Bahadur Shah II (born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the twentieth and last Mughal emperor and a Hindustani poet. He was the second son and the successor to his father, Akbar II, who died in 1837. He was a titular Emperor, as the Mughal Empire existed in name only and his authority was limited only to the walled city of Old Delhi. Following his involvement in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British deposed him and exiled him to Rangoon in British-controlled Burma in late 1858, after convicting him on several charges. The title of Empress of India was subsequently assumed by Queen Victoria.
The Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. Located close to the Old Delhi railway station, the Mughal-era Red Fort is located at the eastern fringes of Chandni Chowk. It was built in 1650 by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, and designed by his daughter, Jahanara. The street spanning the market was historically divided by canals, engineered to reflect moonlight. These canals have since been closed, leaving behind a transformed urban landscape. It remains one of India's largest wholesale markets.
In Persian, Turkic and Urdu poetry, the maqta' is the final bayt, or couplet, of a ghazal. In this sense, it is the opposite of the matla'. The poet's takhallus, or pen name, is usually employed in the maqta', often in very creative ways.
Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh Dehlvi was a poet known for his Urdu ghazals. He belonged to the old Delhi school of Urdu poetry.
Momin Khan Momin was a late Mughal era poet known for his Urdu ghazals. A lesser-known contemporary of Ghalib and Zauq, he used "Momin" as his pen name. His grave is located in the Mehdiyan cemetery in Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi.
A haveli is a traditional townhouse, mansion, or manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word haveli is derived from Arabic hawali, meaning "partition" or "private space", popularised under the Mughal Empire, and was devoid of any architectural affiliations. Later, the word haveli came to be used as a generic term for various styles of regional mansions, manor houses, and townhouses found in the Indian subcontinent.
Old Delhi is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. The construction of the city was completed in 1648, and it remained the capital of Mughal India until its fall in 1857, when the British Empire took over as paramount power in the Indian subcontinent.
Mir Muhammad Taqi, known as Mir Taqi Mir, was an Urdu poet of the 18th century Mughal India and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language itself. He was one of the principal poets of the Delhi School of the Urdu ghazal and is often remembered as one of the best poets of the Urdu language. His pen name (takhallus) was Mir. He spent the latter part of his life in the court of Asaf-ud-Daulah in Lucknow.
Sarai Kale Khan is an urban village in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. The area is well-connected to the rest of Delhi through the Delhi Metro's Pink Line and a nearby Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT), offering convenient transportation options. Located next to Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station on the Indian Railways network, this station serves as one of Delhi's five main railway hubs and operates as both the originating and terminal station for 60 trains. The ISBT functions as a terminus for most buses heading to cities and towns south of Delhi and includes a DTC bus depot, supporting the Mudrika Seva and various other bus routes.
Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan, commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, he also produced a significant body of work in Persian. Ghalib's poetry often addresses existential struggle, sorrows, and socio-political disturbances, particularly the decline of the Mughal Empire. He spent most of his life in poverty.
Nawab Qasim Jan was a courtier in the royal courts of Mughal Delhi. According to some sources he came from Yarkand and first lived in Lahore, attached to the court of the Governor Moin-ul-Mulk in the 1750s, thereafter he moved to Delhi and joined the Mughal court under emperor, Shah Alam II.
The Urdu Bazaar is a major market in the walled city of Delhi, India that connected the canal in the middle of Chandni Chowk to Jama Masjid. The original market was destroyed in the aftermath of Indian Rebellion of 1857, but its name survives as a location near the Jama Masjid.
Rai Chunnamal Ki Haveli is a rare haveli surviving in a well-preserved condition within the Old Delhi area.
Mehr Lal Soni, better known as Zia Fatehabadi, was an Indian Urdu ghazal and nazm writer. He was a disciple (shaagird) of Syed Aashiq Hussain Siddiqui Seemab Akbarabadi (1882–1951), who was a disciple of Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh Dehlvi (1831–1905). He used the takhallus of Zia meaning "Light" on the suggestion of his teacher, Ghulaam Qadir Farkh Amritsari.
Loharu State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was part of the Punjab States Agency and was a nine-gun salute state.
Ada Jafarey, often spelled Ada Jafri, was a Pakistani poet who is regarded as the first major female Urdu poet to be published and has been called "The First Lady of Urdu Poetry". She was also an author and was considered a prominent figure in contemporary Urdu literature. She received awards from the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistan Writers' Guild, and literary societies of North America and Europe in recognition of her efforts.
Mirza Ghalib Museum, New Delhi is a museum on the life and times of the 18th century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib, under the aegis of the Ghalib Academy, New Delhi. The museum is situated in the vicinity of the tomb of the 13th century Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin.
Ghalib Academy (Urdu: غالب اکادمی ) is an educational and cultural institution of national importance in India. It was founded in 1969 by Hakeem Abdul Hameed and inaugurated by the former president of India Dr. Zakir Hussain in Nizamuddin West area, Delhi. The Academy has been established in the memory of the 19th century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib. The Academy is situated in the vicinity of the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya.
Mirza Ghalib commonly refers to Ghalib (1797–1869), a classical Urdu and Persian poet of India.
Haveli Dharampura, built in 1887 CE and currently owned by BJP leader Vijay Goel, is a 19th-century haveli in Chandani Chowk area of old Delhi that as awarded a special mention in UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2017.
