The Urdu Ghazal Podcast, S5 E7--Dagh Dehlvi

Dagh Dehlvi (1831–1905) was one of the most celebrated poets of classical Urdu ghazal of the late 19th century.  He came from an aristocratic family, but his father, Nawab Shamsuddin Ahmed Khan, was implicated in the murder of the British Resident William Fraser in 1835 and was executed by the British. This event drastically altered Dagh’s childhood. Following his father’s death, his mother, Wazir Khanum, married the Mughal crown prince Mirza Fakhru, bringing Dagh into the Mughal court's cultural sphere. Dagh was greatly influenced by Zauq, the poet laureate of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s court. The 1857 Revolt and the British suppression of Delhi forced Dagh to leave the city. He moved to Rampur, where the Nawab patronized him, and he later shifted to Hyderabad, where he enjoyed the patronage of the Nizam. Unlike Ghalib and Iqbal, who explored deep philosophical themes, Dagh’s poetry remained centered on the traditional ghazal themes of love and passion. He was also a great poetry teacher, and Allama Iqbal was briefly among his students. Dagh passed away in 1905 in Hyderabad, where he spent his final years under the patronage of the Nizam.