चाहें तो तुम को चाहें, देखें तो तुम को देखें
ख़्वाहिश दिलों की तुम हो, आँखों की आरज़ू तुम
-मीर तक़ी मीर
chaahein to tum ko chaahein, dekhein to tum ko dekhein
khvaahish dilon kii tum ho, aankhon kii aarzuu tum
-Mir Taqi Mir
No one but you to love, and only you to gaze at.
You are my heart's desire and my eyes' longing.
English translation by Manish Modi
______________
Mir Taqi Mir can justly lay claim to the title of the greatest poet of Urdu. He has been called the "Khudaye-Sukhan" of Urdu poetry. Some would claim that Ghalib was the greatest Urdu poet. But not only did Mir precede Ghalib, his poetry is endowed with a simplicity that one
despairs of finding in Ghalib's works. For me, the simple honest verse of Mir is infinitely preferable to that of the self-confessed, difficulty-loving Ghalib!
Mir Taqi Mir was born in Agra and moved to Delhi after a failed affair of the heart. He was born in abject poverty and moved to Delhi to escape from it. But being a straightforward person, Mir was incapable of the obsequious manner that was expected at the royal court. Hence,
he had to return from Delhi a pauper and spent his last years in Lucknow, serving under Navab Asaf Al Doulah for a monthly salary of Rs. 300.
Mir's poetry is known for its literary merit, sweetness of language, elegance of presentation amd sensitive depiction of passion and tenderness. No wonder Allama Niaz Fatehpuri called Mir the Shahenshah of Urdu poetry.
ख़्वाहिश दिलों की तुम हो, आँखों की आरज़ू तुम
-मीर तक़ी मीर
chaahein to tum ko chaahein, dekhein to tum ko dekhein
khvaahish dilon kii tum ho, aankhon kii aarzuu tum
-Mir Taqi Mir
No one but you to love, and only you to gaze at.
You are my heart's desire and my eyes' longing.
English translation by Manish Modi
______________
Mir Taqi Mir can justly lay claim to the title of the greatest poet of Urdu. He has been called the "Khudaye-Sukhan" of Urdu poetry. Some would claim that Ghalib was the greatest Urdu poet. But not only did Mir precede Ghalib, his poetry is endowed with a simplicity that one
despairs of finding in Ghalib's works. For me, the simple honest verse of Mir is infinitely preferable to that of the self-confessed, difficulty-loving Ghalib!
Mir Taqi Mir was born in Agra and moved to Delhi after a failed affair of the heart. He was born in abject poverty and moved to Delhi to escape from it. But being a straightforward person, Mir was incapable of the obsequious manner that was expected at the royal court. Hence,
he had to return from Delhi a pauper and spent his last years in Lucknow, serving under Navab Asaf Al Doulah for a monthly salary of Rs. 300.
Mir's poetry is known for its literary merit, sweetness of language, elegance of presentation amd sensitive depiction of passion and tenderness. No wonder Allama Niaz Fatehpuri called Mir the Shahenshah of Urdu poetry.
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