On the passing of Vinod Kumar Shukla.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Today is actor Salman Khan’s birthday. It is also actor Timothée Chalamet’s birthday. It is also the birth anniversary of Delhi’s greatest poet. The Delhi Walla exploits this day to celebrate our Mirza Ghalib exclusively through numbers. The accompanying photo was snapped some afternoons ago, just as internationally renowned photographer Nicholas Vreeland (also a Buddhist monk) was sighted visiting Ghalib’s marble tomb in central Delhi. Plus, a shoutout to Ghalib Academy secretary Aqil Ahmad, kind enough to double-check some of these figures.

27/12/1797
Date of Ghalib’s birth. He was born in Agra.

1
Number of Mughal emperors in whose court Ghalib was most memorably associated as a poet. The emperor at the time was Bahadur Shah Zafar, himself a poet. Ghalib was a great rival of poet Zauq, believed to be the Emperor’s favourite.

2
Languages in which Ghalib wrote—Persian and Urdu.

1800
Number of his Urdu couplets that Ghalib himself selected for publication.

10,673
Number of couplets in different forms that Ghalib wrote in Persian.

5
Ghalib’s age when his father, a soldier, was killed in a battle while fighting for the ruler of Alwar.

15
Ghalib’s age when he moved from Agra to Delhi.

13
Ghalib’s age when he married Umrao Begum. She was from a much more privileged family, belonging to the Nawab of Loharu.

7
Number of children Ghalib had; all died in infancy.

100
Amount in rupees Ghalib would receive each month as remittance from the Nawab of Rampur. Ghalib received his last amount an hour before his death. He nevertheless had died in debt.

15/02/1869
Date of Ghalib’s death. During his last days, he often used to recite the verse:
“My dying breath is ready to depart,
And now, my friends, God, only God, exists.”
In one of his last letters, he had written to an acquaintance:
“Why ask me how I am? Wait a day or two and then ask my neighbours.”

71
Ghalib’s age when he died at his home in Old Delhi’s Ballimaran. His exact age was 71 years, 1 month, 19 days. The funeral prayer was performed outside the Dilli Gate monument. He was buried near his father-in-law’s grave in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. The elegies on his death were composed by important literary figures of the time, such as Mirza Qurban Ali Beg Salik, Mir Mahdi Husain Majruh, Munshi Hargopal Tufta and Hali.

2
Numbers of years Ghalib’s wife survived him. She was buried next to him. Unlike Ghalib, her grave lies exposed to the elements.

1
Number of roads named in Delhi after Ghalib. Ghalib Road is in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, but it is more of a rutty lane than a road. The street has a popular eatery called Ghalib Kebab Corner. It ends at his tomb.

2
Total number of Ghalib’s statues in Delhi. One is at Jamia Millia Islamia University; the other is at Ghalib Institute.

3
Number of museums in Delhi devoted to Ghalib. They are at Ghalib Academy, Ghalib Institute, and at his final residence in Old Delhi’s Ballimaran.

228
Ghalib’s birth anniversary today.