Nazeer Akbarabadi

Nazeer Akbarabadi Biography

Nazeer Akbarabadi was an 18^th century Indian poet addressed as "Father of Nazm". He wrote e Urdu ghazals and nazms under the penname, Nazeer. His real name is Wali Muhammad, and he was born in Delhi. He lived during the period 1740–1830, a period which witnessed the decline of Mughal Empire in India. Banjaranama (Chronicle of the Nomad) is his acclaimed work. It’s widely believed that he authored 200,000 verses, but unfortunately a bigger portion of it is destroyed and only 6000 verses are available in printed form. He had a good command over Urdu language, and no other Urdu poet used as many words as Nazeer did. He was known as ‘people’s poet’, for the ordinary themes and words he chose for work.

His exact date of birth is not known. As per historians, he was born in 1735 in Delhi, a time coincided with the decline of the Mughal empire in India. His father was Muhammad Farooq. His mother was the daughter of Nawab Sultan Khan who was the governor of Agra Fort. During his childhood and teens, he witnessed a lot of wars and countless people were mercilessly killed in Delhi too. Due to the political unrest, his family migrated to Akbarabad, when he was 18 years old.

During his lifetime he authored more than 200,000 verses and many ghazals. But majority of his work has been destroyed, and what left is 6000 verses and 600 ghazals. But these works are widely regarded as precious in Urdu literature. His poetry conveyed the plight of the common people in their language. For the same reason, his works were not considered elite then, when he authored them. His works earned recognition only later. "Banjaranama","Kaljug nahin karjug hai yeh", "Aadmi Naama" etc are among his popular poems, which have been included in academic syllabus.

Published: October 30, 2018

Updated: October 30, 2018