Najeeb Jung is a true Delhi boy who has lived many lives. He grew up on the streets of Darya Ganj, went to St Columba’s School and St Stephens College. Now retired, he can be found back in Delhi though he divides his time with his grandchildren in New York and the monsoon in Goa. When is he not busy translating Ghalib, he can be found watching sports, dreaming about acting, devouring the news or playing with his dogs and cats. In a previous life, he was a civil servant with over two decades of service to the IAS. He has also worked at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, served as a Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies in Oxford, and served as a Director on the Board of the Reserve Bank of India. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia and later went on to serve his beloved city as the 20th Lt Governor of Delhi. Najeeb has written two monographs on Natural Gas in Asia, edited an anthology of essays titled The Political Economy of Energy and Growth, published a compilation of essays titled The Sting of a Bee, and penned a book on contemporary social, cultural, and political affairs in Urdu titled Fikr o Aagahi. This work is the culmination of a lifelong love affair with the words of Ghalib, which began when he was a young child, as his mother recited poetry to him.
