Send us a textMir 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. Lovestruck and without any support, Mir lost the balance of his mind. When Nadir Shah attacked, he left Delhi and settled in Lucknow, where he got an offer of support from Nawab Asifuddaulah, which he turned down and preferred to live in misery. Mir left behind six divans of Urdu ghazals and one of Persian ghazals, apart from other writings that included Zikr-e Mir (an autobiography).If you wish to gain a deeper understanding of Mir Taqi Mir’s work, please consult ‘The Hidden Garden: Mir Taqi Mir’ by Professor Gopi Chand Narang (translated from Urdu by Surinder Deol), published by Penguin / Viking in 2021.

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