In his poem “Now go and live in a place”, Ghalib spoke directly to my heart. He communicated the feeling that I had when I left my country, family, and friends for the first time to live in the United State of America. I remember asking myself three months after coming here,”Why did you choose to live in a country that no one speak your language or even know your country? Why did you leave your family, friends, people that share your culture?” At the time I did not know about there was a poem that expressed my feeling better that can ever do. “Now go and live in a place where no one lives/…no one shares your speech/…If you fall ill, no one to nurse you there.” Of course, I would not been able to understand this poem at that time anyway.
I looked online and found out that the poem is, actually, long. Ghalib was mourning his nephew who died young.
What do you think did any of Ghalib’s poems appeal to you?
Hi Mairem, I also found this excerpt appealing. When I read this, I pictured myself leaving my current life and having a fresh start somewhere far away, living in solitude. By living in a place where no one else lives and where no one speaks my language, I pictured myself to be out in the woods, possibly far from civilization. The poem then continues to talk about building up my life from that moment: building my own house, my own fence, taking care of myself, and being responsible for my own actions.
However, this poem also reminds me of how lonely I would be if I were to live all alone. As Ghalib says, if I were to fall ill, no one would nurse me. When I die, no one would be by side. In conclusion, I think that the message of this excerpt is to enjoy life through interactions and love those who are around you.
I’m replying after the class discussion, on October 10th, 2017 at 5:30pm. It’s interesting to know that Ghalib’s poem was directed to his nephew. We all agreed that it was a sinister kind of poem, and the class, collectively, was correct. Death for the uncle must have been hard to take in; I assume the usage of the word “Now” signify his nephew’s death, then all the lines afterwards reflected his dark feelings. All his lines after the first line is, in a way, a connection to life after death. For instance, after death, there will be no one to keep company, no watchman to keep safe, no one to nurse and no one more mourn. It makes sense.
But i want to point this line out “Build a house, as if without a wall or gate” Are you building a house…..without a wall? Are you building protection without protection? Not so sure what line means (personally).
Ghalib’s poem, “Be merciful and send for me” reminded me of the women in “The life of a Sensuous Women”. He discusses how he feels about his courtesan not coming to visit him. He is basically begging for her to come back when he says, “I’m not some moment that has passed and can’t come back again.” In “The life of a Sensuous Women” the women subjected herself to be the Buddhist’s courtesan. In similar ways, in the end they didn’t want to be seen as this object.
Hi Liang, I like the connection that you made between Ghalib’s poem “Be merciful and send for me” and “The life of a Sensuous Woman” by Saikaku. I think the difference between the woman and Ghalib is the fact that the woman knew that she was just an object, but she was fine with it as long as she was fed and sheltered. On the other hand, Ghalib was misleading himself for thinking he could be more than one night stand for his courtesan. She was in it for money not for love.
Hello Mariem, I believe you are correct about the fact that the difference between the women in the “The Life of a Sensuous Woman” by Saikaku knew that she was an object. I feel like even though she knew she knew she was an object, I don’t think she was okay with it. I believe at one point she felt uncomfortable. On the other hand, I completely agree with what you said about Ghalib. He thought he could get love; he was begging for her to come back to him. Which is kind of sad.
Stumbling upon Ghalib’s poem, “Now go and live in a place,” again, it really resonated with me, and although I haven’t experienced a death within my family/life, I can feel how hurt he is mourning the death of his nephew. He wishes he was able to spend more time with him, and it seems that he is also willing to die soon in order to see him again. It shows how significant his nephew, Arif is in his life, and I feel that the author did a very good/realistic job in portraying that emotion/feeling. I feel he made the poem very relatable and realistic to human emotions, which I find is what makes his work so captivating.
I felt the same way when I read Ghalib’s poem, “Now go and live in a place.” I have experienced death in my family several times so the mourning was a similar feeling. The one death that remember the most was my grandma’s. Although I lived with her, I wish I spent more time with her. These thoughts that we have once its over, is where it doesn’t really matter anymore because we can’t go back and fix it. Reading this poem about the death of his nephew hit me in the feels pretty hard.
Ghalib’s “Now go and live in a place”, had a particularly powerful effect on me as well! In fact, just reading the poem gave me goosebumps. Growing up I was always different from many of the people around me because I always dreamt of living away from home. Most of the people in my neighborhood and my community were fine with staying in the suburbs of Long Island, living with their parents for a considerable amount of time. I’m not exactly sure why but I felt a draw towards living on my own, fending for myself and propelling myself through a journey of self-discovery. What’s beautiful about this poem is how it is as cynical as it is true. It is inspiring and disheartening at the same time. Truly a wonderful Piece.
In his poem “Now go and live in a place”, Ghalib spoke directly to my heart. He communicated the feeling that I had when I left my country, family, and friends for the first time to live in the United State of America. I remember asking myself three months after coming here,”Why did you choose to live in a country that no one speak your language or even know your country? Why did you leave your family, friends, people that share your culture?” At the time I did not know about there was a poem that expressed my feeling better that can ever do. “Now go and live in a place where no one lives/…no one shares your speech/…If you fall ill, no one to nurse you there.” Of course, I would not been able to understand this poem at that time anyway.
I looked online and found out that the poem is, actually, long. Ghalib was mourning his nephew who died young.
What do you think did any of Ghalib’s poems appeal to you?
Hi Mairem, I also found this excerpt appealing. When I read this, I pictured myself leaving my current life and having a fresh start somewhere far away, living in solitude. By living in a place where no one else lives and where no one speaks my language, I pictured myself to be out in the woods, possibly far from civilization. The poem then continues to talk about building up my life from that moment: building my own house, my own fence, taking care of myself, and being responsible for my own actions.
However, this poem also reminds me of how lonely I would be if I were to live all alone. As Ghalib says, if I were to fall ill, no one would nurse me. When I die, no one would be by side. In conclusion, I think that the message of this excerpt is to enjoy life through interactions and love those who are around you.
I’m replying after the class discussion, on October 10th, 2017 at 5:30pm. It’s interesting to know that Ghalib’s poem was directed to his nephew. We all agreed that it was a sinister kind of poem, and the class, collectively, was correct. Death for the uncle must have been hard to take in; I assume the usage of the word “Now” signify his nephew’s death, then all the lines afterwards reflected his dark feelings. All his lines after the first line is, in a way, a connection to life after death. For instance, after death, there will be no one to keep company, no watchman to keep safe, no one to nurse and no one more mourn. It makes sense.
But i want to point this line out “Build a house, as if without a wall or gate” Are you building a house…..without a wall? Are you building protection without protection? Not so sure what line means (personally).
My previous most was in reply to Mariem.
Ghalib’s poem, “Be merciful and send for me” reminded me of the women in “The life of a Sensuous Women”. He discusses how he feels about his courtesan not coming to visit him. He is basically begging for her to come back when he says, “I’m not some moment that has passed and can’t come back again.” In “The life of a Sensuous Women” the women subjected herself to be the Buddhist’s courtesan. In similar ways, in the end they didn’t want to be seen as this object.
Did any of his poems speak out to you?
Hi Liang, I like the connection that you made between Ghalib’s poem “Be merciful and send for me” and “The life of a Sensuous Woman” by Saikaku. I think the difference between the woman and Ghalib is the fact that the woman knew that she was just an object, but she was fine with it as long as she was fed and sheltered. On the other hand, Ghalib was misleading himself for thinking he could be more than one night stand for his courtesan. She was in it for money not for love.
Hello Mariem, I believe you are correct about the fact that the difference between the women in the “The Life of a Sensuous Woman” by Saikaku knew that she was an object. I feel like even though she knew she knew she was an object, I don’t think she was okay with it. I believe at one point she felt uncomfortable. On the other hand, I completely agree with what you said about Ghalib. He thought he could get love; he was begging for her to come back to him. Which is kind of sad.
Stumbling upon Ghalib’s poem, “Now go and live in a place,” again, it really resonated with me, and although I haven’t experienced a death within my family/life, I can feel how hurt he is mourning the death of his nephew. He wishes he was able to spend more time with him, and it seems that he is also willing to die soon in order to see him again. It shows how significant his nephew, Arif is in his life, and I feel that the author did a very good/realistic job in portraying that emotion/feeling. I feel he made the poem very relatable and realistic to human emotions, which I find is what makes his work so captivating.
I felt the same way when I read Ghalib’s poem, “Now go and live in a place.” I have experienced death in my family several times so the mourning was a similar feeling. The one death that remember the most was my grandma’s. Although I lived with her, I wish I spent more time with her. These thoughts that we have once its over, is where it doesn’t really matter anymore because we can’t go back and fix it. Reading this poem about the death of his nephew hit me in the feels pretty hard.
Ghalib’s “Now go and live in a place”, had a particularly powerful effect on me as well! In fact, just reading the poem gave me goosebumps. Growing up I was always different from many of the people around me because I always dreamt of living away from home. Most of the people in my neighborhood and my community were fine with staying in the suburbs of Long Island, living with their parents for a considerable amount of time. I’m not exactly sure why but I felt a draw towards living on my own, fending for myself and propelling myself through a journey of self-discovery. What’s beautiful about this poem is how it is as cynical as it is true. It is inspiring and disheartening at the same time. Truly a wonderful Piece.