Arzoo Lakhnavi’s real name was Syed Anwar Hussain. He was born on 16th February 1873 in a wealthy family of Lucknow. His mother Amna Begum belonged to a scholarly and literary family. His elder, Ali Khan came to India from Herat (Iran) during the reign of Shah Jahani and settled in Ajmer Sharif. Growing up, he left Ajmer Sharif and settled in Lucknow. Since his father Mir Zakir Hussain Yas Ibn Mir Muhammad Ali was also a poet, Arzoo was attracted to poetry from his childhood. He took the tutelage of Jalal Lakhnavi in poetry. Arzoo’s personality was multi-faceted. He tried his hand at all genres of poetry in Ghazal, Marsiya, Naat, Salam, Qasida, Masnavi, Geet and Rubai. Apart from poetry, he also excelled in prose, where he wrote stage plays and dialogues, while he also wrote songs for more than two dozen films. Arzoo had a cultivated taste for poetry, and in his own writings there is a distinguished uniqueness. He has tried to connect Urdu poetry with his land. Prof. Al-Ahmad Sarwaran, with reference to his poetry,writes, ‘By bringing the language of ghazal closer to the language of conversation, the poet has made it clear that the language of poetry is not different from the language of the world, nor is it always captive in the captivity of the ancient traditions. Arzoo was also closely associated with Sufi monasteries and shrines. And Qawwals, too, have sung his Ghazals. On January 6, 1951, Arzoo went to Karachi, Pakistan to participate in a mushaira. His stay in Pakistan was very short as he passed away on 16 April 1951 in Karachi and was later buried there.