So far in this series, we have explored various facets of Ghalib — Ghalib the lover, Ghalib the mischievous, Ghalib the belligerent. 

Yet, the question has always lingered after reciting his verses: Was Ghalib being a deliberately difficult poet? Did his poetry demand grappling with the intellect in an effort to understand it? Or, was it trite and meaningless and merely designed to confound? 

If you want to view him with a postmodern lens, Ghalib’s discourse does not limit his meaning, says host Amit Basole.

So, what was Ghalib driving at — what was his philosophy?

Discover the nuances and twists of Ghalib’s poetry in this episode. You will be left romancing a phrase that was used to describe the poet — Mushkil Pasand, one who favours difficulty. 

Listen to delve deeper.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar

Acknowledgements:

• YouTube | Bharat Ek Khoj opening — सृष्टी से पहले सत् नहीं था. असत् भी नहीं. अन्तरिक्ष भी नहीं 
• YouTube | Bharat Ek Khoj end credits 

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