What happens when Mirza Ghalib, the towering Urdu and Persian poet, and William Shakespeare, arguably the most influential playwright in English literature, are brought together to discuss politics, railways, elections, cricket, airlines, social media and the absurdities of contemporary life?
In Dr Sudhanshu Mani’s ‘Fun with Chacha Ghalib & Uncle Shakespeare’, the answer is an irreverent literary ride where two centuries-old voices are made to spar over the follies of the present.
Mani is perhaps an unusual person to undertake such a journey. A railway engineer who led the Train 18/Vande Bharat project from conception to delivery, he became known for helping create India’s first indigenous semi-high-speed train.
His professional world is one of engineering and deadlines. His literary world, however, is inhabited by Shakespeare and Ghalib. The contrast gives the book much of its charm.
This is Mani’s second book on the two literary giants. Unlike his earlier ‘Shakespeare and Ghalib: A Collation by Their Self-Styled Nephew’, which juxtaposed their works, the present book takes the experiment several steps further.
Here, the two masters are imagined as participants in conversations about the world around us. Mani positions himself as their self-styled nephew, observing and occasionally orchestrating their verbal jousts.
The book moves between literary explanation and comic dialogues. One chapter demystifies Shakespeare for everyday readers by examining expressions that have entered common English usage, while another explores how Ghalib’s poetry can lend colour and depth to ordinary conversation.
Elsewhere, the two are drawn into discussions on the Rail Budget, elections, the Ukraine war, airline controversies, cricket, Chandrayaan-3, WhatsApp and even the rituals surrounding awards and public honours. The subjects are contemporary, allowing the author to test the timelessness of the two poets’ language against the absurdities of modern life.
The humour is evident in the imagined exchange itself. When Shakespeare questions India’s celebration of Chandrayaan-3, Ghalib and the Bard engage in a playful contest of literary and national pride.
At one point, the author observes that while Shakespeare was “looking for darkness in the sun”, India had found “the darkness of the moon”.
The book’s greatest strength is its accessibility. Mani does not write as a scholar claiming authority over either poet.
In fact, he repeatedly describes himself as an enthusiastic amateur. That self-awareness becomes part of the humour. He warns readers that some interpretations of verses have been twisted or hyper-corrected to fit the spoof.
The imagined conversations work best when the author allows the personalities of the two poets to collide with modern situations. Shakespeare’s English idiom meets Ghalib’s Urdu wit, creating a playful meeting of quills and qalam.
The humour is sometimes deliberately slapstick, but beneath it lies a serious proposition: literature survives because human nature does not change as quickly as technology, politics or fashion.
Mani’s treatment of Shakespeare’s contribution is particularly engaging. In one chapter, he strings together familiar Shakespearean expressions in a passage, beginning with “The world was his oyster…”, pointing out how deeply the Bard’s language has entered daily lexicon.
That perhaps is the book’s most enjoyable insight. The man who once took readers through the demanding journey of building Train 18 now takes them on a very different journey — one through poetry, language and humour.
‘Fun with Chacha Ghalib & Uncle Shakespeare’ is not intended to be a scholarly study, and it makes no such claim. It is instead a light-hearted invitation to revisit two literary giants and see their words through the chaotic lens of the present.
His irreverence is particularly evident when he describes those who are ceremonially honoured only to feel humiliated, calling them “garlanded casualties: glitter outside, slap inside”. The line captures the book’s ability to find humour in the rituals and absurdities of contemporary life.
You bring two literary giants into conversations about contemporary politics. What inspired the idea?
I believe Shakespeare and Ghalib remain relevant because, beneath differences of language, culture, distance and time, they understood something that has not changed: human nature. Ambition, vanity, love, jealousy, hypocrisy, power, chivalry, indecision and sheer human folly are as much a part of our world as theirs. Politics, elections, bureaucracy, railways, social media and WhatsApp may be modern, but the people inhabiting them are remarkably familiar. So I did not have to make the two poets contemporary. I simply imagined what they might say if they were looking at us today, using their original lines as far as possible. Their wit, irony and poetry did the rest.
You describe the book as a literary spoof. How did you balance humour with your admiration for the two?
I have always seen humour as a form of affection, not irreverence for its own sake. The liberties I take with Ghalib’s verses and Shakespeare’s words are therefore playful rather than disrespectful. I am, after all, their self-styled nephew, and nephews are occasionally permitted to tease their uncles! My hope is that the laughter draws readers towards the originals.
You led the Train 18/Vande Bharat project. What was the biggest challenge?
The core team chose itself, based not on hierarchy but on a dream, a ‘fire in the belly’ and the chutzpah to enter uncharted territory. It was technically competent and was bequeathed to me. Half the battle was won when this team was identified. My task as leader was to keep it motivated and energised. Along with the other officers named in my book ‘My Train 18 Story’, I believe we provided that leadership through empathy, a love for what we did, banishing doubts, concentrating on what we could do best, commitment and openness to ideas.
Having worked extensively within Indian Railways, what should be India’s next major railway priority?
While manifold improvements are needed and we have miles to go, it is judicious to prioritise. My list would be:
Transform freight logistics: Improve first- and last-mile connectivity and multimodal integration. Rail is far cheaper and cleaner than road and air, so this can reduce logistics costs and stabilise railway finances.
Accelerate high-speed rail: We need committed, faster roll-out of high-speed lines, with timelines capable of modernising inter-city travel and challenging or even replacing air traffic.
Dignify common travel: The millions travelling long distances must have dignified journeys. Even basic travel should guarantee the fundamental comfort of a designated seat.
Build an indigenous ecosystem: India needs committed railway R&D and must become a global leader in specific rail technologies.
With murmurs around India–Russia railway connectivity, how do you view its potential?
The talk stems from a recent Russian proposal to explore a direct overland rail corridor to the Indian Ocean and India, bypassing vulnerable maritime bottlenecks such as the Bosphorus and Strait of Hormuz. It is an ambitious geopolitical vision, but a fully overland railway to India faces massive structural and technological hurdles, making it highly challenging. That is not to say it is impossible. We have to wait and see how seriously it is pursued.
How feasible is high-speed rail in Kerala?
It would certainly be a formidable engineering and implementation challenge, given Kerala’s population density, limited land and settlement pattern. Land acquisition, environmental sensitivity and construction through densely populated areas would require careful planning.
At the same time, these characteristics make Kerala a strong case for rapid rail connectivity, as reflected in the Vande Bharat’s occupancy, which is far above 100%. Kerala functions almost like one continuous linear urban and economic region, with substantial inter-city movement.
A dedicated, largely elevated high-speed rail corridor designed to minimise land acquisition and environmental disruption would be the most practical model.
What will be your next journey be like?
My journey will, I hope, remain eclectic. I would like one foot firmly in the railway world through consulting and writing, while continuing newspaper articles and blogs. I also co-edit Rail Business, a magazine on the rail sector.
Two more books are taking shape. ‘A Railwayman for Life’ on my experiences as a railway officer. Then there is theatre: I would love to continue producing and performing literary-musical presentations around Ghalib, Meer, Sahir, Faiz, Majaz and Jagjit Singh, as well as Shakespeare, while promoting visual arts and music at the Culture Centre I run, ‘Manis’.