Indian poet (1723?1810)
Mir Taqi Mir
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Mir Taqi Mir in 1786
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Born
| February 1723
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Died
| 20 September 1810 (aged 87)
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Resting place
| Lucknow
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Occupation
| Poet
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Era
| Mughal India
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Notable work
| - Faez-e-M?r
- Zikr-e-M?r
- Nikat-ush-Shuar?
- Kuliy?t-e-F?rs?
Kuliy?t-e-M?r
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Mir Muhammad Taqi
(February 1723 – 20 September 1810), known as
Mir Taqi Mir
(also spelled
Meer Taqi Meer
), was an
Urdu poet
of the 18th century
Mughal India
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 is often remembered as one of the best poets of the Urdu language. His
pen name
(
takhallus
) was Mir. He spent the latter part of his life in the court of
Asaf-ud-Daulah
in
Lucknow
.
[1]
His father's name was Meer Muttaqi. After his father's death, his step-brothers took control over his property. His step-uncle took care of him after he was orphaned and after the death of his step-uncle (paternal) his maternal step-uncle took care of him. The signature of his poetry is the grief he expresses. He has expressed a lot of grief over the downfall of his city, Delhi.
Life
[
edit
]
The main source of information on Mir's life is his autobiography
Zikr-e-Mir
, which covers the period from his childhood to the beginning of his sojourn in
Lucknow
.
[2]
However, it is said to conceal more than it reveals,
with material that is undated or presented in no chronological sequence. Therefore, many of the 'true details' of Mir's life remain a matter of speculation.
Early life and background
[
edit
]
Mir was born in
Agra
, India (then called
Akbarabad
and ruled by the
Mughals
) in August or February 1723.
[1]
His grandfather had migrated from
Hejaz
to Hyderabad, then to Akbarabad or Agra. His philosophy of life was formed primarily by his father, Mir Abdullah, a religious man with a large following, whose emphasis on the importance of love and the value of compassion remained with Mir throughout his life and imbued his poetry. Mir's father died while the poet was in his teens, and left him some debt.
Mir left Agra for
Delhi
a few years after his father's death, to finish his education and also to find patrons who offered him financial support (Mir's many patrons and his relationship with them have been described by his translator
C. M. Naim
).
[5]
[6]
He was given a daily allowance by the Mughal Amir-ul-Umara and Mir Bakhshi,
Khan-i Dauran
,
[7]
who was another native of Agra.
[8]
Some scholars consider two of Mir's
masnavis
(long narrative poems rhymed in couplets),
Mu'amlat-e-ishq
(The Stages of Love) and
Khwab o Khyal-e Mir
("Mir's Vision"), written in the first person, as inspired by Mir's own early love affairs,
but it is by no means clear how autobiographical these accounts of a poet's passionate love affair and descent into madness are. Especially, as Frances W. Pritchett points out, the austere portrait of Mir from these masnavis must be juxtaposed against the picture drawn by Andalib Shadani, whose inquiry suggests a very different poet, given to unabashed
eroticism
in his verse.
[10]
Life in Lucknow
[
edit
]
Mir lived much of his life in
Mughal
Delhi.
Kuchha Chelan
, 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 ruler's invitation. Distressed to witness the plundering of his beloved Delhi, he gave vent to his feelings through some of his couplets.
[6]
??? ??? ? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?????
?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???? ??
???? ?? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??????
???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ??
?? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???
?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??
Mir migrated to Lucknow in 1782 and stayed there for the remainder of his life. Though he was given a kind welcome by Asaf-ud-Daulah, he found that he was considered old-fashioned by the courtiers of Lucknow (Mir, in turn, was contemptuous of the new Lucknow poetry, dismissing the poet Jur'at's work as merely 'kissing and cuddling'). Mir's relationships with his patron gradually grew strained, and he eventually severed his connections with the court. In his last years Mir was very isolated. His health failed, and the untimely deaths of his daughter, son and wife caused him great distress.
[11]
[6]
Death
[
edit
]
He died of a
purgative
overdose on 21 September 1810, and was buried in
Lucknow
.
[12]
[6]
The marker of his burial place is believed to have been removed in modern times when railway tracks were built over his grave.
[14]
In the 1970s, a
cenotaph
was built in the vicinity of his actual burial place helped by
Maqbool Ahmed Lari
, the founder of Mir Academy in Lucknow.
[12]
[15]
Literary life
[
edit
]
His complete works,
Kulliaat
, consist of six
Diwans
containing 13,585 couplets, comprising a variety of poetic forms:
ghazal
,
masnavi
,
qasida
,
rubai
,
mustezaad
, satire, etc.
[12]
Mir's literary reputation is anchored on the
ghazals
in his
Kulliyat-e-Mir
, much of them on themes of love. His
masnavi
Mu'amlat-e-Ishq
(The Stages of Love) is one of the greatest known love poems in
Urdu literature
.
[10]
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.
[10]
The death of his family members,
[12]
together with earlier setbacks (including the traumatic stages in Delhi), lend a strong pathos to much of Mir's writing ? and indeed Mir is noted for his poetry of pathos and melancholy.
[10]
According to Mir, Syed Sadaat Ali, a
Sayyid of Amroha
convinced him to pursue poetry in Urdu:
[16]
[17]
"A Sayyid from Amroha took the trouble to put me on to writing poetry in the Urdu medium, the verse which resembled Persian poetry. Urdu was the language of Hindustan by the authority of the king and presently it was gaining currency. I worked at it very hard and practised this art to such a degree that I came to be acknowledged by the literari of the city. My verse became well known in the city and reached the ears of the young and old."
Mir and Mirza Ghalib
[
edit
]
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.
[1]
Reekhta ke tum h? ust?d nah?? ho ?h?lib
Kehte hai? agle zam?ne me? ko? m?r bh? th?
|
You are not the only master of
Rekhta
, Ghalib
They say there used to be a Mir in the past
|
?
Mirza Ghalib
|
|
Ghalib apna yeh aqeeda hai baqaul-e-Nasikh
Aap bey behrah hai jo muataqid-e-Mir nahi
|
Ghalib! It's my belief in the words of Nasikh
[18]
He that vows not on Mir, is himself unlearned!
|
?
Mirza Ghalib
|
|
Ghalib and Zauq were contemporary rivals but both of them believed in the greatness of Mir and also acknowledged Mir's greatness in their poetry.
[1]
Famous couplets
[
edit
]
Some of his notable couplets are:
Hasti apni habab ki si hai
Yeh numaish ik saraab ki si hai
[19]
|
My life is like a bubble
This world is like a mirage
|
Dikhaai diye yun ki bekhud kiya
Hamein 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
Just her glimpse rendered me numb away she went leaving me separated from me
|
At a higher spiritual level, the subject of Mir's poem is not a woman but God. Mir speaks of man's interaction with the Divine. He reflects upon the impact on man when God reveals Himself to the man. So the same
sher
can be interpreted in this way as well:
Dikhaai diye yun ke bekhud kiya
Hamen aap se bhi juda kar chale
|
When I saw You (God) I lost all sense of self
I forgot my own identity
|
Other
shers
:
Gor kis diljale ki hai ye falak?
Shola ek subah yahaan se uthta hai
|
What heart-sick sufferer's grave is the sky?
an Ember rises hence at dawn
|
Ashk aankhon mein kab nahin aata?
Lahu aata hai jab nahin aata
|
From my eye, when doesn't a tear fall?
Blood falls when it doesn't fall
|
Bekhudi le gai kahaan humko,
Der se intezaar hai apna
|
Where has selflessness taken me
I've been waiting for myself for long
|
Raah-e-door-e-ishq mein rotaa hai kyaa
[20]
Aage aage dekhiye hotaa hai kyaa
|
In the long road of Love, why do you wail
Just wait and watch how things unveil
|
Deedani hai shikastagi dil ki
Kya imaarat ghamon ne dhaai hai
|
Worth-watching is my heart's crumbling
What a citadel have sorrows razed
|
Baad marne ke meri qabr pe aaya wo 'Mir'
Yaad aai mere Isa ko dawa mere baad
|
O Mir, he came to my grave after I'd died
My messiah thought of a medicine after I'd died
|
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
|
Mir Taqi Mir in fiction
[
edit
]
Major works
[
edit
]
- Nukat-us-Shura
, a biographical dictionary of Urdu poets of his time, written in Persian.
[6]
- Faiz-e-Mir
, a collection of five stories about Sufis & faqirs, said to have been written for the education of his son Mir Faiz Ali.
[21]
- Zikr-e-Mir
, an autobiography written in
Persian
.
- Kulliyat-e-Farsi
, a collection of poems in
Persian
- Kulliyat-e-Mir
, a collection of Urdu poetry consisting of six
diwans
(volumes).
- Mir Taqi Mir Ki Rubaiyat
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Sweta Kaushal (20 September 2015).
"Meer Taqi Meer: 10 couplets we can use in our conversations"
.
Hindustan Times (newspaper)
. Retrieved
18 July
2020
.
- ^
Naim, C M (1999).
Zikr-i-Mir, The Autobiography of the Eighteenth Century Mughal Poet: Mir Muhammad Taqi Mir (1725?1810), Translated, annotated and with an introduction by C. M. Naim
. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
- ^
Naim, C. M. (1999).
"Mir and his patrons"
(PDF)
.
Annual of Urdu Studies
.
14
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Profile and poetry of Mir Taqi Mir on University of Chicago website
Retrieved 18 July 2020
- ^
Zahiruddin Malik (1973).
A Mughal Statesman Of The Eighteenth Century
. Aligarh Muslim University. p. 108.
- ^
Zahiruddin Malik (1973).
A Mughal Statesman of the Eighteenth Century, Khan-i-Dauran, Mir Bakshi of Muhammad Shah, 1719-1739
. Aligarh Muslim University. p. 4.
ISBN
9780210405444
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Pritchett, Frances W. (1 September 1979).
"Convention in the Classical Urdu Ghazal: The Case of Mir"
.
Columbia.edu website
. Retrieved
18 July
2020
.
- ^
Matthews, D. J.; C. Shackle (1972).
An anthology of classical Urdu love lyrics
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-713570-9
.
Mir.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Srivastava, Rajiv (19 September 2010).
"Legendary Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir passed away"
.
The Times of India
.
Archived
from the original on 3 November 2012
. Retrieved
18 July
2020
.
- ^
Dalrymple, William
(1998).
The Age of Kali
.
Lonely Planet
. p.
44
.
ISBN
1-86450-172-3
.
- ^
Sharda, Shailvee (3 May 2015).
"Meer to get his due respect back as the government proposes restoration of his mazar"
.
The Times of India
. Lucknow.
Archived
from the original on 1 October 2016
. Retrieved
29 May
2021
.
- ^
Arthur Dudney (2015).
Delhi:Pages From a Forgotten History
. Hay House.
ISBN
9789384544317
.
- ^
S. R. Sharma · (2014).
Life, Times and Poetry of Mir
. Partridge Publishing. p. 133.
ISBN
9781482814781
.
- ^
Shaikh Imam Bakhsh Nasikh of Lucknow, a disciple of Mir.
- ^
Poetry of Mir Taqi Mir on Rekhta.org website
Retrieved 18 July 2020
- ^
"0071_01"
.
- ^
Foreword by Dr. Masihuzzaman in Kulliyat-e-Mir Vol-2, Published by Ramnarianlal Prahladdas, Allahabad, India.
- Lall, Inder jit; Mir A Master Poet; Thought, 7 November 1964
- Lall, Inder jit; Mir The ghazal king; Indian & Foreign Review, September 1984
- Lall, Inder jit; Mir?Master of Urdu Ghazal; Patriot, 25 September 1988
- Lall, Inder jit; 'A Mir' of ghazals; Financial Express, 3 November
Further reading
[
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]
- The Anguished Heart: Mir and the Eighteenth Century: 'The Golden Tradition, An Anthology of Urdu Poetry', Ahmed Ali, pp 23?54; Poems:134-167, Columbia University Press, 1973/ OUP, Delhi, 1991
- Faruqi, Shamsur Rahman
.
?????? ??????
(in Urdu).
- Faruqi, Shamsur Rahman
(1 August 2001).
"The Poet in the Poem"
(PDF)
.
Columbia.edu website
. Retrieved
18 July
2020
.
- Khurshidul Islam;
Ralph Russell
(1994).
Three Mughal Poets: Mir, Sauda, Mir Hasan
. OUP India.
ISBN
978-0-19-563391-7
.
- Kumar, Ish (1996).
Mir Taqi Mir
. Makers of Indian Literature (2nd ed.). New Delhi:
Sahitya Akademi
.
ISBN
81-260-0186-0
.
OCLC
707081400
.
- M?r Taq? M?r (1999).
Zikr-i Mir: the autobiography of the eighteenth century Mughal poet, Mir Muhammad Taqi ?Mir', 1723-1810
. Translated by
C. M. Naim
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780195645880
.
OCLC
42955012
.
- Narang, Gopi Chand
(25 January 2021).
The Hidden Garden - Mir Taqi Mir
. Translated by Deol, Surinder. Penguin Random House India Private Limited.
ISBN
9789353052898
.
External links
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Academics
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