Verses That Will Make You Fall in Love With Mirza Ghalib

A century and a half after his death, Mirza Ghalib lives on through his lyrical poetry.

Mirza Ghalib died on 15 February 1869.

(Graphic: Rahul Gupta/The Quint)

(This story was first published on 15 February 2016 and has been reposted from The Quint’s archives to mark Mirza Ghalib’s birth anniversary.)

Mirza Ghalib was born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan on 27 December 1796 to a Turkish aristocratic family in Agra. He’s considered the most influential Urdu poet in modern India. He was the court poet of Bahadur Shah Zafar II and was responsible for creating a new form of lyrical Urdu poetry.

Ghalib passed away on 15 February 1869 in Delhi at the age of 73. Here’s remembering some of his ageless work.

Note: Some of the verses that were incorrectly attributed to Ghalib earlier have been removed.