Nawab Mirza Dagh Dehlvi

Nawab Mirza Dagh Dehlvi was one of the most popular masters of the Urdu ghazal. Born in Delhi, he spent part of his youth in the Red Fort and received poetic guidance from Zauq. After the upheaval of 1857, he lived in Rampur and then Hyderabad, where he received great honour and patronage at the Nizam’s court.

Dagh’s ghazals are known for clear idiom, conversational ease, playfulness, warmth of feeling and a confident expression of love. He preferred the polished everyday speech of Delhi to heavily Persianised language and played an important role in carrying that idiom into modern Urdu poetry. His direct, memorable style became immensely popular with literary audiences and singers alike.

As a teacher, Dagh’s influence was exceptional. Thousands of pupils from different parts of the subcontinent sought his guidance and helped shape the next literary generation.