SOURCE: "Ghalib's Ghazals," in Eternal Flame: Aspects of Ghalib 's Life and Works, Sterling Publishers Ltd., 1969, pp. 57-77.

In the following excerpt, Sud discusses Ghalib's contribution to ghazal writing through an examination of several ghazals, finding him the greatest of all poets of this genre in his originality, subtlety of thought, simplicity, and grace.

 Hain aur bhi duniya men sukhanwar bahut achhe
Kehte hain ke Ghalib ka hai andaz-i-biyan aur

(In the world are poets good, galore;
But different, they say, is Ghalib's style.) 

The ghazal has not only taken pride of place in Urdu poetry but has also overshadowed all forms of versification in other Indian languages. At the mushairas, it is the ghazal that draws the longest and loudest applause and leaves the listener in a state of transcendental bliss. Even the Westerners have paid it a compliment by trying to imitate this style of poetry...