Kalaam

Pre-modern poet, known for blending the best of the classical and the modernist

Revolutionary, romantic poet, playwright & lyricist, known for his poem ‘Jhoom ke Utho watan aazad karne ke liye’

Eminent Urdu Poet and contemporary of Dagh Dehlvi. Famous for penning ghazal "Sarakti jaye hai rukh se naqaab aahista aahista".

One of the most popular poets in the fourth and fifth decades of 20th century, contemporary of Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

One of most firebrand poets of Lucknow. Contemporary of Meer Taqi Meer. His rivalry with Mushafi is well-recorded. He had also written rekhta poetry and 'Raani Ketki ki kahani" in prose.Syed Insha Allah Khan, who was known in the world of sher-o-shayari as 'Insha', belonged to a noble lineage of Syeds of Najaf who had migrated to Delhi and settled there. They were held in high esteem as nobles by the Mughal court. Insha's father was a court physician and a poet of a high cadre with the pen-name 'Masdar'. When the Mughal kingdom in Delhi was breathing its last, his father migrated to Murshidabad, the headquarters of the Nawab. Insha was born at Murshidabad. His father trained him in a variety of arts and sciences. However, he did not undergo a regular training in the art of composing verses through his father, instead, he depended on his own skill. He left Murshidabad and came to Delhi during the period of Shah Alam II. Shah Alam was a poet-king and a patron of poets. He welcomed Insha to his court. He later moved to Lucknow to work for the Nawab to get e better recognition for his poetic talents. He soon entered the good books of Nawab Saadat Yar Khan and became very close to him. He was very well liked and cherished. However, he overdid being social and was unable to get accustomed to the many moods of the Nawab. Temperamentally, Insha and the Nawab were different. Due his bold and free nature, Insha did not always bother about the likes and dislikes of Nawab. Subsequently, he was subjected to rigorous severities and was imprisoned. Once, a most sought-after companion, Insha became the victim of poverty and misery and died in 1817. He had great command over Urdu and was the first Indian to compose its grammar. He conducted exhaustible experiments in the language. He was also well-versed in Turkish, Poorvi, Punjabi, Marathi, Marwari, Kashmiri and Hindi and wrote poetry in these dialects. He was a brilliant linguist with commendable capacity.

One of the most prominent pre-modern poets who enjoyed stunning popularity and fan-following.

One of the greatest Urdu poets. Known as Khuda-e-Sukhan (God of Poetry)

Great Urdu poet occupying a place of pride in world literature. Also one of the most quotable poets having shers for almost all situations of life.

One of the most popular poets ever and film lyricist. Famous for his ghazal 'Garmi-e-hasrat-e-nakaam se jal jate hain'.