Poetry of Mir Taqi Mir

His name was Muhammad Taqi and takhallus (pen name) was “Mir” (sometimes also spelt as Meer Taqi Meer), was the leading Urdu poet of the eighteenth 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).

miir ke shi((r kaa a;hvaal kahuu;N kyaa ;Gaalib
jis kaa diivaan kam az gulshan-e kashmiir nahii;N

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)”

“ Gor kis diljale 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)”

“ 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)”

“ Bekhudi le gai kahaan humko
Der se intezaar hai apna
(Where has selflessness taken me
I’ve been waiting for myself for long)”
“ 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)

“ 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)”

“ Deedni hai shikasgi dil ki
Kya imaarat gamon ne dhaai hai
(Worth-watching is my heart’s siege
What a citadel have sorrows seized)”

“ 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)”