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Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, better known as Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), was one of the most influential and celebrated Urdu poets. Born in Agra during the decline of the Mughal Empire, he moved to Delhi after his marriage at a young age, where he spent most of his life. Despite facing personal tragedies, including the deaths of all seven of his children in infancy and persistent financial difficulties, Ghalib produced some of the most sophisticated and philosophically complex poetry of his time. His ghazals, characterized by their deep intellectual and emotional depth, often explored themes of love, loss, and the nature of existence. Though he considered himself primarily a Persian poet, his Urdu works earned him lasting fame. Ghalib served as the poet tutor to the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and witnessed the traumatic events of the 1857 uprising against British rule. While his work was not fully appreciated during his lifetime, his poetry became recognized as among the finest in Urdu literature, influencing generations of poets and writers across South Asia.

There is a library full of books about Ghalib and his poetry. But if you have the time to read just one book, it should be ‘Ghalib: Innovative Meanings and the Ingenious Mind’ by Professor Gopi Chand Narang, published by the Oxford University Press in 2017. Nothing else comes close.

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Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810) was born in Agra into a family that enjoyed great respect because of his father’s spiritual leanings. His father inspired Mir to follow the path of universal love and compassion. A tragedy struck when Mir was still young. He fell in love with an extended family member he could not marry. Heartbroken, he left Agra for Delhi, but that city was already in turmoil due to foreign invasions. Lovestruck and without any support, Mir lost the balance of his mind. When Nadir Shah attacked, he left Delhi and settled in Lucknow, where he got an offer of support from Nawab Asifuddaulah, which he turned down and preferred to live in misery. Mir left behind six divans of Urdu ghazals and one of Persian ghazals, apart from other writings that included Zikr-e Mir (an autobiography).

If you wish to gain a deeper understanding of Mir Taqi Mir’s work, please consult ‘The Hidden Garden: Mir Taqi Mir’ by Professor Gopi Chand Narang (translated from Urdu by Surinder Deol), published by Penguin / Viking in 2021.

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Khwaja Mir Dard (1721-1785) was born to a highly respected religious family in Delhi. His father had relinquished his position in the Court to lead the life of a Sufi. Dard, therefore, received his spiritual education from his father. Although many poets left Delhi during the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali, Dard stayed in Delhi and witnessed horrible atrocities. He attained mastery over the Arabic, Persian, and Urdu languages. His close reading of the Quran showed in his poetry. He left behind a collection of Urdu ghazals, a Persian Divan, a prose discourse, a compilation of mystical sayings called Chahaar Risaala, and a book on the Muhammadi path.

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Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda (1713-1781) belonged to a family of traders who had migrated to India from Afghanistan. Because of his father's influence in the social circles, Sauda had easy access to nobility and social prestige that others longed for. But this situation didn’t last long. When Delhi came under attack, the family had to find a new place to live. Nawab Asifuddaulah patronized Sauda and was rewarded with an annual stipend of six thousand rupees. Sauda wrote in Persian before coming to Urdu. The Persian literary tradition helped him acquire a tone and tenor, which he adopted to his benefit for writing his poetry in Urdu. He practiced various forms of poetry like panegyric, satire, and elegy and emerged as one of the foundational poets of Urdu Ghazal.

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Zehra Nigah, lovingly called Zehra Aapa, was ten years old when her family moved from Hyderabad, her place of birth, to Karachi after the Partition. Her father was a civil servant who had a deep interest in literature. He passed on his love of books to his children, who excelled in various literary and artistic fields. Zehra Nigah started writing early and gained great popularity among Mushaira audiences. She settled in London after she married Majid Ali. Her house in London became the center of literary activities and poetry recitations, especially when Faiz visited them. She has won several awards and honors for her scholarly achievements. Her notable publications include Shaam Ka Pehla Tara, Warq, Firaq, Gul Chandni, and Lafz.

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Rahat Indori was born in Indore in 1950 in a family that was going through a rough financial time, and as a result, he had to face the brutal realities of life, starting in his childhood. Despite these challenges, he struggled to get a good education, including a doctoral degree. His poetry had an element of directness that summed up the social and political difficulties facing ordinary people. In addition, he developed a style of recitation that impressed Mushaira audiences. Many leading ghazal singers sang his ghazals. He passed away in his hometown in 2020.

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Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi 'Saher" was born in 1909 in Sahiwal. After the partition, his family moved to Fazilka. His poetry was stylistically similar to the works of Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The Haryana Urdu Akademi instituted an award in his honor that has been presented yearly since 1990. Bedi was also associated with the film industry, producing three films and acting in one. His published works include ‘Tulu-e-Sahar’ ( a poetry collection) and ‘Yaadon Ka Jashn’ (a memoir). Jagjit Singh produced an album titled ‘Forget Me Not’ in 2002, singing eight of Bedi’s ghazals in his melodious voice. Bedi passed away in 1992.

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Saghar Siddiqui was born in 1928 in Ambala. He started writing poetry at a young age. In 1947, when he was 19, he migrated to Pakistan during the partition and settled in Lahore. In his later life, he fell into depression, became addicted to drugs, and turned into a homeless beggar. He would often hold mushairas on the footpaths in candlelight. He continued to write ghazals, though most were lost and remained unpublished. In 1974, Siddiqui, who was 46 at that time, was found dead on a street corner in Lahore. It is a very tragic life story of a highly accomplished poet!

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Obaidullah Aleem was born in Bhopal in 1939. His family moved to Pakistan at the time of partition. He received higher education at the University of Karachi while pursuing several creative interests. He made an impressive debut as a radio and TV artist. Still, due to the discrimination he faced as an Ahmedia, everything came to a halt in 1978 when he was made to resign because of his religious beliefs. He moved to England in 1991 but soon returned to Pakistan. He passed away in 1998. His first book, ‘Chand Chehra Sitara Aankhen,’ published in 1974, gained great popularity. He was awarded the Adamji Prize, the highest literary award in Pakistan.

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Khaleel-ur Rehman Azmi, a leading Urdu poet and literary critic, was born in 1927. He received his higher education at the Aligarh Muslim University, where he taught Urdu. He was posthumously elevated to the rank of a Professor. He wrote extensively on the progressive writers’ movement and is considered a pioneer of Modernism in Urdu. He mentored the leading British Urdu scholar Ralph Russell and poet Shahryar. He authored nearly a dozen collections of poetry and literary criticism. He passed away in 1978.

His famous couplets include:

Hazaar tarah ki mai pi hazaar tarah ke zahr

Na pyaas hi bujhi apni na hausla nikla