Baksh Nasikh

Urdu poet of Mughal era Imam Baksh Nasikh
Pen name	Nasikh
Occupation	Urdu poet
Nationality	Indian subcontinent
Period	Mughal era
Genre	Ghazal
Subject	Love, Philosophy

Imam Baksh Nasikh (Urdu: امام بخش ناسخ) (born 1776 - died 1838)

Early life

Born in Faizabad, India, ruled by the Mughals at the time. His biological father, a poor man, passed away early. A wealthy merchant from Lahore, Khuda Buksh Kheema Doz, adopted him and gave him a good educaton, and Nasikh remained carefree in early perod of his life. When his adoptive father died, his brothers tried to challenge the inheritance. An attempt was made to poison him unsuccessfully. Ultimately the matter went to court, and the court decided in favor of Nasikh.

Literary life

Nasikh learned Persian with Hafiz Waris Ali and other learned scholars of Farngi Mahal, a quarter of Lucknow noted for its erudition and boasting of a noted academy of Persian and Arabic learning. Hs Arabic was not excellent, but from Urdu poetry's perspectivem he know enough of it.

He learned poetry on his own, and was not known to be a pupil of any notable figure in poetry.

When Lucknow became the capital city, Nasikh moved to the city, and spent the rest of his life there, in a neighourhood called Teksilla. It was reported that during Nasikh's learning years, when Mir Taqi Mir was alive, Nasikh once went to the well-known poet of Lucknow for seeking his guidance. For some reason, Mir did not help him, and Nasikh returned broken-hearted. He vowed to perfect his skills in poetry by revisiting his writings frequently.

See also

• List of Urdu poets
• Ghazal