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Ghalib who? Agra forgets its
cultural past |
(Dec 27 is Mirza Ghalib's 213th birthday)
By Brij Khandelwal, IANS,
Agra : Two weeks back, a Pakistani tourist arrived here and
wished to see the place where the famous Urdu poet Mirza
Ghalib was born. His guide was perplexed. "Ghalib who?" he
asked.
Mirza Ghalib's contribution to Urdu literature may have been
as significant as Shakespeare's to English, but the haveli in
Kala Mahal mohalla of Agra where he was born in 1797 has
nothing to show for its illustrious past.
"So many foreign tourists keep asking us about Mirza Ghalib's
birth place, but we feel sad to tell them that there's nothing
to see there now and nor are the people interested in literary
interaction," said Sandeep Arora, a hotelier of Taj Ganj area. |
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"Neither the literary circles nor the heritage
conservationists are bothered about raising a suitable
memorial or promoting research and creative activities
to keep the traditions alive," lamented Syed Jafri,
director of Ghalib Academy in Agra.
"Heritage conservation now means taking care of money
spinning stone structures and not preserving the
cultural traditions, cuisine or the folk lore of the
area," said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj
Mandal Heritage Conservation Society. "Not just Ghalib,
Meer and Nazeer Akbarabadi, the other pillars of Urdu
literature who lived in Agra are equally forgotten,"
Sharma pointed out.
The Municipal Corporation of Agra had several times in
the past announced that a road or a crossing would be
named after Mirza Ghalib. Even the Agra University had
announced setting up a chair after him. But the promises
remain confined to files.
For years, fans of the poet and literary experts have
demanded a fitting memorial, but the assurances and
promises from official quarters have not materialised.
"When tourists from Pakistan and other countries ask to
be taken to Ghalib's birth place, we feel embarrassed,"
said Sandeep Arora, a former president of the hotel and
restaurant association here.
"The central and state governments should jointly build
a fitting memorial and a library in Agra where Urdu
poetry lovers can spend time and enlighten themselves,"
Arora said.
True, Ghalib moved to Delhi in his teens, where his
poetic talent blossomed and found new expression when
Bahadur Shah Zafar was Mughal emperor. But his
association with the city of the Taj Mahal was a great
inspiration to successive generations of Urdu poets,
many of whom later migrated to Pakistan.
Former Uttar Pradesh governor T.V. Rajeswar some years
ago suggested that Agra University set up a Mirza Ghalib
chair to promote Urdu literature, but the varsity has
been dragging its feet on the proposal.
Similarly, the house where Ghalib was born was to be
acquired by the earlier Mulayam Singh Yadav government
and converted into a memorial. But the proposal was
shelved after he lost the 2007 state assembly elections.
"Urdu poetry has stagnated in modern times as new poets
are not getting recognition. But even so who has not
heard 'Dil-e-nadan tujhe hua kya hai', 'Hazaron
Khwaishen aisee', 'Yeh na thi hamari kismat', 'Har ek
baat pe kahte ho'," asks Laiq Khan, a prominent exponent
of Agra Gharana of music. He recently released a CD of
Ghalib numbers, which has proved to be quite popular.
Syed Jaffrey, director of the Mirza Ghalib Academy in
Agra, wants better facilities and support from
government agencies to promote research in Urdu
literature.
"Agra, which has given so much to the Urdu culture,
should have a decent memorial for the poet. The
municipal corporation has proposals pending to name a
busy street or crossing after the poet, but there has
been no follow up," he added.
A year ago however, a park in the Cantonment area was
named after Ghalib. That is about all.
"But the general lack of interest in literature and
cultural traditions is pathetic and indicative of the
society's transformation into a 'waste land', rues
Sudhir Gupta, an admirer of Ghalib's poetry.
*
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