It has been 145 years since Mirza Ghalib departed from the world but his genius remains unrivalled. Today we commemorate his death anniversary — arguably one of the finest Urdu poets.

Ghalib’s greatness is not merely limited to the beauty of his poetry and the quality of his words; his true genius lies in the fact that he would study human psychology and the realities of life in depth and would embed it in his poetry with great simplicity thus making it accessible for the common man.

The revered poet was born on December 27, 1796 in the city of Agra. His biological name was Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan and Ghalib was his pseudonym.

Ghalib began composing verses at the early age of 10 or 12, and had written many of his best known ghazals by the time he was 19. Read more about the ‘rejected’ verses of the great Urdu poet, Ghalib here.

Although his first language was Urdu, he was also proficient in Turkish and Persian as both languages were spoken at home. He received formal education in Persian and Arabic at a young age.