Mirza Ghalib Birth Anniversary: 6 Facts About Legendary Urdu Poet

Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, better known by his pen name Ghalib, is one of the most well-known and esteemed poets in the languages of Urdu and Persian. His verses or couplets still resonate with the various facets of life. On the poet’s 226th birth anniversary, here are a few facts about Mirza Ghalib

 

1. When Ghalib was just 13 years old, he married Umrao Begum, the daughter of Nawab Ilahi Bakhsh, and moved to Delhi.

2. The titles Dabir-ul-Mulk and Najm-ud-daula were given to Mirza Ghalib by Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II in 1850.

3. He received the title of Mirza Nosha from Bahadur Shah Zafar II, thus adding the word Mirza to his name.

4. Ghalib penned his first verse when he was eleven years old, and interestingly, it has been noted that in the majority of his verses, the gender of the beloved is never known.

5. Ghalib, the last great poet of the Mughal era, was buried in Hazrat Nizamuddin, close to Nizamuddin Auliya's tomb, when he passed away on February 15, 1869.

6. Mirza Ghalib's residence at Ballimaran, Old Delhi's Gali Qasim Jan has been turned into a heritage site. A life-size replica of the renowned poet is also kept in the museum.