Mirza Ghalib’s words are everywhere. You’ll find them elaborately painted on the back of our trucks, as ghazals echoing in our tangled midnight streets, on tattered pages tucked away in dusty libraries and through nostalgic melodies sung by the greats like Jagjit Singh, Abida Parveen and Lata Mangeshkar.

The venerated poet of Mughal Urdu shayari was born on this day back in 1797, and to celebrate I’ve cherry picked my favorite heart-aching penned words of his.

1. This one where Ghalib talks about writing to his beloved just for the sake of it.

This is my most treasured poem of his.

2. And this one about the reality of loyalty.

3. Here he talks about all the grief one can take.

4. And this one where he reveals the true essence of love.

5. How grief is an inherent part of life, and how you just have to take it in stride.

6. The ache of being alone and misunderstood.

7. He wrote about his beloved so wonderfully.

8. He described intimacy in the most profound way.

9. Ghalib always depicted the bitterness of life.

10. The heart must beat a fiery beat if it is to ever fit in.

11. Ghalib weaved heartache so beautifully into his words.

Know any other quotes by Ghalib that tug at your heartstrings? Share with us in the comments below.