Mirza Ghalib
Mirza Ghalib (1797–1869), popular as the greatest Urdu poet, is most well-known for his ghazals. That he was also among the best of the Indo-Persian poets is less widely-known, even though he wrote more poetry in Persian than Urdu. Ghalib lived during the reign of the last Mughal king, whose court was the centre of the Golden Age of the Urdu poetry of Delhi. Ghalib was also witness to the revolt of 1857 against the British and the subsequent retributions in Delhi by the Empire. Ghalib's letters on poetry and the socio-historical events of his time are treasured for both their archival value and stylistic merit. He wrote in other poetic forms such as the qasidā, qatā, and the masnavi. Temple Lamp is the masnavi he wrote on the city of Banaras en route to Calcutta. Ghalib also holds the dual distinction of being the most-quoted as well as misquoted poet in the Indian parliament.