I really used to hate my name. But now I use all 3 of mine.
I’m Ghalib to my family and those who can pronounce the name with the love that it deserves. To others I’m usually Raza but to some old friends I’m Syed. It’s nothing personal, I just got tired of hearing my name be mispronounced. Sometimes you gotta gatekeep the things you love!
Ghalib was a poet. I was named after a poet. More specifically, I was named after a poet whose poetry I cannot read in my native tongue. Because although I’m fluent in speaking Urdu, I can’t quite read it yet. I’m working on that though. Anyways, here’s a short poem attributed to him that I want to pass along:
گزر جائے گا یہ دور بھی غالب، ذرا اطمینان تو رکھ
جب خوشی نہ ٹھہری تو غم کی کیا اوقات ہے
Guzar ja yega ye daur bhi Ghalib zara itminan to rakh
Jab Khushi na thahri to gum ki kya aukat hain
This time too shall pass, Ghalib, just have a little patience
If happiness didn’t stay, then what worth does sorrow hold?