The Urdu Ghazal Podcast

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Josh Malihabadi (1898-1982) was one of the most significant Urdu poets of the last century. Due to his revolutionary poetry during the freedom movement, he became known as Shaayir-e-Inquilaab. Josh was born Shabbir Hasan Khan on December 5, 1898,  in Malihabad. He studied at St. Peter's College in Agra and later at Tagore's University, where he acquired proficiency in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and English. Prim...

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Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951), born Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan in Mohan, a town in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, was a multifaceted personality who impacted literature and politics in India. He was not only a romantic poet but also a journalist, politician, parliamentarian, and fearless freedom fighter. When he gave the call of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’—Long Live Revolution—he relentlessly fought for India’s independence from Br...

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Yaas Yagana Changezi (1884–1956), born Mirza Wajid Hussain Changezi, was a bold and unconventional Urdu poet known for his rebellious spirit and modernist outlook. Born in Patna, Yagana carved a unique niche in Urdu literature by defying the traditional romanticism and conventional themes that dominated the poetry of his time. He was heavily influenced by Western philosophy, particularly the works of Nietzsche, and br...

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Fani Badayuni, born Shaukat Ali Khan on September 13, 1879, in Badaun district, was a distinguished Urdu poet renowned for his poignant and melancholic poetry. He hailed from a family that had migrated to India from Kabul during the reign of Shah Alam. He graduated from Bareilly College in 1901 and earned his Bachelor of Laws from Aligarh Muslim University in 1906. Fani began composing poetry at a young age, completin...

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Dagh Dehlvi (1831–1905) was one of the most celebrated poets of classical Urdu ghazal of the late 19th century.  He came from an aristocratic family, but his father, Nawab Shamsuddin Ahmed Khan, was implicated in the murder of the British Resident William Fraser in 1835 and was executed by the British. This event drastically altered Dagh’s childhood. Following his father’s death, his mother, Wazir Khanum, married the ...

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Momin Khan Momin (1800-1851) was one of the most significant poets of the late Mughal period in Delhi. Born into a family of physicians, he was educated in Persian, Arabic, and traditional Islamic sciences. His real name was Muhammad Momin Khan, but he is known by his pen name ‘Momin.’ Momin was associated with the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, where he was highly respected for his poetic geniu...

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Maulana Altaf Husain Hali (1837-1914) was a significant Urdu poet and writer from the nineteenth century. He was born in Panipat and wrote in classical Persian and Urdu poetic traditions. However, after meeting Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, he became an essential voice for social reform and modernization in Muslim society. Hali's most famous work is the ‘Musaddas-e-Hali,’ a long poem that critically examined the decline o...

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Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, better known as Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), was one of the most influential and celebrated Urdu poets. Born in Agra during the decline of the Mughal Empire, he moved to Delhi after his marriage at a young age, where he spent most of his life. Despite facing personal tragedies, including the deaths of all seven of his children in infancy and persistent financial difficulties, Ghalib produced so...

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Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810) was born in Agra into a family that enjoyed great respect because of his father’s spiritual leanings. His father inspired Mir to follow the path of universal love and compassion. A tragedy struck when Mir was still young. He fell in love with an extended family member he could not marry. Heartbroken, he left Agra for Delhi, but that city was already in turmoil due to foreign invasions. Lovestr...

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Khwaja Mir Dard (1721-1785) was born to a highly respected religious family in Delhi. His father had relinquished his position in the Court to lead the life of a Sufi. Dard, therefore, received his spiritual education from his father. Although many poets left Delhi during the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali, Dard stayed in Delhi and witnessed horrible atrocities. He attained mastery over the Arabic, Pers...

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Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda (1713-1781) belonged to a family of traders who had migrated to India from Afghanistan. Because of his father's influence in the social circles, Sauda had easy access to nobility and social prestige that others longed for. But this situation didn’t last long. When Delhi came under attack, the family had to find a new place to live. Nawab Asifuddaulah patronized Sauda and was rewarded wit...

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Zehra Nigah, lovingly called Zehra Aapa, was ten years old when her family moved from Hyderabad, her place of birth, to Karachi after the Partition. Her father was a civil servant who had a deep interest in literature. He passed on his love of books to his children, who excelled in various literary and artistic fields. Zehra Nigah started writing early and gained great popularity among Mushaira audiences. She settled ...

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Rahat Indori was born in Indore in 1950 in a family that was going through a rough financial time, and as a result, he had to face the brutal realities of life, starting in his childhood. Despite these challenges, he struggled to get a good education, including a doctoral degree. His poetry had an element of directness that summed up the social and political difficulties facing ordinary people. In addition, he develop...

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Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi 'Saher" was born in 1909 in Sahiwal. After the partition, his family moved to Fazilka. His poetry was stylistically similar to the works of Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The Haryana Urdu Akademi instituted an award in his honor that has been presented yearly since 1990. Bedi was also associated with the film industry, producing three films and acting in one. His published works...

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Saghar Siddiqui was born in 1928 in Ambala. He started writing poetry at a young age. In 1947, when he was 19, he migrated to Pakistan during the partition and settled in Lahore. In his later life, he fell into depression, became addicted to drugs, and turned into a homeless beggar. He would often hold mushairas on the footpaths in candlelight. He continued to write ghazals, though most were lost and remained unpublis...

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Obaidullah Aleem was born in Bhopal in 1939. His family moved to Pakistan at the time of partition. He received higher education at the University of Karachi while pursuing several creative interests. He made an impressive debut as a radio and TV artist. Still, due to the discrimination he faced as an Ahmedia, everything came to a halt in 1978 when he was made to resign because of his religious beliefs. He moved to En...

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Khaleel-ur Rehman Azmi, a leading Urdu poet and literary critic, was born in 1927. He received his higher education at the Aligarh Muslim University, where he taught Urdu. He was posthumously elevated to the rank of a Professor. He wrote extensively on the progressive writers’ movement and is considered a pioneer of Modernism in Urdu. He mentored the leading British Urdu scholar Ralph Russell and poet Shahryar. He aut...

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Hastimal Hasti (1946-2024) came from a humble background in Rajasthan but gained fame while working for the film industry in Mumbai. His poetry found a common ground between Urdu and Hindi, and as such, he endeared himself to a diverse audience. His ghazal, ‘Pyaar ka pehla khat likhne mein vaqt to lagta hai,’ was sung by Jagjit Singh, and it became an instant hit. He is also the author of a famous couplet:

Har gaaon me...

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Shahid Kabir was born in May 1932 in Nagpur. He started writing short stories and ghazals early and earned fame and name recognition after he began writing for films. In 1957, he authored a play about the life of Mirza Ghalib that was staged at Rastrapati Bhawan. His books include Kachchi Deewaarein (Novel, 1958) and ghazal collections such as Charon-or (1968) and Mitti Ka Makan (1979). He was honored by the Maharasht...