With thanks to Francesca Orsini, Alok Rai and his family, and Fran Pritchett, we have a scan of the only photo portrait of Mirza Asadullah Ghalib. Incredible.
Mirza Ghalib
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what is the vertiginous chapati saying to me?
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wow, never knew there was an existing photo, this is awesome!
what eyes!
Oriental STUD!
“Uncle” Ghalib, preserved for posterity!
The link also has a picture of Munshi Hargopal Tufta, Uncle’s favorite pupil, familiar to anyone who has read Uncle’s collection of letters…
Thanks Sepoy!
…….meharbaaN ho ke bulaa lo mujhe chaaho jis waqt
maiN gayaa waqt nahiN hooN ke phir aa bhi na sakooN……..
Can you please provide link to Tufta’s pic
See here: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1800_1899/ghalib/portraits/ghalibtaftahphoto.jpg
This photo is incredibly similar to one published in my grand mother’s family history book, supposedly scanned from the original. Ghalib was related by marriage to the Loharo family to which my maternal grand mother belongs. The links below are scans from that book named “Khandan-e-Loharo” by Tahira Bano. I am not an expert in photography, but I think the photo in the book is retouched or entirely hand drawn.
A comparison shows that both are very similar but not exactly. A slight crack across the forehead in the Loharo photo is captured in the scan, something that is not found in the scan posted by Sepoy. Also the face is slightly more elongated in Sepoy’s photo.
http://www.ezdoc.net/faraz/ghalib_small.png
http://www.ezdoc.net/faraz/ghalib.png
What sort of a topi is he wearing? Or is that a distortion due to picture quality or something like that?
this has been around for some time and a touched up enlargement was included in the new delhi ghalib commemorative exhibition in 1969 on the centenary of his death. there is also a portrait in the red fort museum, delhi.
The topi he is wearing is called “Papakh” made from sheep skin coat called posteen.
It is an honor to see the real portrait of Ghalib. I am a fan of his poetry
Ate hain Ghaeb se ye mazameen khayal me
Ghlib sareer-e-khama nawa-e-saroosh he