Forum Pakistan

Hasan, Mir Ghulam (1727-87)
Poet. An *Urdu-Ianguage poet who belonged to an aristocratic clan that also produced other major poets, e.g., Mir Anis. He was one of the 'four pillars of Urdu poetry' in his time. He held the post of poet laureate and chronicler at the court of the Oudh Nawab. He has to his credit a *Sufi composition Rumuz-i-Arifin ('Mysteries of the Initiated'), Tarkira-i-Shuara-i-Urdu (' Anthology of Urdu Poetry'), * ghazals, <qasidas, *rubai, and other works. His magnum opus is the masnawi Sehr al-Bayan ('The Magic of Eloquence'), 1785, which is believed to be a classic in this genre of Urdu poetry and which inspired many imitations and interpretations.

WORKS: 'Sehr al-Bayan', Lahore, 1966; 'Masnawi Sehr al-Bayan, modern edition' Delhi, 1984; Mathnawiyat-i-Mir Hasan, Lahore, 1966.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Wahid Qureshi, 'Mir Hasan aur Unka Zamana', Lahore, 1959; Mahmud Faruqi, 'Mir Hasan aur Khandan ke Dusre Shuara' (Mir Hasan and Other Poets of his Family), Lahore, 1953; R. Russel, 'Khurshid ul-Islam, Three Moghal Poets', Cambridge, 1968.