{{Short description|Indian poet (1831-1905)}} {{redirect|Daagh|the Pakistani television series|Daagh (TV series)}} {{EngvarB|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Daagh Dehlvi | image = DaghDehlviAPoet.jpg | caption = داغ دہلویؔ | pseudonym = Daagh | birth_name = Nawab Mirza Khan | birth_date = {{birth-date|25 May 1831}}<ref name=goodreads>[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7994294.Mirza_Daagh_Dehlvi Profile of Dagh Dehlvi on goodreads.com website] Retrieved 17 May 2018</ref> | birth_place = Delhi, Mughal Empire | death_date = {{death-date and age|17 March 1905|25 May 1831}}<ref name=goodreads/> | death_place = Hyderabad, Hyderabad Deccan | occupation = Poet | period = 1831 to 1905 | genre = {{flatlist| *Ghazal *qasida *mukhammas }} | subject = Love and human relationships | movement = | imagesize = | notableworks = Gulzar-e-Daagh (1878)<br>Masnavi Fariyad-e-Daagh (1882)<br>Diwan-e-Daagh | honorific_prefix = | native_name = {{nq|نواب مرزا خان داغ دہلوی}} | native_name_lang = ur }}
'''Nawab Mirza Khan''' ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|نواب مرزا خان داغ دہلوی}}}}, 25 May 1831 – 17 March 1905), popularly known by his ''takhallus'' '''Dagh Dehlvi''' was an Indian poet known for his Urdu ''ghazals''. He belonged to the old Delhi school of Urdu poetry.<ref name=TheHindu/><ref name=urdupoetry/><ref name=Dawn>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/688271|title=Flashback: Remembering a Mughal city (Delhi of Mughal era)|newspaper=Dawn newspaper|url-status=dead|date=15 January 2012|archive-date=18 May 2018|access-date=2 February 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518054945/https://www.dawn.com/news/688271}}</ref>
He wrote romantic and sensuous poems and ''ghazals'' in simple and chaste Urdu, minimising usage of Persian words. He laid great emphasis on the Urdu idiom and its usage. He wrote under the ''takhallus'' (Urdu word for pen name) ''Daagh Dehlvi'' (the meanings of ''Daagh'', an Urdu noun, include stain, grief and taint while ''Dehlvi'' means belonging to or from Dehli or Delhi). He belonged to the ''Delhi school of thought'' in Urdu poetry.<ref name=TheHindu/>
His honorific ''Dabeer ud Dawla, Faseeh ul Mulk, Nawab Nizam Jang Bahadur, Sipah Salar, Yar-e-Wafadar, Muqrib-us-Sultan, Bulbul-e-Hindustan, Jahan Ustad, Nazim Yar Jung'', were the titles bestowed upon him by the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Mahbub Ali Khan.<ref name=TheHindu/>
Daagh was considered one of the best romantic poets of his time by some commentators.<ref name=TheHindu/><ref name=goodreads/>
==Life==
===Early life=== Dehlvi was born in ''Kuucha Ustad Dagh'', Chandni Chowk in Delhi to Nawab Shamsuddin Ahmed Khan, the ruler of Loharu and Ferozepur Jhirka and Wazir Khanum, daughter of a Delhi jeweller.<ref name=IndianExpress>{{cite news|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/finding-wazir/1129442/0 |title=Finding Wazir (Khanum), mother of Daagh Dehlvi|publisher=The Indian Express newspaper|date=26 June 2013|author=Amrita Dutta|access-date=3 February 2026|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025200248/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/finding-wazir/1129442/0}}</ref> Dehlvi's father was hanged under charges of conspiracy in the murder of William Fraser.<ref name=TheGuardian>{{cite news|url=http://www.sunday-guardian.com/bookbeat/the-mirror-of-beauty|title=An incandescent star, a polyphonic constellation (19th century Mughal India)|author=Omair Ahmad|date=14 September 2013|newspaper=The Sunday Guardian newspaper|access-date=2 February 2026|archive-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805171013/http://www.sunday-guardian.com/bookbeat/the-mirror-of-beauty|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dehlvi at the age of four and his mother at age thirty four, the most sought after lady, wooed and remarried the Mughal crown prince, Mirza Muhammad Fakhroo, an heir to the last Mughal Bahadur Shah Zafar. Hence, Dehlvi had the privileged education at the Delhi Red Fort,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/GulzarEDaaghSept82003ICCHamidaChopra |title=Gulzar E Daagh, an Urdu literary program on the life and poetry of Daagh Dehlvi|date=8 September 2003|accessdate=17 May 2018}}</ref> There he received best of education and was later under tutelage of poet laureate, Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq. Later, he also took advice from Ghalib on finer nuances of Urdu literature and poetry. He was also trained in calligraphy and horse riding.<ref name=urdupoetry/>
===Literary life=== Dehlvi belonged to the ''Dabistan-e-Dehli'' (Dehli school of thought)<ref name=TheHindu/> and never allowed western influences on his poetry. He started reciting poetry at the age of ten and his forte was the romantic version, the ''ghazal''. He became popular for his poetry. Unlike the elitist style by the poets of the time, his style was simple and was well received by both, the common man and the elite.<ref name=urdupoetry/>
After Mughal prince Fakhroo's death in 1856, Dehlvi along with his mother left Delhi after facing turbulent times in the city, for Rampur State and came under the aegis of Nawab of Rampur, Yusuf Ali Khan Bahadur. Daagh went into government service there and lived well for 24 years.<ref name=urdupoetry/>
===Later life in Hyderabad Deccan=== Dehlvi stayed in Hyderabad in 1888 for several months. He left Hyderabad after not being invited to the court by the sixth Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI's court, as access to his court was very limited. He then was invited immediately and was appointed as the court poet and mentor, in 1891, to the Sixth Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, at the age of 60.<ref name=urdupoetry>[http://www.urdupoetry.com/profile/daag.html Profile of Dagh Dehlvi on urdupoetry.com website] Published 28 August 2001, Retrieved 17 May 2018</ref>
Contrary to the impression one gets from his poetry, he did not drink wine and shunned it.<ref name=urdupoetry/>
His couplet on Urdu language was:<ref>[https://rekhta.org/ghazals/kaabe-kii-hai-havas-kabhii-kuu-e-butaan-kii-hai-dagh-dehlvi-ghazals# A complete ghazal by Daagh Dehlvi on rekhta.org website] Retrieved 17 May 2018</ref> {{Verse translation| {{lang|ur-Latn|Urdu hai jiska naam hamee jante hain Daagh Hindustan mein dhoom hamari zuban ki hai}}<ref name=TheHindu/> |It is Urdu whose name we know, O Daagh for our language is being celebrated all over India.}}
===Death=== He died in 1905 at the age of 74 in Hyderabad Deccan after a paralytic stroke. He was buried at Dargah Yousufain in Hyderabad.<ref name=TheHindu>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/dagh-was-the-toast-of-the-town-in-his-heydays/article3013732.ece|title=Dagh was the toast of the town in his heydays|author=J.S. Ifthekhar|publisher=The Hindu newspaper|date=20 March 2012|archive-date=3 February 2014|access-date=1 February 2026|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203075648/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/dagh-was-the-toast-of-the-town-in-his-heydays/article3013732.ece}}</ref><ref name=urdupoetry/>
===Disciples=== Dehlvi's students included Allama Iqbal, Hassan Raza Khan (1859-1908), Jigar Moradabadi (1890 – 1960), Seemab Akbarabadi and Ahasan Marharavi, though a widely quoted anecdote relates that when asked to designate his successor as the leading Urdu poet of his age, he replied ''Bekhudain [the two Bekhuds]'', referring to Bekhud Badayuni and Bekhud Dehlvi.<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=urduadab/>
===Popular ghazal songs=== His selected ''ghazals'' are rendered by contemporary ''ghazal'' singers, Jagjit Singh, Noor Jahan, Iqbal Bano, Ghulam Ali, Adithya Srinivasan, Malika Pukhraj, Mehdi Hassan, Abida Parveen, Begum Akhtar, Pankaj Udhas and Farida Khanum.<ref name=urduadab>[http://urduadab4u.blogspot.com/search?q=Daagh+Dehlvi+ Profile of Daagh Dehlvi on urduadab.com website] Retrieved 17 May 2018</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://smriti.com/hindi-songs/uzr-aane-men-bhii-hai-aur-bulaate-bhii-nahiin |title =At Her Best Begum Akhtar (Non-Film) sings Daagh's ghazal|website=Smriti - Hindi Songs Archive|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 June 2009|access-date=2 February 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625144621/https://smriti.com/hindi-songs/uzr-aane-men-bhii-hai-aur-bulaate-bhii-nahiin}}</ref>
==Bibliography== His work consists of four volumes, consisting of 16,000 couplets and a ''Masnavi''. The last two volumes he wrote when he was in Hyderabad.
* ''Gulzar-e-Daagh'' (1878) * ''Masnavi Fariyad-e-Daagh'' (1882) * ''Aftab-e-Daagh'' (1885) * ''Mahtab-e-Daagh'' (1893) * ''Yaadgar-e-Daagh'' (posthumous, 1905) * ''Diwan e Daagh''<ref name=goodreads/> * ''Intikhab-e-Kalam Daagh'' (edited by Moinuddin Aqeel)<ref name=goodreads/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite web |title=All writings of Dagh Dehlvi |url=https://www.rekhta.org/Poets/dagh-dehlvi/all |website=Rekhta}} *{{cite web |title=Recitations of the Poetry of Daagh Dehlvi |url=https://xn--mgbqf7g.com/%D9%84%DB%81%D8%AC%DB%81/%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%A8/%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%ba%d8%94-%d8%af%db%81%d9%84%d9%88%db%8c |website=Urdu Gah}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daagh Dehlvi}} Category:Indian male poets Category:Urdu-language Indian poets Category:19th-century Indian Muslims Category:Poets from Delhi Category:People from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Category:1905 deaths Category:1831 births Category:Writers from Hyderabad, India Category:19th-century Indian poets Category:19th-century Indian male writers Category:Poets from British India Category:Urdu-language poets from the Mughal Empire