Alphabetical (English) by taKhallus. Enter in search box or scroll. Click on selection for content.
00-muKhtalif shu’ara
A collection of different shu’ara,. Only one or two selections of their work appear in urdushahkar.
aaftaab paanipati – lala anoop chand
(1897-xxxx) devout hindu, strong nationalist of a secular outlook. Contributed to newsmagazine, “sanaatan dharm prachaarak”, which was published in urdu!!!!! He wrote Ghazal in chaste urdu and many fiery nazm in urdu mixed with local dialect in support of the independence movement.
aajiz – kaleem ahmed
(1924-2015) writer, poet, academician, recipient of padma shri, taught urdu at paTna university. He has written powerfully about communal harmony as well as other political themes.
aatish bhavalpuri-devi dayaal
1915-1993, sonipat, haryana. Born Khairpur (now pakistan). Influenced by shu’ara-jaimini sarshaar, he began composing. Matured and received recognition in bhaavalpur. Editor of ‘naya jiivan’, lecturer of urdu chhoTuram aarya college. Started and edited a magazine, ‘paiGhaam’, staunch secularist throughout his life.
aazad – jagan nath
(1918-2004), miyaaNvaali (now in pakistan) son of another great poet, tilok chand mahroom. Wrote with much passion about hindu-muslim and India-pakistan accord. Composed tributes and several Ghazal in the style of Ghalib, several biographies of mohammed iqbal. Lover of urdu.
aazim-gurvindar siNgh kohli
(1952-living), dehli. Industrialist, deeply interested in urdu shaa’eri. He started composing in 1994 and only subsequently learnt to read and write urdu. Collection published in 1998.
aazrurda – mufti mohammed sadurddin KhaaN
(1789-1868), Chief mufti/judge, dehli, close friend of Ghalib. 1857 arrested, property confiscated. Complete diivan never published during his lifetime.
aazurda dehlavi-kanhaiyya lal
~1915-xxxx. Family finances resulted in formal education only through high school but it is reported that he was an expert is urdu, English and faarsi. His ustaad, haidar dehlavi, migrated to pakistan, but the two maintained a strong relationship. He worked as a clerk in the Press Information Bureau, in the government. A collection of his Ghazal was published in 1968.
aish dehlavi – hakim aGha jaan
(1779-1874). Third generation hakim. Criticized Ghalib’s difficult style.
akbar allahabadi – syed akbar husain razvi
(1846-1921) judge witty, famous for humorous and satirical compositions. Serious Ghazal are also excellent.
aKhtar – hari chand
(1901-1958), hoshiarpur, punjab. Moved to India 1947. MA in English Lahore. Journalist. Makes fun of orthodoxy and the power structure in delightful and sarcastic ways.
aKhtar – syed jaaN nisaar husain rizvi
(1914-1976) romantic, progressive and revolutionary. Worked in academics and in cinema. Both his father (muztar Khairabadi) and his son (javed aKhtar) are noted poets.
amir – amir ahmed minaaii
1829-1900 classical romance shaa’er. Lost patronge in dehli after 1857. Moved to kaakori, rampur and finally hyderabad.
amn – gopi nath
1898-1983, lakhnau. Freedom fighter. Gandhian. Communal harmony. Composed Ghazal, nazm, bhajan , marsia, salaam.
anis – mir babar ali
(1803-1874) four generations of poets, faizabad and luknow. He is most famous and celebrated for his marsia but did compose a limited range of Ghazal.
arsh malsiani – panDit baalmukund
(1908-1979) son of labhuram josh malsiani from malsian (now in Pakistan). Succeeded josh malihabadi as Editor of ‘aajkal’. Liberal, communal harmony.
asGhar – asGhar husain gonDvi
(1884-1936) from a family of limited means, he learnt urdu, arabi, faarsi and English through personal effort. He has a philosophical sufiyaana bent.
ash’har – iqbal ashhar
(1965-living) is very popular in mushaa’era with his very strong and musical voice.
ashok-ashok lal
(xxxx-living) dehli. urdu poet, playwrite, screen writer, theatre director. One of three sons of vinod lal taalib – direct descendant of hargopal tufta, shaagird of Ghalib.
Collection of poems is titled ‘raushnaaii’.
Collection of poems is titled ‘raushnaaii’.
auj-rajesh kumar
(xxxx-xxxx). He started composing in 1952. I am guessing from the context of his brief writing that this was during his teenage years. His collection ‘gul-e tar’ was published in 1984 at which time he was Deputy Inspector General of the state of haryana.
bahaar – ameer chand
(1925-xxxx). 8 collections of Ghazal, nazm, rubaaii and poetic translations of English poems. Taught English at ludhiana and rohtak goverment colleges.
bahaar – manohar lal
(1912-????), hyderabad, father, rai shahed lal taught him urdu and farsi at home. Collection ‘bahaaristan’ 1977. Retired as a high-level official in the Dept of Agriculture.
bahzad lakhnavi-sardar hasan KhaaN
(1900-1974) sufiyaana and aashiqaana Ghazal folk songs lyrics. Devout, observant muslim and wrote geet/bhajan to ram and krishn as well.
bedaar – kripaal siNgh
(1916-1977), shaiKhupura. No family background in shaa’eri. College in lahore, fled to paTiaala and finally became lecturer. Collection 1977.
bekal utsaahi – mohammed shafi KhaaN
(1930-2016) padma shri, observant muslim and composed paens to ram and krishn. Extensive use of avadhi.
beKhud dehlavi – syed vahiiduddin ahmed
(1863-1955), shaa’er of classical romantic style, shaagird of daaGh dehlavi.
betaab – priitpaal singh
(1949-xxxx) pooNch, kashmir. MA, LLB. kashmir (state) administrative service. Director, Food and Supplies. 9 collections of verse.
brahman-chandr bhan
(1574-1662) was a companion/friend of daara shikoh. Served in shahjahaaN and auraNgzeb’s courts. High post. Mostly faarsi, beginnings of urdu Ghazal.
chaand – mahendra pratap
(1935-????) karoR lal eesan then ambaala. MA in urdu and Library Science. Assist Librarian, Kurkshetra University. “A Bond of Love – My Passage to Pakistan”.
chakbast – panDit brij narain
(1882-1926) kashmiri panDit, lukhnow. Learnt arabi, farsi and ursu from maulvi. Later lawyer. Very politically aware. Communal harmony.
daaGh dehlavi – navaab mirza KhaaN
(1831-1905), raised in laal qila. After 1857, moved to rampur, later hyderabad, earthy and romantic shaagird of zauq, and close relationship with Ghalib.
dard – syed Khwaja mir
(1721-1785). His father relinquished his position as mansabdaar to lead the life of a sufi. Religious education under the supervision of his father. Witnessed invasions of naadir shaah, ahmed shaah abdaali and maraaThas. Mastery of arabi, faarsi and urdu. Expert in Indian music. He shows strong sufi inclinations in his verse.
darshan – sant darshan singh
(1921-1989) rawalpindi faarsi, urdu and English. Wrote respectfully of all religions. Retired as deputy secretary finance government of India.
dil shahjahaaNpuri – zamiir hasan
hakiim zamiir hasan dil shaahjahaaNpuri (1875-1959), disciple of amiir minaaii. Classical style of Ghalib withoug layered meanings. Two taKhallus – zamiir and dil.
dilgiir-lala chhannu lal
1781-1848. lukhnau. Prolific marsia composer but much of his work is reported lost.
dinesh-dinesh kumar bansal
(1977-living). kaithal, haryana. kurukshetra univesity. haryana department of education. Interested in Ghazal from childhood. Heard them avidly on TV and radio. First composition in 2005. Received much encouragement, but then got busy in building a career. Started again in 2014. Participated in mushaa’era, published in magazines. Collection published in 2018.
faakir – sudarshan kaamra
1934-2008, lyricist, poet, progressive, secular, short Ghazal.
faani-badayuni – mohammed shaukat ali KhaaN
(1879-1941), BA 1901, law 1908. Stumbling law practice. Invited to hyderabad by maharaja kishan parshaad in 1932, working as the principal of a reputed school. Alcohol proved to be a big problem. He died forlorn and destitute. Much of his work was lost.
fahmida riaz
(1946-2018) is generally known as a ‘feminist’ poet. She is that. But her repertoire is much wider. In addition to women’s rights, she has written about peace, justice, militarism and much more.
faiz ahmed faiz
(1911-1984) a poet of romance, resistance, labour leader, journalist, political activist, Lenin Peace Prize awardee writes with great finesse and delicacy using the beloved as a metaphor for the homeland and/or the socialist revolution.
falak – munshi heera lal
1920?-1982?, mid-level clerk in dehli court system. diivaan published posthumously by devoted shaagird. beKhud dehlavi was his mentor.
faraz – syed ahmad shah
(1931-2008) popular love and romance poet as well as a substantial contributor to progressive themes.
figaar – dilaavar husain
(1929-1998) was known for his humour and satire, poking fun at politicians, shaiKh, shaa’er and himself.
firaq gorakhpuri – raghupati sahay
(1896-1982) pre-eminent urdu shaa’er, scholar of farsi and sanskrit. Nominated to ICS but chose to participate in the freedom movement. Later he chose an academic career, teaching English at Allahabad University. firaq composed 4 Ghazal in the style of mir taqi mir and 5 in the style of Ghalib.
Ghalib – mirza asadullah KhaaN
(1797-1869). I dare not write any introduction. On more than one occasion Ghalib has warned his readers that he needs no introduction or even address. I humbly comply. There are numerous Ghazal composed in the radeef/qaafiya of Ghalib and are linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
gopal – prem gopal mittal
(1901-1993) migrated from lahore to dehli is 1948. Editor, writer and critic in addition to poet. He has written eloquently about communal harmony, univeral love and Reason.
gulzar – sampooran s kalra
(1936-living) popular poet, lyricist, film-maker and writer. Lover of urdu. Best known for producing a TV serial on Ghalib.
gulzar dehlavi – panDit anand mohan
(1926-2020) a fiery, liberal, secular poet who reaches across to write and recite about communal harmony. He also does not hesitate in speaking ‘truth to power’.
haajir dehlavi – munshi raghunath singh
(1884-1922) father and grandfather poets, scholars of urdu and faarsi, started composing at 13-14. diivaan and collection Ghalib aur haajir published posthumously.
haali paanipati – altaaf husain
(1837-1914), panipat. Later education in dehli in arabi and faarsi. Devshaagird of Ghalib aoted nd wrote ‘yaadgaar-e Ghalib’.
haatim – shaiKh zahuruddin
(1699-1783) dehli. haatim was his pen name. mirza sauda, was his shaagird who probably outdid his ustaad. He graciously quotes Khwaaja miir dard (1721-1785), a junior contemporary.
habiib – jaikrishn chaudhry
1904-xxxx. Dera ismail KhaaN. Scholar of urdu, sanskrit, faarsi and English. Worked with Khaan Abdul Ghaffaaar KhaaN. India in 1947. IAS. Retired in jabalpur.
hafiz jalandhari – abdul asr hafiz
(1900-1982) was an orthodox, observant muslim and after partition was a strident Pakistani nationalist.
hasan chishti
(xxxx-2014?) hyderabad. Writer, poet. Lab superintendent, engineering college. Migrated to and died in Chicago.
hasrat mohani
(1878-1951), freedom fighter, jailed several times. Devout, observant muslim, known as “maulana”. Pilgrimages to baGhdaad, najaf and karbala and to mathura and nandgaam. Ghazal style paens to krishn, bhajans in the style of meera baaii. Declared himself to be a socialist/communist.
ibn-e insha – sher mohammed KhaaN
ibn-e insha (1927-1978), poet, journalist, travelogue writer. A progressive with wide ranging subjects – romance, politics, deep humanism and self deprecating humour.
insha – insha allah KhaaN
insha (1753–1817), contemporary of mir taqi mir, left dehli and got patronage lukhnau. He fell out with the nawab, lost his patronage and was even imprisoned. He died in poverty and misery.
iqbal – mohammed iqbal
(1877-1938) is one of the greatest, with his literary compositions, both in urdu and in faarsi. He went through many phases in his thinking and writing – starting with an inclusive, liberal stance to a reactionary, hubristic position. Sprinkled all over are self-reliance/Khudi, sufiyaana and socialist thoughts.
iqra Khilji
From ahmedabad. A very energetic and powerful poet writing on communal as well as feminist issues.
ishq auraNgabadi-mirza jamaalullah
xxxx-1780 admirer of sauda and dard. His year of birth is not known. Just going by the year of his death we can see that he was a junior contemporary of siraj auraNgabaadi (1712-1764) and a slightly preceded Ghalib (1797-1869).
jaalib – habib ahmad
(1929-1993), people’s poet. Wrote and spoke/recited fearlessly against dictatorship, inequality and injustice in simple straightforward language.
jagdish sahay saxena
(xxxx-xxxx) collection published 1974. Reported active in mushaa’era circuit. Several Ghazal in the zamin of Ghalib.
jazbi – moin ehsan
(1912-2005) aazamgaRh. MA and PhD from aligaRh. Taught there. Progressive Writers’ Association. Assistant editor of ‘aajkal’.
jigar barelavi-shyaam mohan lal
1890-1976 Ghazal, nazm, rubaaii, masnavi and critical treatises as well as linguistic and literary style, and autobiography. Traces his ustaad tradition through his father to Ghalib.
jigar-muradabadi – ali sikandar
jigar muradabadi (1890-1961) was a profilic poet of sufiyaana, romantic and musical Ghazal. My of his compositions have been put to music and sung by great singers.
josh malihabadi – shabbir hasan KhaaN
(1898-1982) is known as a poet of revolution., secular humanist writing sharply against colonialism, abuse of power, injustice and orthodoxy.
josh malsiani – panDit labhu ram
(1884-1976) from malsian, now pakistani, migrated to India a little before partition/independence. He has written with great feeling about communal harmony and about the loss of his homeland – pakistan. His son, baalmukund arsh malsiani was also a well recognized poet.
junoon – nazeer hussain siddiqui
(1891-1956) kaakori and hyderabad. arabi, faarsi and urdu, traditional at home. Trained in accountancy became Assistant Financial Secretary, hyderabad. With the early passing of his wife, he devoted himself to his children, their education and urdu poetry.
kaifi – brij mohan dattatreya
(1866-1955) kashmiri panDit, scholar of arabi, faarsi, sanskrit and urdu. urdu lover. Wrote a short history of the evolution of the language.
kaifi azmi – syed aKhtar husain rizvi
(1918-2002) poet, lyricist, filmmaker and activist. Progressive Writers’ Association and Communist Party member. Several urdu academy awards and padma shri from the Govt of India.
kaifi dehlavi – munshi chandra bhan
(????-1941) Ghazal in classical style on classical themes. nazm on nationalistic and communal harmony themes. Taught faarsi.
kaNval – kaNval laal sharma
1921-xxxx, professor Gandhi Memorial National College, ambaala later aatmaram sanaatan dharm college, dehli.
kausari-chaudhri dilluram
(1882-1936) was a practicing vaishnavi hindu who wrote a lot about islamic figures. hisaar district of present day haryana. Collected from magazines and published in a booklet, some posthumously.
kavita – kavita kiran
(1963-living), hyderbad, maraaThi. Grew up in an urdu loving atmosphere. Lessons in Ghazal viTThal rao. Four collections of kalaam.
Khayaal-chandrbhan
1946-xxxx-hoshaNgabad, madhya pradesh. Fascinated with urdu poetry, read in local library in devanagiri, memorized a lot of Ghazal and nazm, started composing. Taught himself reading and writing urdu, and after college, went to dehli, working in a petrol pump. He took a nazm to raam chandr muztar, chief editor of ‘milaap’ and became his shaagird. Participated in mushaa’era, published a collection and got started on a journalism career. Worked for urdu dailies – savera and qaumi aavaaz and later chief editor of hindi weekly bhaavya Times, dehli.
khumaar baarabaNkvi – mohammed haidar KhaaN
(1919-1999) with a strong lyrical voice, he became a hit at every mushaa’era. urdu and faarsi at home and English at school. Quit college in intermediate to give more time to composing. Stayed with classical Ghazal style with some lyrics and three collections to his credit.
KhwaahmaKhwaah hyderabadi – Ghous mohammed
(1929-2013) hyderabad, telaNgana. Very popular for his humour but also wrote serious Ghazal. Worked in maharashTra state in administrative positions and moved back to hyderabad after retirement. He was a frequent visitor to the US.
kishwar naheed
(1940-xxxx), family moved to pakistan. MA Economics. Worked for the Information Service, Government of Pakistan. 12 volumes of poetry to her credit. Liberal and feminist. Awarded sitaara-e imtiaaz.
lata haya
maa’el dehlavi-mirza taqi beg
(1850-1931). He moved to jaipur, rajasthan, in 1879 looking for patronage and found employment with the local rajah along with a number of cohorts. The extensive collection of his work was posthumously published in three volumes by the rajasthan urdu academy.
maGhmuum – krishn gopal
(1916-xxxx) aTak in pakistan later in panjab and haryana government positions moving up the ranks. Ten collections of Ghazal, rubaaii and nazm.
mahroom – tilok chand
(1887-1955) and his son jagan nath azad are an illustrious father-son team of urdu shu’ara. miaNvaali (now in pakistan), they migrated to India in 1948, after unsuccessfully trying to remain in lahore.
maikash hyderabadi – mohammed ali KhaaN
(1918-1948), of the nizam shaahi clan of hyderabad (title sahabzaada-princeling), nevertheless, a committed socialist.
majaz – asraar-ul-haq
(1911-1955) was progressive as well as romantic poet, a heartthrob. He received his BA from aligaRh. Free spirit. Tragic death.
majrooh dehlavi – mir mahdi hasan
(1833-1903) was one of the close disciples of Ghalib. He composed in the classical romantic style.
maKhdoom mohiuddin
(1908-1969), progressive, communist, freedom fighter, labour union leader/organizer, beloved of hyderabad.
mashriqi – sardar genDa siNgh
(1857-1909), roopaR, panjab. English and faarsi in middle school, family finances prevented schooling. Learnt urdu on his own. diivaan by grandson 1989.
mazhar-premchand srivastav
xxxx-xxxx, jabalpur. PhD. Principal, Commerce College. Chair, anjuman-e taraqqi-e urdu. Leading role in naagarik Ghalib shataabdhi samiti, 1969.
meeta – ameeta parsuram
(1955-living) practicing psychologist with an inherited taste for urdu. Went back to school after graduation to learn it. Beautiful woman’s perspective in her Ghazal.
mir taqi mir
(1722-1810) great classical poet of angst, romance and sufiyaana thoughts. Prolific with six diivaan of urdu and one of faarsi in addition to masnavi.
mohan – krishn mohan lal bhaaTia
(1922-2004) taKhallus krishan mohan. sialkot. Formal education English and faarsi. Indian Revenue Department. Twenty eight books.
momin – momin KhaaN
(1800-1852) died young from an accidental fall. hakim, astrologer, chess player. arabi, faarsi and urdu. Composed using his taKhallus in very witty ways. Romance poetry.
mona – Elizabeth Kurian
1949-living poet in malyalam, English. Learnt urdu late by correspondence course. Ghazal favourite genre. Four books.
mulla – panDit anand narain
(1901-1997), a kashmiri panDit, lukhnow, high court judge, lok sabha and rajya sabha , liberal thinker. communal harmony, urdu lover.
munavvar lakhnavi – bishweshvar parshad
(1897-1970) scholar of arabi, faarsi, urdu, and hindi. His father, dwarka prasad ufaq. Both translated hindu religious texts into urdu.
mus’hafi – Ghulam hamdaani
1699-1783 dehli to lakhnau. Voracious reader. Copious notes. Work scattered. Legendary rivalry with insha KhaaN insha.
mustafa zaidi
(1929-1970) died young in tragic and controversial circumstances. There is a heavy dose of resistance, romance and philosophy in his composition.
muztar – raam avtaar gupta
(1936-xxxx) was a well recognized poet in both urdu and hindi. His compositions are classical romantic in their themes.
muztar-ram krishn
1927-1984) buland shahr. Adopted by a childless uncle and aunt, but they died while he was still very young. Not interested-lost inherited lands to squatters. Undergraduate in faarsi punjab university and advanced studies with the Iranian Cultural House in dehli. Worked for milaap, dehli, an urdu daily newspaper/magazine. shaagird of firaq gorakhpuri.
naasiKh -imaam baKhsh
(1772-1838) faizabad, lakhnau. scholar of arabi, faarsi. Expert is language structure and trained in sound. Fiercely independent.
naasir – naasir raza kazimi
(1923-1972) migrated to pakistan. Several of his compostions are interpreted as mourning the loss of home, familiar surroundings and identity.
naatiq – ali akbar
1976-living and rising poet with a new style and deep thought.
naaz dehlavi – sher singh
(1897-1962) was an observant orthodox jain. Wrote Ghazal in chaste urdu and odes to jainism in urdu/hindustani mix.
naaz Khialvi – mohammed shafiiq
(1947-2010) faisalabad. Hosted radio program. Most celebrated (along with nusrat fateh ali KhaaN) for his sufiyaana qavvaali ‘tum ek gorakh dhanda ho’.
naazli-nalini vibha
1954-living, PhD in music. Teaches music at the postgraduate college, hamiirpur, himachal pradesh. Learnt urdu, composes in both hindi and urdu with two books in each language.
nadir shahjahaNpuri – John Robert Paul
(1890-1963) Christian Missionary heritage. Chose to continue to stay in India. divaan of over 400 Ghazal.
naGhma – roopa mehta
(xxxx-living), saurashTra, mumbai. zulm of love told from a woman’s point of view. Answer to the incessant depiction of the (female) beloved as the oppressor.
najma-shamshaad tasadduq
1917-xxxx. sialkoT. shaagird of seemab akbarabadi. MA, BT. Education Department. Broke ground for feminists.
naqsh-mahesh chandr
1928-1980 meeraTh and dehli. Sub-inspector in the dehli transport corporation. Four collections of Ghazal and qitaat. No bio sketches in any of his publications, however there is a reference to a TV interview in which he was asked when he got time to compose. After a moment of thought he replied, I do it constantly – on or off the job. No indication of how he became interested in urdu.
naseem – panDit daya shankar kaul
(1811-1845) has many Ghazal to his credit in spite of his short life-span. But he is most known for his masnavi, an epic fairy tale of gul-e bakaavali and prince taaj-ul-mulook.
naseer – naseer turabi
(1945-2021). Born in hyderabad, family migrated to pakistan in 1948. He began composing in 1962 and was active in liberal causes including opposing military rule.
naushad – naushad ali vaheed ali
(1919-2006) famous and popular music director as well as a published poet.
nazar – munshi naubat rai
(1864-1923), lukhnow. Well recognized poet with a published diivaan and the editor of several literary magazines including adeeb.
nazeer akbarabadi – shaiKh vali mohammed
(1735-1830) agra, contemporary of mir taqi mir. Tutored children of nobility, including perhaps Ghalib. Ghazal is chaste urdu as well folk songs in popular language. He is reported to have participated in festivals of all religions with gusto.
nazm – syed ali haidar tabaatabaaii
(1854-1933), scholar, critic, translator and poet. 1883 to hyderabad, Professor, Nizam College and Department of Translation, Osmania University with josh malihabadi.
neeraj – gopal das
1925-2018. Poet, lyricist, professor of hindi, progressive, padma shri and padma bhushan
nida – muqtada hasan faazeli
(1938-2016) gwalior. MA in urdu and hindi, vikram university, ujjain. Family moved to pakistan but he chose to stay. Writer, poet, songwriter, dialogue writer and journalist of urdu and hindi.
noor – kishan bihaari srivastav
(1926-2003), born and grew up in lucknow. In a lot of his work, he gracefully reaches across communal lines both in the social/political and religious fields. He also was a great lover of urdu.
noor-pannalal srivastav
xxxx-xxxx, jabalpur. BA LLB. Ex Mayor. Past President anjuman-e taraqqi-e urdu. Leader in Ghalib shataabdhi samiti.
osman – osman ali KhaaN
(1886-1967), the erstwhile ruler of hyderabad was a prolific poet of considerable literary capability. His diivaan was collected and published posthumously in eight fair sized volumes.
paashi – kumar shaNKar dutt
(1935-1992) refugee from pakistan. Grew up in dehli. Versatile with nazm, Ghazal, drama, short stories and magazine editing.
paNchhi – sardar karnail siNgh
1932-xxxx. gujranvala. Father also poet. panjabi, hindi, urdu and faarsi. 22 collections to his credit.
parvaaz-darshan dayaal
(1935-xxxx), shaiKhupura, pakistan. He settled in jalandhar district after 1947. shaagird of rajendra nath rahbar. I could not figure out what he did for a living. He lived in a small village, noor mahal. My guess is that he had lands and engaged in agriculture.
parvaaz-vijendra siNgh
(1943-living), fareedabad and meeraTh. MA (English Literature). Lecturer, KV Inter College meeraTh. I could not figure out what his family background was and how he came to urdu. A great lover of urdu and a staunch secularist.
parveen shakir
(1952-1994), English literature and linguistics, correspondent, educator, Pakistan Civil Service. Prolific writer bringing new thought and new style to urdu shaa’eri.
parvez-prakaash naath
1930-xxxx, amritsar district. BA (1953) and MA (1960) in urdu from punjab university. Learnt faarsi as a part of his BA curriculum. He started composing verse at an early age with first publication in a magazine in 1956. He worked for the central government in the accountant general’s office. There are at least four collections of doha, nazm and Ghazal.
puri-narain das
(1870-1953) lahore and dehli. He worked as a school principal in fareedkoT and later as inspector of schools. Migrated to India in 1947. His collection ‘kaNval’ was published posthumously in 1963.
qamar jalalabadi-om prakash bhanDaari
(1916-2003) with a family background of retail grain trade and farming and no tradition in music or poetry, he acquired a taste for urdu shaa’eri and started working for magazines after completing high school. sahir ludhianavi invited him to a mushaa’era in lahore where he was hired by a film company. Worked for the lahore film industry before moving to pune and later mumbaii with much success as script, dialogue and songwriter.
qamar-jalalavi – syed mohammed husain
(1887-1968), popularly known as ‘ustad’, for his expertise in repairing bicycles. Lived in penury. Chaste urdu, classical style. Put to music. Very witty use of taKhallus.
qateel shifai – auraNgzeb KhaaN
(1919-2001) hazara, pakistan. Had to quit college because of family finances. Unsuccessful at family business. Started out with Ghazal but also wrote lyrics for the lahore film industry and then for mumbai. Equally popular in both.
raahat indori – raahatullah
1950-2020 very popular and combative writing in mushaa’era style as well as classical style.
raahi – jamna parsaad
(1940-2017), aligaRh. Sahitya Akademi, UP, awardee. President, Progressive Writers’ Association. He specialized in composing in the style of Ghalib
raahi – raghubiir saran divaakar
(1914-1968), rampur. Born amroha, learnt urdu and faarsi at school. BA, LLB from meeraTh. District Information Officer, UP. shaa’eri was on top of this ‘day job’.
raaje barelavi-maaya khanna
(1942-xxxx) lukhnau. Educated and practiced as a physician. Early childhood in pune, where she started composing in maraThi and panjabi (her native language). A childhood friend introduced her to urdu and she fell in love with the language. She married into a well to do family in bareli and her husband was also very supportive of her literary activities. There are at least 4 collections to her credit.
raaz chaandpuri mohammed saadiq
1892-1969) chaandpur UP. Traditional education in urdu and faarsi at home and in a madrasa. Later he studied urdu and English formally at a high school in muradabad.
rabindranath Tagore
rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), poems, songs, hymns, short stories, drama and novels in bangla, some of which he himself translated in English.
rahbar – jitendra mohan sinha
1911-1993, bijnaur, UP, freedom fighter, school and college teacher.
raina’s Ghalib
rajesh reDDi
(1952-living), nagpur, mumbai. Fell in love with urdu Ghazal during in college. Worked for All India Radio. Three collections of his verse.
raNga – raNga chari
(1931-????). Clerk in a Junior Basic Training College. He learnt urdu and faarsi at home from his grandfather. Published diivaan in 1985!
rasaa – bharatendu harishchandra
1850-1885 – 3rd generation poet. High calibre Ghazal. Later turned bitterly anti-urdu.
rashk sukhdev sharma
1935-xxxx rural area of punjab, now in pakistan. Headmaster of a local school, MA in urdu. ustaad – raghubirdas sahir sialkoTi. I found only one book. The compliments in his book by dozens of other shu’ara indicate the widespread education in urdu among all communities – hindu, muslim and sikh.
ratan panDorvi- panDit dula ram
(1909-1990), paThaankoT. Books – urdu instructional texts, interpretation of Ghalib, literary history and criticism, rules of versification and more.
ravaaN – jagat mohan lal
(1889-1934) unnao and lucknow. arabi and faarsi in unnao. BA, MA and LLB in lucknow. Practiced law. Several collections of Ghazal and rubaaii to his credit. Composed bits of ramayan in urdu and a long tribute to gautam buddh.
ravish-shahed aziz siddiqui
1909-1971 from a religious family but in addition to arabi and faarsi, learnt sanskrit and hindi and was well versed in vedantic literature.
rehaani-syed shafat hanson
(1912-????), lukhnau and hyderabad. urdu and faarsi in raampur and later in punjab university. Christian urdu poet who with conventional Ghazal as well as Christian devotional nazm. Pastor at the Methodist Church in hyderabad.
renu – renu verma
renu verma (1974-living), exquisite urdu compositionyet her 2018 book says that she does not know how to read and write urdu.
rishi – rishi paTialavi
baam dev sharma rishi paTialavi (1917-1999) was progressive poet writing with much feeling about communal harmony.
rusva – mirza mohammed hadi
1858-1931 shaa’er better known for his novel umraau jaan ada. Writer, critic, editor, astronomer, mathematician.
saaGhar nizaami – samad yaar KhaaN
samad yaar KhaaN saaGhar nizaami (1905-1984) a progressive shaa’er with strong nationalist inclinations. He was awarded padma bhushan.
saahil – raam chandr varma
(1947-living) Dera Ghazi KhaaN and dehli. mechanical and telecom engineer. Retd as Asst Dir, GoI Telecoms. Interest in urdu maybe inherited.
saalik – qurbaan ali
(1824-1880), hyderabad, brought up in dehli, back to hyderabad after 1857. Ghalib’s shaagird.
saaqi – panDit javaahar naath
(1864-1916) kashmiiri panDit, family legacy of service starting with akbar. Long line of poets. shaagird of saalik and zaki, both shaagird of Ghalib.
saaqi-subodh lal
(xxxx-xxxx) one of three sons of vinod lal taalib, a direct descendant of hargopal tufta, shaagird of Ghalib. His father and then aalam fatehpuri were his ustaad. Worked as a high-level officer in the government and later as President of ZTV.
saeed-shahidi – mir abid ali
(1914-2000) not nationally known but very well known and liked in hyderabad. Many of his Ghazal, put to music and popular Mix of romantic, sufiyaana and religious.
sahaab – shiv dayal
(xxxx-xxxx) No clear dates. First divan, 1971. shaagird mela ram vafa (1895-1980). Testimonials about 25 years of service to urdu show a young poet in the mid 1940s. Editor ‘milaap’ chandigaRh. Did not receive shaa’eri in viraasat but passed to his son, ashok narula, published his divan even before his father.
sahaab-ajay paanDay
(1969-living) ICS officer, commisioner GST, jhaarkhanD. Grew up in surroundings completely devoid of urdu. Read sahir, firaq and faiz in devanagiri and fell in love with urdu. Taught himself reading and writing and started composing at 16-17.
sahar – mohindar singh bedi
(1909-1992) had to migrate to the Indian side after partition. In his writings he has reached across religious lines and national boundaries, writing about peace and harmony and odes to islamic as well hindu figures. The character of his compostions have a ring of sincere devotion and inclusiveness.
sahir dehlavi – panDit amarnath
(1863-1962) deeply affected by the cultural degeneration after 1857 war, turned to mysticism in shaa’eri. Scholar of sanskrit, arabi and faarsi.
sahir hoshiarpuri – raamprakash ohaari
(1913-1972), MA faarsi lahore. Family business. shaagird of labhuram josh malsiani, specialized in Ghazal of short bahr/meter.
sahir ludhianavi – abdul hai fazal mohammed
sahir ludhianavi (1921-1980). Extremely popular songs also Ghazal and nazm in classical style yet simple language. Recurrent theme of peace. A progressive, socialist/communist, he was one of the few openly atheist poets.
sahir sialkoTi-raghubir das
1906-1984. BA sanaatan dharm college lahore. milaap daily, lahore. During partition lost all his work. In India worked for magazines. A college friend had a few of his Ghazal saved. shaagird of josh malsiani. Collection published in 1959.
sardar – ali sardar jafri
(1913-2000) balrampur and mumbai. Poet, lyricist, filmmaker, writer, editor and TV serial producer, Progressive Writers’ Association and Communist party member. Among his many honours and awards – padma shri.
sarshaar – mahashai jaimini
1904-1984 rural punjab speaking local version of arya samaaji language. Learnt urdu as an act of rebellion to become a sahib-e diivaan
sauda – mirza mohammed rafii
(1713-1781) classical romantic and sufiyaana Ghazal in urdu and faarsi. Contemporary of mir taqi mir. Strong proponents of communal harmony. They made much fun of orthodoxy.
seemab akbarabadi-syed aashiq husain
(1880-1951) agra and karachi. Had to quit college to work – railways. Freedom fighter. Progressive. Odes to islamic as well as other religious figures. shaagird of daaGh and later established a school for emerging poets. Editor and writer.
seemab baTaalavi- panDit dharamviir
1923-xxxx. baTaala. shaagird successively of tilok chand mahroom, jagan nath azad and brahmadatt huma. Impressed by seemab akharabadi and adopted his taKhallus.
shaa’eq-sardar udai siNgh
1895-1987 fariidkoT. Lawyer. Was active in the mushaa’era circuit around paTiala, amritsar and dehli. His collection was published in 1968.
shaa’er – himayat ali
(1926-2019) poet, writer, lyricist, actor, radio drama artist. Contemporary of habib jalib. Both wrote with much feeling about people’s issues.
shaad – murli dhar
~1910-1950. His diivaan ‘gul o anjum’ was published posthumously. shaNkar-shaad Memorial Trust organizes annual hind-pak mushaa’era.
shaad – naresh kumar
naresh kumar shaad (1927-1969) prolific poet, writer, translator. Member Progressive Writers’ Association. Socialist/Communist.
shaadaaN gwalieri-uma shaNkar
(xxxx-xxxx). I could not find anything about the poet other than that he grew up around bhopal and gwalior. His collection, published in 1984, does not have a single word about him. It was selected and published by the madhya pradesh urdu academy. My guess is that at the time of the publication of his collection, he was already a mature person.
shaarib – manohar lal
(1920-1962) learnt urdu, farsi and arabi at home. High School. Agriculture Department in hyderabad. Progressive Circle of shu’ara.
shafaq-gopal krishn batta
1933-xxxx, paTiala. MA urdu in addition to a medical degree. He practiced as a physician. Organized Indo-pak mushaa’era annually in ambala. Formed a society of poets who met regularly. Published three collections of his own poetry, one in devnagiri script.
shahed-shuru’aat
shahed (1944-living) is/was an engineer with 50 years of research in pollution control technology. He came to urdu late in life. This website is his attempt to learn urdu.
shahid siddiqui
(1911-1962) agra and hyderabad. Progressive Writers’ Association and Communist party member. Poet, editor, journalist and columnist.
shakeel badayuni – shakeel ahmed
(1911-1970) badayun and mumbai. Graduated from aligaRh and got a low level adminstrative job in the government in dehli. Wrote Ghazal and well recognized in mushaa’era. Quit job to move to mumbai and write lyrics for movies.
Shakespeare
shankar – shankar lal
~1880-~1952. shaNkar-shaad Memorial Trust organizes hind-pak annual mushaa’era. diivaan ‘dair o haram’ unavailable.
sharar fatehpuri-raam siNgh
(1928-1992), fatehpur, haryaana. MA (urdu) and MEd, from aligaRh. He worked in the Department of Education, haryaana. Progressive Writers’ Association, Communist Party of India, awardee of the saahitya akademi of haryaana and uttar pradesh. Soviet Land’s Nehru Award. He composed a large body of protest nazm.
shauq – panDit jagmohan raina
(1863-xxxx) two volumes of his diivan, 1940 and 1947. With panDit brijkishan kaul beKhabar, two large volumes of urdu and faarsi selections of kashmiri panDits.
shaz tamkanat – syed maslahuddin athar
(1933-1985) hyderabad. PhD osmania and later faculty. Published several collections and received awards – sahitya academy and imtiaaz-e miir.
shefta-mustafa KhaaN
(1809-1869) close friend of Ghalib. Nawab of jahaaNgirabad and bulandshahr. Sentenced to 7 years in 1857. Later released but all lost property and pension.
shifa dehlavi-prem lal
1914-xxxx) najafgaRh (near dehli. medical degree 1934. started practice. Learnt Russian and French took degrees in 1954. seven languages urdu, hindi, sanskrit, English and some German. urdu translations of classical Russian poems. interested in shaa’eri from childhood. memorized ash’aar of many masters. started composing and became shaagird of fazl-e ilaahi maKhmoor dehlavi. First publication was translation of Russian poems. His own collection published in 1959.
sho’la – dwarka das
1910-1983 lahore, later dehli. Very successful pharmacy business. No formal education. urdu lover.
siraj aurangabadi – syed shaah siraajuddin husaini
(1712-1764) contemporary of Khwaja mir dard. Left home and became sufi mendicant. sufiyaana universal love is the central theme of his compositions.
siya sachdev
(1976-living), bareilly. Her collection does not have a single word about her biography. What is most disappointing is that I don’t know how she came to urdu.
sohail – iqbal ahmad
(1884-1955), aazamgaRh, UP, freedom fighter, legislator and poet. Practiced law in aligaRh. Was active in the freedom struggle.
sulaiman Khateeb
(1942-1978) biidar and hyderabad. Very popular for his progressive thoughts wrapped in humorous verse.
suroor – aal-e ahmad suroor
1911-2002 academic, critic, writer, editor, poet. MA English and urdu literature. Head of the department of urdu at aligaRh.
suroor – durga sahay
(1873-1910) died young, probably because of excessive drinking. Tellingly, his books are named Khum-kada-e suroor, paimaana-e suroor, and Khum-Khaana-e suroor. He wrote about hindu religious themes also and moved easily and rhythmically between chaste urdu/farsi and hindi/khaRi boli.
suroor barabaNkvi
(1930-1980), movie maker, script and song writer, labour leader and political activist as well as a shaa’er of high quality.
syed G imam
syed m jafari
taalib shaahabaadi-sv bhajan
(1924-xxxx) MA, MOL, PhD. PhD from tehraan university, research on chishtia order. Served as pastor in lukhnau, dehli and hyderabad. Grandfather had converted to Christianity. Worked in hyderabad for many years d running the Henry Martyn Institute of Islamic Studies and translating the Bible into urdu.
tahira – tahira sayeed
1922-1991+?, hyderabad. Poet, translator, fiction writer. D.Litt, urdu? Scholar of faarsi and arabi. At least six collections of nazm and Ghazal. Progressive.
talKh – manmohan shukla
(1931-2001), naagpur, maharashtra. At least six books of his collections of verse, but no bio. Probably an academic.
tarz – ganesh bihari srivastav
(1928-2008). BA LLB from lucknow. He worked in various legal and administrative positions. Started composing around 1949. Brother of kishan bihari noor.
tishna – syed aalam taab ali
(1935-1991), born in meraTh, migrated to pakistan in 1959, describes it as “banbaas” given to him by “kaikaii of the times”.
vaheed aKhter
1935-1996 hyderabad, poet, writer and critic. PhD philosophy osmania university taught at aligaRh.
vajd – sikandar ali
(1914-1983), hyderabad, auraNgabad, civil service, sessions judge, Rajya Sabha. Contemporary of maKhdoom in Osmania University, a poet of progressive views.
vali dakkhani – vali mohammed
(1667-1707) reKhta was emerging faarsi poets looked down upon the upstart, vali dakkhani gave respectability to urdu.
vaqaar – rai kishan kumar
~1840-????, raja of muradabad, accomplished poet with two collections of Ghazal. Several in the zamin of Ghalib.
yakta-pramod lal
(xxxx-xxxx), dehra dun. PhD English literature. Taught various colleges in MP before settling down in dehra dun. One of three sons of vinod taalib, direct descendant of hargopal tufta, shaagird of Ghalib. Collection published in 2016.
zafar – abdul muzaffar bahaadur shaah
(1775-1862) nominal emperor 1837-1857. Scholar of faarsi and arabi, started composing at an early age. Held frequent mushaa’era in the Red Fort.
zaki – mohammed zakaria
(1839-1903) dehli, aristocratic family of scholars. Close shaagird of Ghalib. Music, astrology, and calligraphy.
zauq – shaiKh mohammed ibrahim
(1790-1854) was a master of urdu, arabi and faarsi. ustaad to bahadur shah zafar. Rivalry with Ghalib is legendary.
zia-mahr lal soni
1913-1986, kapurthala, panjab. Even though he had no family tradition of urdu or shaa’eri, he fell in love with both at an early age and learnt at home from an ustaad. He got a BA and MA from Forman Christian College and served as student magazine editor. Worked at the Reserve Bank of India. He was a shaagird of seemab akbarabadi and has more than half a dozen collections to his credit.
