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Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, better known as Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), was one of the most influential and celebrated Urdu poets. Born in Agra during the decline of the Mughal Empire, he moved to Delhi after his marriage at a young age, where he spent most of his life. Despite facing personal tragedies, including the deaths of all seven of his children in infancy and persistent financial difficulties, Ghalib produced some of the most sophisticated and philosophically complex poetry of his time. His ghazals, characterized by their deep intellectual and emotional depth, often explored themes of love, loss, and the nature of existence. Though he considered himself primarily a Persian poet, his Urdu works earned him lasting fame. Ghalib served as the poet tutor to the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and witnessed the traumatic events of the 1857 uprising against British rule. While his work was not fully appreciated during his lifetime, his poetry became recognized as among the finest in Urdu literature, influencing generations of poets and writers across South Asia.

There is a library full of books about Ghalib and his poetry. But if you have the time to read just one book, it should be ‘Ghalib: Innovative Meanings and the Ingenious Mind’ by Professor Gopi Chand Narang, published by the Oxford University Press in 2017. Nothing else comes close.