India, Oct. 6 -- A pink bucket stands on the museum floor. Above it, Mirza Ghalib's verse sings of vegetation growing on his house's walls. Beside the verse, a huge painting shows the poet writing and smoking. See photo.

This is Ghalib's last haveli, in Gali Qasim Jan, in Old Delhi's Ballimaran. The poet died here in 1869. Much of the mansion disappeared through subsequent alterations. Its remains briefly housed a coal godown before a portion became a museum.

Truth be told, this little place, the size of a badminton court, is among Delhi's most eclectic museums. At first glance, it inspires no major expectations, seeming to contain only a handful of exhibits. Look around closely, and these exhibits vividly reveal the minutiae of Ghalib'...