Born Basharat Hussain, this poet writing under the pen-name Ahqar, is considered one of the great poets of Bihar province. His father's name was Sheikh Akbar Hussain who was the chief of the village Talhara. Ahqar was born in the same village in 1276 AH, 1859. After his primary education, he went to Bihar Sharif and then came to Patna for higher education in Arabic and Persian. Later he came to Bihar Sharif. He was fond of poetry since his childhood. He visited Lucknow in 1303 AH and started participating in literary activities there. Ahqar Bihari had also visited the Deccan and had access to the court of the Nawabs. On his return from Deccan, he started living in Kanpur. At the time of his stay, the Kanpur fish market riot had taken place. Ahqar was also affected by it. He wrote a Musaddas which was well liked by the people. Ahqar was arrested during this time and then sent to Bihar Sharif. Here he got the news that his son had passed away. Ahqar regretted it for the rest of his life. His poems are simple, colorful, yet evoke an emotion of pain. He writes in one of his couplets: Aye ahl-e-sukhan! In Sheron mein tasiir huii hai kab paida Jab dard ko dil mein rakha hai, aghosh mein gham ko paala hai Ahqar Bihari's ghazals are not only full of eloquence, idiom and, everyday speech, but also full of humor and serenity. He always had a bent towards Sufism and had sworn in allegiance to Hazrat Syed Shah Wilayat Ali Hamdani. This companionship afforded his writings a mystical color. Ahqar Bihari died in Azimabad in 1348 AH and was buried in Mohalla Sultanganj. Among Ahqar's students, Shafi Bihari is counted among the prominent poets of his time.