To the Ghalib's House

I took a rickshaw from the Metro station, but was unable to explain to the rickshawala, where in Ballimaran should I go to visit the residence of the great urdu poet Mirza Ghalib. It was only after he heard another rickshawala saying Nawabkhana, he took me to my destination.

As I was making my way towards Ghalib Memorial, Chawri Bazar wore the traditional charm of Old Delhi. Rickshaw pullers were making their way speedily through the narrow lanes, pedestrians were rushing their way to work without even a sign of verbal protest (like a quintessential Delhite), the chacha at the nearby tea stall was still busy serving his first customers of the day and was deeply engaged in a conversation with his everyday friend, women in black veil or Hijab (as it is known in Urdu) were bargaining with the fruit sellers on the prices while the tiny tots were busy looking at the toys that were displayed on the rags of the toyshop, the houses on both sides of the narrow roads were so close that they seemed to hug each other every morning.

It was 11:00 a.m., and there I was at the ‘Ghalib Smarak’ or the ‘Ghalib Memorial’ the place where the legendary Urdu poet spent his last nine years (1760 - 1769) of life with his wife Umrao Begum. Before proceeding further, a small introduction of Mirza Ghalib. Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan was one of the most famous Urdu and Persian poets during the Mughal Era in India. His literary works are popular not only in India and Pakistan, but is also widely appreciated and read all over the world by many well-known authors as well as literature lovers.

   

A small place though with two large rooms, the Ghalib Memorial sums up the life of this legendary poet in a beautiful way. At the entrance, a huge door welcomes me to a room where a marble statue of Mirza Ghalib, his attire (although a replica) and an array of interesting belongings of the poet are kept.

On either sides of the walls in the room are the two neatly ironed dresses of the Ghalib which he used to wear normally.   

The other half of the room was embedded with this beautiful line from one of Ghalib’s poem

Moving on to another room I came across a shelf full of Nawab’s Books, which would arouse an interest in anybody appreciating Urdu literature and poetry

An exact replica of the then period utensils transported me back to Nawab’s time. Just near to it, I came across another statue of Mirza Ghalib.  

The visit was worth that value which cannot be measured in money, but will be kept forever in the memory.

If the Nawabkhana is your travel itinerary, then take a look below for the timings.