“Hai aur bhi duniya mein sukhanwar bahut ache
Kehte hain ke ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayaan aur.” – Mirza Galib

Today, Google Doodle has dedicated its homepage to one of the most iconic Urdu and Persian poets, Mirza Ghalib.

Born Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan, in Kala Mahal, Agra, Ghalib is known to be one of the last great poets of the Mughal Era.

Even today, Ghalib’s work has influenced not only Pakistan and India, but individuals all over the world.

Mirza Ghalib’s poetry and ghazals have gotten international acclaim and have been translated into numerous languages interpreted in different ways. In the 1850s, Ghalib was given the title of Dabir-ul-Mulk by the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

Ghalib started composing poems from the young age of 11. Even though his first language was Urdu, he was fluent in Turkish and Persian and wrote poetry in all three languages.

Mirza Ghalib died in Delhi, India in 1869 and the house in which he passed away has been turned into a memorial called “Ghalib ki Haveli.”  It permanently houses all of his exhibitions and it was here that Ghalib wrote some of his most noteworthy ghazals and recited them to an audience every night.

Happy 220th Birthday, Mirza Ghalib!

cover image source: google.com