Mir Taqi Mir

Mir Taqi Mir

Mir Taqi Mir  (born 1723 - died September 21, 1810), whose real name was Muhammad Taqi and takhallus (pen name) was Mir (sometimes also spelt as Meer Taqi Meer), was the leading Urdu poet of the 18th century, and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language itself. He was one of the principal poets of the Delhi School of the Urdu ghazal and remains arguably the foremost name in Urdu poetry often remembered as Khuda-e-sukhan (god of poetry).

Muhammad Taqi  میر تقی میر

Born in Agra, India (then called Akbarabad), ruled by the Mughals at the time. He left for Delhi, at the age of 11, following his father's death. His philosophy of life was formed primarily by his father, whose emphasis on the importance of love and the value of compassion remained with him throughout his life and imbued his poetry. At Delhi, he finished his education and joined a group of nobility as a courtier-poet. He lived much of his life in Mughal Delhi. Kuchha Chelan, located in famous grain market Khari Baoli, in Old Delhi was his address at that time. However, after Ahmad Shah Abdali's sack of Delhi each year starting 1748, he eventually moved to the court of Asaf-ud-Daulah in Lucknow, at the king's invitation. Distressed to witness the plundering of his beloved Delhi, he gave vent to his feelings through some of his couplets.

Mir migrated to Lucknow in 1782 and remained there for the remainder of his life. He died, of a purgative overdose, on Friday, 21 September 1810. The marker of his burial place was removed in modern times when a railway was built over his grave.

کیا بود و باش پوچھے ہو پورب کے ساکنو 

ہم کو غریب جان کے ہنس ہنس پکار کے

دلّی جو ایک شہر تھا عالم میں انتخاب

رہتے تھے منتخب ہی جہاں روزگار کے

جس کو فلک نے لوٹ کے ویران کر دیا

ہم رہنے والے ہیں اسی اجڑے دیار کے