Ghazals: Translation of Classic Urdu Poetry

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THE PROLIFIC MIR TAQI MIR (1723-1810), widely regarded as the most accomplished poet in Urdu, composed his ghazals-a poetic form of rhyming couplets-in a distinc- tive Indian style arising from the Persian ghazal tradition. Here, the lover and beloved live in a world of extremes: the outsider is the hero, prosperity is poverty, and death would be preferable to the indifference of the beloved. Ghazals offers a comprehensive collection of Mir's finest work, translated by a renowned expert on Urdu poetry.

SHAMSUR RAHMAN FARUQI was a foremost translator and scholar of Urdu literature as well as an acclaimed novelist and poet. He was the author of numerous books, including a four-volume study of Mir Taqi Mir.

Muhammad Taqi, who later earned lasting renown as the great Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir, or Muhammad Taqi Mir, or just Mir, was born in Agra (better known at that time in official and literary circles as Akbarabad) in September 1723. He died in Lucknow on September 10, 1810.

Mir's ancestors came from the Hijaz in the Arabian Penin- sula in the early 1600s. Some members of the family settled in Ahmedabad, and some traveled to Agra. His grandfather rose to be commander (or deputy commander) of a fort near Agra. His father, Muhammad Ali, had a son by his first wife, and at her death he contracted a second marriage. Mir was born from this union. Muhammad Ali was a strong believer in Sufism. In his autobiography, Mir eulogizes his father's spiritual status and attainments. Apparently he was named Ali Muttaqi (Ali, the God-fearing and pious) by one of his spiritual guides or friends.

Mir's father died in 1733. Mir's older half brother was cold and unhelpful, obliging Mir to seek his fortunes in Delhi (in 1734-1735), where he met with the distinguished nobleman Amir al-Umara Samsam al-Daula through a friend of his father's. Amir al-Umara granted a suitable pension to Mir, and, armed with the resources for a comfortable life, Mir returned to Agra to pursue his studies. The pension continued until Amir al-Umara's death in battle in 1739, when once again Mir became friendless and devoid of financial means.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages