Khuda-e-sukhan 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)
Early life
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.
Literary life
His complete works,
Kulliaat, consist of six
Diwans containing
13,585 couplets, comprising all kinds of poetic forms.
Mir's literary reputation is anchored on his
ghazals.
Mir lived at a time when Urdu language and poetry was at a formative stage -
and Mir's instinctive aesthetic sense helped him strike a balance between the
indigenous expression and new enrichment coming in from Persian imagery and
idiom, to constitute the new elite language known as
Rekhta or
Hindui.
Basing his language on his native Hindustani, he leavened it with a sprinkling
of Persian diction and phraseology, and created a poetic language at once
simple, natural and elegant, which was to guide generations of future poets.
After his move to Lucknow,
his beloved daughter died, followed by his son (either Mir Faiz Ali or Mir
Kallu Arsh), and then his wife.
This, together with other earlier setbacks (including his traumatic stages in Delhi) lends a strong
pathos to much of his writing - and indeed Mir is noted for his poetry of
pathos and melancholy.
KUCHA CHELAN WHERE MEER LIVED MOST OF HIS LIFE IN DELHI IS NOT IN OR NEAR THE GRAIN MARKET OF
KHARI BAOLI BUT BEHIND DARYA GANJ THAT WAS IN MEER'S TIME PROBABLY KNOWN AS
AKBARABADI BAZAR.
KUCHA CHELAN IS POPULARLY BELIEVED TO BE A CORRUPTION OF THE ORIGINAL NAME
OF THE LOCALITY KUCHA CHHEL AMEERAN (THE STREET OF THE 40 NOBLES)WHETHER THIS
IS TRUE OR FALSE IS DIFFICULT O SAY BUT THE FACT REMAINS THAT KUCHA CHELAN WAS
A LOCALITY WHERE MANY SCHOLARS AND ULEMA LIVED, MOMIN KHAN MOMIN A GREAT USTAD
OF URDU POETRY AND A CONTEMPORARY OF GHALIB, LIVED JUST OUT SIDE KUCHA CHELAN,
MULLA VAHIDI WHO LEFT FOR PAKISTAN AND MAULANA AHMAD SAEED WHO DID NOT, TWO
VERY WELL KNOWN AND HIGHLY RESPECTED 20th CENTURY SCHOLARS AND WRITERS OF DELHI
LIVED IN KUCHA CHELAN, SO THE TRADITION HAS A HISTORY.
Faith
“
|
"Mir ke deen-o-mazhab ka
poonchte kya ho un nay to
kashka khaincha dair mein baitha
kab ka tark Islam kiya"
What can I tell you about Mir’s faith or belief ?
A tilak on his forehead in a temple he resides, having abandoned Islam long
ago |
”
|
|
What Mir was practicing was probably the
Malamati
or “Blameworthy” aspect of the
Sufi tradition. Using this technique, a person ascribes to
oneself an unconventional aspect of a person or society, and then plays out its
results, either in action or in verse. He was a prolific writer. His complete
works,
Kulliaat, consist of 6
dewans, containing 13,585 couplets
comprising all kinds of poetic forms:
ghazal,
masnavi,
qasida,
rubai,
mustezaad, satire, etc.
Mir vs Mirza Ghalib
Mir's famous contemporary, also an Urdu poet of no inconsiderable repute,
was
Mirza Rafi Sauda. Mir Taqi Mir was often
compared with the later day Urdu poet,
Mirza Ghalib.
Lovers of Urdu poetry often debate Mir's supremacy over Ghalib or vice versa.
It may be noted that Ghalib himself acknowledged, through some of his couplets,
that Mir was indeed a genius who deserved respect. Here are two couplets by
Mirza Ghalib on this matter.
“
|
Reekhtay kay tumhi ustaad nahi ho Ghalib
Kehte hain agle zamane me koi Mir bhi tha
You are not the only master of Urdu, Ghalib
They say there used to be a Mir in the past |
”
|
|
“
|
Ghalib apna yeh aqeeda hai baqaul-e-Nasikh
Aap bey behrah hai jo muataqid-e-Mir nahi
Ghalib! Its my belief in the words of Nasikh*,
"He that vows not on Mir, is himself unlearned!" |
”
|
—Mirza
Ghalib
|
Major works
- "Nukat-us-Shura"
Description about Urdu poets of his time
- "Faiz-e-Mir"
Collection of five stories about beggars, said to have been written for
the education of his son Mir Faiz Ali.
- "Zikr-e-Mir"
Autobiography written in Persian language.
- "Kulliyat-e-Farsi"
Collection of poems in Persian language
- "Kulliyat-e-Mir"
Collection of Urdu poetry consisting of six diwans (volumes).
Mir Taqi Mir in fiction
Khushwant Singh's famous novel
Delhi: A
Novel gives very interesting details about the fictional life and
adventures of the great poet. His fictional memoirs and confessions, especially
those about his illicit relations with elite women, mainly with the wife of the
aristocrat Rias Khan who employed him as tutor to teach his children, are not
only very entertaining but also provide a lot of insight into his mind and
heart
Famous Couplets
Some of his impeccable couplets are:
“
|
Dikhaai diye yun ke bekhud kiya
Hamen aap se bhi juda kar chale''
(She appeared in such a way that I lost myself
And went by taking away my 'self' with her)
Looked as if rendered me unconcious
away went leaving me separated from me |
”
|
|
At a higher spiritual level the subject Of Mir's poem in not a woman but
God. Mir speaks of man's interaction with the Divine. What affect it has on man
when God reveals Himself to man. Dikhaai diye yun ke bekhud kiya When I saw you
God I lost all sense of self Hamen aap se bhi juda kar chale When You revealed
yourself it separated me from myself
“
|
Gor kis dil jale ki hai ye falak
Shola ek subh yaan se uthta hai''
(What heart-sick sufferer's misery is the sky?
an Ember rises hence at dawn) |
”
|
|
“
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Ashk aankh mein kab nahi aata
Lahu aata hai jab nahi aata''
(From my eye, when doesn't a tear fall
Blood falls when it doesn't fall) |
”
|
|
“
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Bekhudi le gai kahaan humko
Der se intezaar hai apna
(Where has selflessness taken me
I've been waiting for myself for long) |
”
|
|
“
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Ibtidaa-e-ishq hai rotaa hai kyaa
Aage aage dekhiye hotaa hai kyaa
(Its the beginning of Love, why do you wail
Just wait and watch how things unveil) |
”
|
|
“
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Likhte ruqaa, likh gae daftar
Shauq ne baat kyaa badaai hai
(Started with a scroll, ended up with a record
How pursuit escalated the whole thing) |
”
|
|
“
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Deedni hai shikasgi dil ki
Kya imaarat gamon ne dhaai hai
(Worth-watching is my heart's siege
What a citadel have sorrows razed) |
”
|
|
“
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Baad marne ke meri qabr pe aaya wo 'Mir'
Yaad aai mere Isa ko dawa mere baad''
(O Mir, She came to my grave after i'd died
My messiah came to my aid after i'd died) |
”
|
|