The prolific Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810), widely regarded as the most accomplished poet in Urdu, composed his ghazals—a poetic form of rhyming couplets—in a distinctive Indian style arising from the Persian ghazal tradition. Here, the lover and beloved live in a world of extremes: the outsider is the hero, prosperity is poverty, and death would be preferable to the indifference of the beloved. Ghazals offers a comprehensive collection of Mir’s finest work, translated by a renowned expert on Urdu poetry. About the Author Shamsur Rahman Faruqi was a foremost translator and scholar of Urdu literature as well as an acclaimed novelist and poet. He was the author of numerous books, including a four-volume study of Mir Taqi Mir.