Zikr-i Mir : the autobiography of the eighteenth century Mughal poet, Mir Muhammad Taqi ʻMir', 1723-1810
"Zikr-i Mir is a rare, autobiographical narrative in Persian and its author, Mir Muhammad Taqi 'Mir', is one of the finest ghazal poets in Urdu. Mir led a rich professional life, as a poet and courtier, in Delhi and Lucknow during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; and, although his autobiography is unconventional in its organization, it nevertheless throws interesting light on the values that governed the life of a member of the Muslim elite at that time." "His autobiography is divided into three parts: the first part focuses on his father and an 'uncle'; the second looks at the political events of Mir's lifetime; and the third consists of witty, and somewhat ribald, anecdotes." "This is the first English translation of this major text, extensively annotated, and preceded by a general Introduction. The translator has also used Appendices to fill in the gaps in Mir's account, drawing on other writings by Mir and his peers. It will be of great interest to all scholars of Urdu and Persian literature as well as to students of the social and cultural history of pre-modern north India."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©1999
Oxford University Press, New Delhi, ©1999