Mir Muhammad Taqi (February 1723 – 20 September 1810), known as Mir Taqi Mir, was an Urdu poet of the 18th century in Mughal India and one who helped shape the urdu language itself. His father's name was Meer Muttaqi .
After his father's death, he became an orphan and had to live with many relatives. His step-brothers and uncle took control over most of what he owned .
The grief he expressed in his poetry is captivating. He has written many poems and ghazals about the downfall of Deli, which was once an important city to him and other poets from Delhi. His work is considered as the “ Master piece of Urdu”.
His Takhalus(PEN NAME) was Meer/ Mir. In the latter part of his life, Mir spent most of time in court with Asaf-ud Daulah.
Life History Of Meer Taki Meer
The main source of information on Mir's life is his autobiography Zikr-e-Mir, which covers the period from when he was a child to when hw moved to Lucknow.
Although it is said to conceal more than reveal, with material that is undated or presented in no chronological order. Many of the 'true details' about mirs life remain a matter for speculation.
Mir was born in Agra, India (then called Akbarabad and ruled by the Mughals) ca. August or September 1723 to a family of Arab origins who would go on to be known as some of India's most influential people.
Mir's life was shaped by the values his father taught him, and he carried those lessons with him through adversity.
Death of Meer’s Father
It is said that Mir's father died while the poet was still in his teens, leaving him without a provider. He left Agra for Delhi shortly after this tragedy and sought out patrons who could offer financial support as well as guidance on how to go about finishing school properly (Mir had many different benefactors throughout history).
Some scholars consider two of Mir's masnavis (long narrative poems rhymed in couplets), Mu'amlat-e-ishq and Khwab o khyal e mir, written in the first person as inspired by his own love affairs. However it is not clear how autobiographical these accounts are when discussing passionate affair which resulted into madness .
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.
King’s Invitation and leaving Delhi
From the time of 1748 onward, Mir lived in Mughal Delhi. His house was Kuchha Chelan located near Old Delhi but after that year's sack by Ahmad Shah Abdali he eventually moved to court at Lucknow due to invitation from Asaf-ud Daulah,on king’s invitation. He wrote couplets about this event which are full with feelings against plundering looters and vandals alike. He never stopped loving Delhi though.
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
Migration To Lucknow
Mir, who had initially been given a kind welcome by Asaf-ud Daulah but found that he was now considered old fashioned in comparison with the courtiers of Lucknow (Jur'at's work being nothing more than "kissing and cuddling").
Mir was once a courtier to the king, but their relationship gradually grew strained. He finally severed all ties and became quite isolated in his last years as he suffered from health problems and grieved over lost loved ones like family members who passed away or left him behind at some point before then.
Meer died, on Friday the 21st of September 1810. His marker was removed in modern times when a railway was built over his grave to make way for trains running through this historic city center area.
Meer Taki Meer Literary Life
His complete works, Kulliaat, consist of six Diwans containing 13585 couplets. It is a collection that includes all kinds or poetic forms: ghazal's and masnavis to qasida ruba’is (lovely verses) musteeszaads and satire etc...
One of the most famous Urdu writers, Mir wrote many love poems in his Kulliyat-e-Mir. One that is particularly well known among lovers' circles, ghazals. It also includes Mu’amalath e Ishq (The Stages Of Love). They contain themes like separation or longing for one another's company until death do them part…
Mir lived during a time when Urdu language and poetry was at its newest stage - thanks to Mir's natural aesthetic sense he found the perfect balance between indigenous expression with new enrichments coming in from Persian imagery. His works are known today as in Rekhta or Hindui
Mir wrote many pieces of literature using both his native tongue, but also Arabic script so it could be more widely read .
Meer had a native Hindustani language which he leavened with Persian phraseology and created an elegant poetic dialect. It was intended to serve as the basis of future poets in their quest for simplicity, naturalness and poetry itself.
The death of his family members, together with earlier setbacks (including the traumatic stages in Delhi), lend a strong pathos to much if Mir's writing - and indeed he is noted for his poetry that deals both emotionally uplifting tales as well darkly thought-provoking ones.
Mir Taqi Mir Quotes
"Mir ke deen-o-mazhab ka
pochty kiya ho un ney to
kshka khancha deir main batha
kb ka terk Islam kiya"
"What can I tell you about Mir's faith or belief ?
A tilak on his forehead in a temple, he resides and has abandoned Islam long ago."
What Mir was practicing is the Malamati or “Blameworthy” aspect of Sufi tradition. Using this technique, a person ascribes themselves an unconventional trait and then plays out its results in action or verse
Mirza Galib VS Meer
Meer Taqi Meer’s poetry resembles with Mirza Glib. He widely accepted that Mir was indeed a genius and he know the elote form of urdu language. Here are some of their verses.
Meer Taqi Meer
ریختے کے تمہی استاد نہیں ہو غالب
کہتے ہیں اگے زمانے میں کوئی میر بھی تھا"
Meerza Galib
"غالب اپنا یہ عقیدہ ہے بقاء ناسخ
آپ بے بہرہ ہے جو تقدیر میر نہیں"
Meer Taqi Meer sad poetry
Some of his impeccable couplets are:
"دیکھائی دیے یون کے بےخود کیا۔۔۔
ہمیں آپ سے بھی جوڑا کر چلے'
“I had been abruptly parted from myself I looked as if rendered me unconcious, away went leaving a gap of separation between my "self" and what was happening around her”
At a higher spiritual level, the subject of Mir's poem is not just woman but GOD. He speaks about how humans interact with their Divine creators and what effect it has on them when God reveals Himself to each individual person.
دیکھا دیا یون کے بےخود کیا
ہمین آپ سے بھی جوڑا کر چلے
When I saw YOU, my divive creator, I lost my all sense
When you show up, myself was separated from me.
گور کس دل جلے کی ہے یہ فلک
شولا ایک سب یان سے اٹھا ہے''
(The sky is a vast and endless expanse. The sun shines tirelessly to give us light, but it cannot penetrate its darkness)
"اشک آنکھ میں کب نہیں آتا
لہو آتا ہے جب نہیں آتا''
(when tear doesn’t fall from my eye,
When it doesn’t fall, Blood falls)
"بےخودی لے گئی کہاں ہمکو
دیر سے انتظار ہے اپنا"
Myself, why have I been waiting
I want to take care of myself for so long.
"ابتداعشق ہے روتا ہے کیا؟
اگے اگے دیکھئے ہوتا ہے کیا"
Why do you wail?
It's the beginning of Love, why don't we wait and watch how things unveil.
"لکھتے رُقاء، لکھے گی دَفتر
شوق نی بات کیا بدائی ہے"
The story of how pursuit escalated the whole thing. It started with a scroll, but god knows where it ended up
"دیدنی ہے شکاسگی دل کی
کیا امامت گاموں نی ڈھائی ہے"
A citadel has been razed by sorrows, but this siege will not last for long.
"باد مرنے کے میری قبر پر آیا وو میر"
یاد آئی میرے عیسیٰ کو دعا میرے بعد
(O Mir, she came to my grave after I'd died
My messiah had come to my aid and saved me)
Mir Taqi Mir in Fiction
Khushwant Singh's famous novel Delhi: A Novel gives very interesting details about the life and adventures of poet Rias Khan. His fictional memoirs are entertaining, but also provide insight into what makes him so likable as well!
Meer Taqi Meer valuable work
• Nukat-us-Shura, a biographical dictionary of Urdu poets from his time written in Persian.
• The Sufi and faqir stories in this collection are said to be written for the education of his son, Mir Faiz Ali.
• Kulliyat-e Farsi is a collection of poems compiled in persian.
• Zikr-e-Mir is a collection of poems written in Persian.
• Kulliyat-e-Mir has so much to offer. It's a unique, beautiful collection of six diwans (volumes) .
• Rubaiyat of Meer Taqi Meer.
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