Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh Dehlvi was a poet known for his Urdughazals. He belonged to the old Delhi school of Urdu poetry. He wrote romantic and sensuous poems and ghazals in simple and chaste Urdu, minimising usage of Persian words. He laid great emphasis on the Urdu idiom and its usage. He wrote under the takhallusDaagh Dehlvi. He belonged to the Delhischool of thought. His honorificDabeer ud Dawla, Faseeh ul Mulk, Nawab NizamJang Bahadur, Sipah Salar, Yar-e-Wafadar, Muqrib-us-Sultan, Bulbul-e-Hindustan, Jahan Ustad, Nazim Yar Jung, were the titles bestowed upon him by the sixth Nizam of HyderabadMir Mahbub Ali Khan. Daagh was considered one of the bestromantic poets of his time by some commentators.
Life
Early life
Dehlvi was born in Kucha Ustad Dagh, Chandni Chowk in Delhi to Nawab Shamsuddin Ahmed Khan, the ruler of Loharu and Ferozepur Jhirka and Wazir Khanum, daughter of a Delhi jeweller. Dehlvi's father was hanged under charges of conspiracy in the murder of William Fraser. Dehlvi at the age of four and his mother at age thirty four, the most sought after lady, wooed and remarried the Mughalcrown prince, Mirza Muhammad Fakhroo, an heir to the last Mughal Bahadur Shah Zafar. Hence, Dehlvi had the privileged education at the Delhi Red Fort, There he received best of education and was later under tutelage of poet laureate, Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq. Later, he also took advise from Ghalib on finer nuances of Urdu literature and poetry. He was also trained in calligraphy and horse riding.
Literary life
Dehlvi belonged to the Dabistan-e-Dehli and never allowed western influences on his poetry. He started reciting poetry at the age of ten and his forte was the romantic version, the ghazal. He became popular for his poetry. Unlike the elitist style by the poets of the time, his style was simple and was well received by both, the common man and the elite. After Fakhroo's death in 1856, Dehlvi along with his mother left Delhi after facing turbulent times, for Rampur State and came under the aegis of Nawab of Rampur, Yusuf AliKhan Bahadur. He went into government service there and lived well for 24 years. There followed a period of wandering and discomfort and after the Nawab of Rampur, Nawab Kalb-e-Ali Khan's death, he was not in a good position there.
Dehlvi stayed in Hyderabad in 1888 for several months. He left Hyderabad after not being invited to the court by the Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI's court, as access to his court was very limited. He then was invited immediately and was appointed as the court poet and mentor, in 1891, to the Sixth Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, at the age of 60. Contrary to the impression one gets from his poetry, he did not drink wine and shunned it. His couplet on Urdu language was:
