copy, inclusive of the ‘rejected verses’ that never made it to wide circulation, these being omitted by Ghalib in his officially published Divan. Finished when Ghalib was just twenty-four years old, the document wasn’t found and identified until 1918, fifty years after his death, and is known as the Nuskhah-e Bhopal – or the Bhopal manuscript. For many, it was a shock to learn that the “official” published Divan was not a definitive collective of Ghalib’s work, but a mere selection – now, the “expanded” Divan, with most of the forgotten verses included is published and available to buy online in both print & electronic forms.

The unknown poetry found in the unique publication will now be read, studied, discussed, sung and enjoyed, as all of Ghalib’s previous known works have. Copies of the new text are available from a multitude of sources, including Amazon, Apple iBooks, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace and the Kindle Store. The new edition contains an illuminating foreword by Mehr Afshan Farooqi, as well as an introduction discussing the enormous impact of Ghalib’s works, and why his words are still treasured today.

For more information about the publication, or to buy a copy today, visit the website: http://www.rediscoverghalib.com/



Mehr Afshan Farooqi, Associate Professor of Urdu and South Asian Literature at the University of Virginia headed a seminar series about her work on Mirza Ghalib. The first lecture of this seminar series was held on Tuesday, November 24, 2015, titled, From Blood to Ink: The History of Ghalib’s 1821 Divan. Ms. Farooqi discussed Ghalib’s struggle to compile his poetry and displayed pictures of the original manuscript of Ghalib’s Nuskha-e Hamidia. Interestingly, the original Divan had additional verses written in the margins, presumably by Ghalib’s hand.
The second lecture in this series was titled Cultural Exuberance of Metaphor in Ghalib’s Imaginings in the Urdu Ghazal. This lecture focused on Ghalib’s relationship with the Urdu language and how only a part of Ghalib’s work was actually collected and compiled. Currently Mehr Afshan Farooqi is working Ghalib’s rejected verses.
The seminar series was well ended and appreciated by literature aficionados from within and outside LUMS. 

I am ashamed at myself.  Ashamed at the fact that even though I consider myself a serious lover of Ghalib’s poetry from the days of my youth, have read numerous publications on his life’s history & can recite many of his ghazals from memory, I did not realize until I recently came across the Nuskha-e-Hamidiya manuscript that the sublime verses I have cherished from Ghalib’s “official diwan” for nearly three decades were merely half of Ghalib’s work!  I was blissful in the fallacy that Ghalib only wrote only a small number of ghazals compared to his contemporaries, preferring quality over quantity and that his official divan was his total work in Urdu.  Now I realize that I have really missed out on half of this wonderful world due to my own ignorance, shame on me!

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, I find that I am not alone.  After speaking to scores of Ghalib loving friends I realized that almost all of us seem to be in the same boat.  Almost none of my friends had heard of these “additional verses”.  How could this be?  After contacting Dr. Mehr Afshan Farooqi, a leading Ghalib scholar and frequent contributor on Ghalib in various publications like the ‘Dawn’ of Pakistan, I learnt that world of Ghalib scholarship was well aware of these additional verses after the first discovery of this manuscript or “nuskha” in 1921. In addition I learnt that obscure publications of few other “nuskhas” also containing verses outside of the “official divan” have existed for decades, possibly languishing in dusty libraries and on a few scholars’ desks.  So why were we Ghalib lovers not paying attention? Why did these verses not percolate down to lesser mortals like us to further enrich our lives?

Whatever the reasons may be and there are many, as Dr. Farooqi has lucidly articulated in her introduction to follow, I have taken it upon myself to make an effort to try to change this bizarre paradox.  To try to kick off a “Rediscover Ghalib” initiative that will bring out the hidden treasures of Ghalib out of the domain of scholars into the spheres of our humble homes to once again invigorate our hearts with new emotions. To embark upon a journey along with all Ghalib lovers through the “Paradise Lost” and to relish its fruits until the entire current map of Ghalib’s known world is redrawn.  The decision to publish the digitized Nushka-e-Hamidiya manuscript verbatim from my collection is the first of the many steps in this direction, Allah willing.

 This work cannot be done alone.  For this “Rediscover Ghalib” initiative to gather momentum, all of us need to contribute and in doing so we enrich ourselves.  We need to read the “new” ghazals and try to explain them to each other. We need scholars and enthusiasts to start sharing translations, transliterations and commentaries online of these hidden gems. We need to get artists, new and celebrated, to sing these unknown ghazals.  We know from Ghalib’s history that only when his ghazals were sung in the bordello or “kotha” in his up-and-coming days, people started to discover him as a gifted poet. To rediscover Ghalib, we need to this exercise once again with his unknown ghazals, using the music companies and the Internet as the medium as a substitute for the “kotha” of the old days. After doing all this and a lot more, we can only then hope to offer our next generations to delight in what we ourselves were deprived of.

To officially kick-off the “Rediscover Ghalib” initiative, I have appended below with Dr. Mehr Afshan Farooqi’s permission, her translation and interpretation of one such hidden nugget from her upcoming publication.  The Ghazal below, needless to say, is not in Ghalib’s “official” diwan:
 
Ashk-e chakidah
1.
اشکِ چکیدہ رنگِ پریدہ
ہر طرح ہوں میں از خود رمیدہ
Ashk-e chakidah rang-e paridah
Har tarah hun main az khud ramidah
Like the fallen tear, faded color
In every way I have run away from my self
2.
گو یاد مجھ کو کرتے ہیں خوباں
لیکن بہ سانں دردں کشیدہ
Go yad mujh ko karte hain khuban
Lekin ba san-e dard-e kashidah
Although the beautiful people remember me
But like the pain they once bore
3.
ہے رشتئہ جاں فرطِ کشش سے
مانندِ نبضِ دستِ بریدہ
Hai rishtah-e jan fart-e kashish se
Manind-e nabz-e dast-e buridah
 The thread of life is held through the exuberance of desire
Like the pulse in a cut off hand
4.
ٹوٹا ہے افسوس موئے خمِ زلف
ہے شانہ یک سر دستِ گزیدہ
Tuta hai afsos mu-e kham-e zulf
Hai shanah yaksar dast-e gazidah
Alas the hair’s waviness is gone
The comb is like a bitten hand
5.
خالِ سیاہِ رنگیں رخاں سے
ہے داغِ لالہ در خوں طپیدہ
Khal-e siyah-e rangin rukhan se
Hai dagh-e lalah dar khun tapidah
Thought of the beauty mark on saucy faces
Makes the tulip’s blood pulse and heart scar
6.
جوشِ جنوں سے جوں کسوتِ گل
سر تا بہ پا ہوں جیبِ دریدہ
Josh-e junun se jun kisvat-e gul
Sar ta ba pa hun jaib-e daridah
Passion makes me tear my collar
 like the rose I am torn from head to toe
7.
یارو اسد کا نام و نشاں کیا
بے دل فقیرِ آفت رسیدہ
Yaro asad ka nam-o nishan kya
Be dil faqir-e afat rasidah
Friends what to say of Asad’s bearings
Angst filled, with a lost heart
​
Publishing this digital version of Ghalib’s Nuskha from a bound manuscript has been a technically daunting task but care has been taken to represent the manuscript as much as possible in its original form, size & condition.  We have deliberately not embellished nor “cleaned out” various condition issues including the rather crude repairs made to it during its rather long and precarious journey over the past several decades – fortunately it survived against all odds for us to enjoy it today.

I congratulate you for holding this piece of history in your hands and once again request you to take the verses from it to your hearts and homes. Happy re-discovering Ghalib!

You can buy your own copy from one of your favorite stores below: