) Who is Mir Taqi Mir? How does he lament over the ruins of Delhi?
Answers
Explanation:
By 1739, Delhi had been sacked by Nadir Shah and plundered many times. Expressing the sorrow of those who witnessed the decline of the city, the eighteenth-century Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir, said:
Dilli jo ek shahr tha alam mein intikhab,
Ham rahne wale hain usi ujre dayar ke
(I belong to the same ruined territory of Delhi, which was once a supreme city in the world)
Answer:
POETIC DISSENT
Subversive in verse: How Delhi’s Urdu poets once challenged emperors and clerics
At a time when the offence-taking machinery is in overdrive, it is hard to imagine an era when poets wore defiance as a badge of honour.
Malini Nair
Oct 08, 2018 · 11:30 am
A portrait of Mir Taqi Mir. | Anant Raina
Battered by marauders, only one thing bloomed in the desolate capital of the Mughal Empire before its death in 1857: Urdu poetry. Delhi had fallen in love with Urdu, which was brought in by poet Wali Dakhani from the Deccan in 1700, but no-one had fallen for it harder than the poets of the city.
From Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda in the early 18th century to Daag Dehlvi in the late 19th century, they all crafted poetry that was uniquely Delhi – encapsulating its gallis, bazaars, sounds and linguistic quirks. Most importantly, they wrote poetry that was politically and socially aware and unafraid to speak the truth.
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