These poems involve Mehrotra inhabiting the voice and time of an ageing Ghalib; revisiting Abd al-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan (1556-1627), a Baharlu Turk, an important figure in the Mughal nobility during the reigns of Akbar and Jehangir; and his discovery of objects and letters from his family home in Lahore. The result is a frayed immediacy that hefty historical novels find difficult to achieve.
The Rahim dohas were published as a foldout booklet by Longhouse, and Ghalib, A Diary was published as a pamphlet by New Walk Editions. Thanks to Bob and Susan Arnold of Longhouse and Rory Waterman and Nick Everett of New Walk for making them possible.
My gratitude to Forrest Gander for reading through the Rahim dohas and for a suggestion that was quickly incorporated.
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