GHALIB: A WILDERNESS AT MY DOORSTEP

A fascinating book; apart from the obvious interest it would have for Ghalib scholars, it opens the window on the world of antiquarian dealers who trade in rare Urdu and Persian texts and manuscripts. While the number of Urdu literates is steadily shrinking, one still finds collectors who are ready to spend money on such items.

Ok

Absolutely wonderful read. Will highly recommend.

Wonderful book

To read this book, you need to be interested in urdu literature and it's technicalities and not just Ghalib. It's a long read mainly focused on Ghalib's diwans.

The book is well-reasearched but not a biography per se. Mostly talks about the Persian and urdu diwans of Ghalib, their discovery, their contents. Actual info on Ghalib's life is meagre.Also at times, while describing Ghalib's poetry, mere translation of a sher from a ghazal is provided (shers ain't written in urdu/hindi besides the translation), making it dry and bland.

Listened to the book on Audible and read the hardback. Really good book. Lives up to the title "A Critical Biography". Presents a fresh perspective and great historic information on Ghalib, that I had not read elsewhere. My fav parts - Ghalib's ancestry and back ground of struggle with pension, Calcutta trip, shift towards Persian poetry, obsession with proving himself to be an authentic Persian poet, history of Dasatiri movement, his dabichas, timeline, pic of documents etc. I think it is challenging to critically evaluate and read a critical evaluation of great figures we admire. But so much can be missed without it. Thanks for providing a new/different perspective on Ghalib.