Baksh Nasikh

Urdu poet of Mughal era Imam Baksh Nasikh
Pen name	Nasikh (meaning obliterator or amanuensis)
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

Imam or Ustad Baksh Nasikh was born in Faizabad, India, which was ruled by the Mughals at the time. His poor father passed away early in his childhood. Afterwards, 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 inheritance issue 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 Farangi Mahal, a quarter of Lucknow noted for its erudition and boasting of a noted academy of Persian and Arabic learning. He was not proficient in Arabic, but from Urdu poetry's perspective, he knew enough of it.

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

After Lucknow became the capital city of Oudh, 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 the well known Urdu poet of Lucknow, Mir Taqi Mir was alive), Nasikh once went to Mir for seeking his guidance in poetry. 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.

He took the takhalus (تخلص or poetical name) of 'Nasikh', which implies that his splendor has eclipsed and abrogated that of all other poets.

Faith

It is not very much evident from his poetry, but it seems that Nasih was a Sufi Muslim. Much like Mir Taqi Mir, he was practicing was probably the “Malamati” or “Blameworthy” aspect of the Sufi tradition. Using this technique, a person ascribes to oneself an unconventional aspect of a person or society, and then plays out its results, either in action or in verse.

Famous Couplets

لکھتے ھی اڑتے ھین اطراف جھان مین اپنے شعر

طائر معنی کو کاغز، شٰھ پر پرواز ھے

( My verses fly out to the corners of the world
as if the paper tunrs into the birds of meaning )

Don't expect the poet's pen to always write the best of verse
Pearls are but rarely formed, often through the rains burst

See also

• List of Urdu poets
• Ghazal