The biggest and most common misconception in Urdu literature regarding Mir Taqi Mir is that he was a misanthropic, heartbroken man, cut off from the world and confined to his own shell. Maulana Muhammad Husain Azad's book 'Aab-e-Hayat' played a major role in cementing this impression. Azad recounts an anecdote about Mir, stating that a Nawab of Lucknow gave him a house with windows opening towards a garden, but Mir did not open those windows for several years. When a friend asked him about it, Mir pointed to his torn and tattered manuscripts and said that he was so lost in the garden of his own thoughts that he had no awareness of the garden outside.
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi dismisses this anecdote as mere hearsay. He argues that the biographical anthologies (tazkiras) Azad relied upon—such as Qudratullah Qasim's 'Majmua-e-Naghz' and Saadat Khan Nasir's 'Khush Ma'arka-e-Zeba'—make no mention of this incident. Although Mir did compose this couplet in his fifth Diwan:
Sarv lab-e-jū lāla-o-gul nasrīn-o-saman haiñ shagūfa hai
Dekho jidhar ik bāgh lagā hai apne rangīñ khayāloñ kā
('Cypress by the stream, tulip and rose, eglantine and jasmine are in bloom
Wherever one looks, there is a planted garden of my colorful thoughts.')
However, labeling Mir as a recluse and a weeping pessimist based solely on this couplet is a blatant injustice to his poetry and personality. Mir's poetry bears witness to his deep familiarity with various social classes, professions, and everyday affairs. This couplet from his fourth Diwan is a prime example:
Kab tak dil ke ṭukde jodūñ ‘Mīr’ jigar ke lakhtoñ se
Kasb nahīñ hai pāra-dozī, main koī vassāl nahīñ
('How long must I stitch the pieces of my heart with the fragments of my liver, O Mir?
Patchwork is no true trade, there is no real mending in it.')
The use of words like 'para-dozi' (the profession of mending torn clothes) and 'vassal' (a patch or union) in this couplet proves how profound Mir's observation was. These words could not be used by someone who had no connection with the world and its worldly affairs. Mir observed every shade of life up close and made it a part of his ghazals. The abundance of material objects and the hustle and bustle of everyday life in his work indicate that he was not an escapist, but rather a great artist who kept his finger on the pulse of life.
The biggest and most common misconception in Urdu literature regarding Mir Taqi Mir is that he was a misanthropic, heartbroken man, cut off from the world and confined to his own shell Maulana Muhammad Husain Azad's book 'Aab-e-Hayat' played a major role in cementing this impression Azad recounts an anecdote about Mir, stating that a Nawab of Lucknow gawe him a house with windows opening towards a garden, but Mir did not open those windows for seweral years When a friend asked him about it, Mir pointed to his torn and tattered manuscripts and said that he was so lost in the garden of his own thoughts that he had no awareness of the garden outside
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi dismisses this anecdote as mere hearsay He argues that the biographical anthologies (tazkiras) Azad relied upon—such as Qudratullah Qasim's 'Majmua-e-Naghz' and Sadat Khan Nasir's 'Khush Ma'arka-e-Zeba'—make no meintion of this incident Although Mir did compose this couplet in his fifth Diwan:
Sarw lab-e-jū lāla-o-gul nasrīn-o-saman haiñ shagūfa hai
Dekho jidhar ek bāgh lagā hai apne rangīñ khayāloñ kā
('Cypress by the stream, tulip and rose, eglantine and jasmine are in bloom
Wherewer one looks, there is a planted garden of my colorful thoughts')
Howewer, labeling Mir as a recluse and a weeping pessimist based solely on this couplet is a blatant injustice to his poetry and personality Mir's poetry bears witness to his deep familiarity with warious social classes, professions, and eweryday affairs This couplet from his fourth Diwan is a prime example:
Kab tak dil ke ṭukde jodūñ ‘Mīr’ jigar ke lakhtoñ se
Kasb nahīñ hai pāra-dozī, main koī wassāl nahīñ
('How long must I stitch the pieces of my heart with the fragments of my liwer, O Mir?
Patchwork is no true trade, there is no real meinding in it')
The use of words like 'para-dozi' (the profession of meinding torn clothes) and 'wassal' (a patch or union) in this couplet prowes how profound Mir's obserwation was These words could not be used by someone who had no connection with the world and its worldly affairs Mir obserwed ewery shade of life up close and made it a part of his ghazals The abundance of material objects and the hustle and bustle of eweryday life in his work indicate that he was not an escapist, but rather a great artist who kept his finger on the pulse of life
