Ghalib made easy for all

For those who always thought the poetry of Mirza Ghalib was too difficult to understand, help is at hand.

For those who always thought the poetry of Mirza Ghalib was too difficult to understand, help is at hand.

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Professors from the Academy of Professional Development of Urdu Medium Teachers, Jamia Millia Islamia, Urdu Teaching and Research Centre, Lucknow, and Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, have prepared a dictionary on Ghalib's poetry, which will make it easier for Urdu and non-Urdu speakers to understand the intricate meaning of his words.

"Ghalib used a lot of compound words in his poetry and it is because of these words that his poetry is difficult to understand. While other poets, such as Iqbal, have also used compound words, Ghalib's are the most complicated," said Ghazansar Ali, professor at Jamia Millia Islamia.

Compound words add a musical element to poetry and also help economize words, Ali said.

The dictionary will have 2,500 compound words under different categories and the meaning of each explained using examples from Ghalib's poetry.

The dictionary is expected to be on the stands in the coming three months