What would happen if
Two great poets went to open war?
The birds would flock astray
The night lose its stars
What then must I imagine
Of that wonderful most glorious night
When two of the best, intoxicated,
Went for the verses fight
Words as their swords
Couplets as their shields
The king as their judge
Poems each wields
Ghalib in all his arrogance
Gave himself all the glory
Zaug in all humility
Ignored the pompous story
But the king beckoned Zaug
That he should in couplets reply
Thence flew the birds astray
Thence hid the stars in the sky.
* On 2nd April 1852, Ghalib insulted the court of the last Mughal King by proclaiming himself the best poet in the empire, when in reality the king himself was an accomplished poet. Upon this the King asked Zaug to relpy and thus al night were thrown couplets on couplets at the wedding that were published in newspapers the next day.
1 comment:
I am reading ghalib these days... kind of related.. like the last two posts... charmed.
Post a Comment