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Two hundred and thirty years ago, a person was born in Agra whose every aspect of his life has become a legend for us today. One wants to know about these events: who was Ghalib? Who were his friends? What did he wear? What did he eat? And most importantly, what did he drink? Ghalib never ate paan, while eating paan was very common in those days. But he was very fond of drinking Hookah; apart from this, there were two other things with which Ghalib’s relationship reached the point of obsession: books and alcohol. Ghalib himself says that my days are spent with books and my evenings with alcohol.
Ghalib was Indian at heart but drank only English wine. As he got older, his digestive system became weaker, and it became difficult for him to digest the wine. However, he found a remedy for his weak digestive system. He started adding more than half the amount of water to the wine to slow down its astringency. He never liked to drink alcohol alone. “Alone has two meanings. One is that he did not drink alcohol alone but always did it with friends. Second, he liked to eat something else with the wine, usually snacks that received an invitation from somewhere for a poetic evening. His wife was happy to hear that some money would be earned and the expenses of the house would be met. His Begum Sahiba gave him a detailed list of household items and told him to bring these supplies while returning from the event. Ghalib returned in the late evening with an overloaded donkey. His wife becomes happy to see that finally Ghalib has accepted her demand. But when she gets closer, she sees that Ghalib has bought alcohol with all the money. When the wife asked what the matter was, Ghalib replied that the LORD had promised halal provisions, but he had not mentioned anything about alcohol, so I arranged the alcohol myself.
No power in the world could succeed in motivating Ghalib to give up alcoholism. But when the body became weak, giving up alcohol became a compulsion. One finds mentions of alcohol hundreds of times in the poetry of Ghalib. Ghalib once described himself as a “half-Muslim” while confronting a British officer in the aftermath of the famous revolt of 1857. When the British officer asked him, “How are you half Muslim?” Ghalib replied, “I am an alcoholic, but I don’t eat pork.” Ghalib’s stories, his presence of mind, and the events of his life are equally interesting as his poetry. Wine and Ghalib’s poetry have one thing in common. Both are addictive and difficult to give up once they touch your tongue.
– Author is a columnist and Author of the book titled “Yours Truly”. He can be reached at arbazbomai90@gmail.com
No power in the world could succeed in motivating Ghalib to give up alcoholism. But when the body became weak, giving up alcohol became a compulsion. One finds mentions of alcohol hundreds of times in the poetry of Ghalib. Ghalib once described himself as a “half-Muslim” while confronting a British officer in the aftermath of the famous revolt of 1857. When the British officer asked him, “How are you half Muslim?” Ghalib replied, “I am an alcoholic, but I don’t eat pork.” Ghalib’s stories, his presence of mind, and the events of his life are equally interesting as his poetry. Wine and Ghalib’s poetry have one thing in common. Both are addictive and difficult to give up once they touch your tongue.
– Author is a columnist and Author of the book titled “Yours Truly”. He can be reached at arbazbomai90@gmail.com
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