Siraj-ud-Din Ali Khan Arzu

Siraj-ud-Din Ali Khan (1687-1756), also known by his pen-name Arzu, was a Delhi-based poet, linguist and lexicographer of the Mughal Empire.[1] He used to write mainly in Persian, but he also wrote 127 couplets in Urdu. He was the maternal-uncle of Mir Taqi Mir. He taught Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Muhammad Rafi Sauda, Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan and Najm-ud-Din Shah Mubarak Abroo.

Arzu was born in Agra. He was the son of Sheikh Hisam-ud-Din, a soldier who held many high offices in the court of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He was highly proficient in Persian and Arabic, the two languages which he learned as a child. He also learned Urdu and Sanskrit.[2]

Arzu started writing at the age of fourteen, and came to Delhi in 1719. He was introduced to Nawab Qamar-ud-din Khan by Anand Ram 'Mukhlis'. Qamar-ud-Din, who was the prime minister at that time, gave him a suitable job. Arzu used to hold mushairas at his home, and attracted many disciples including Mir Taqi Mir. He migrated to Lucknow in 1754, and subsequently to Ayodhya, which was once the residence of his great grandfather. He died in Lucknow in 1756, and was buried in the Vakilpura area of Delhi.[2]

Literary works

Arzu's literary works include:[2]

  • Siraj-ul-Lught (a lexicon of Persian which also discusses the relationship between Persian and Sanskrit)
  • Chiragh-e-Hidayat (a glossary of words and idioms used by the Persian poets)
  • Several ghazals and qasidas
  • Diwan-e-Asar Shirazi
  • Mohiblat-e-Uzma (a treatise on prosody)
  • Atiya-e-Kubra (another work on prosody)
  • Miear-ul-Afkar (a treatise on grammar)
  • Payam-i-Shauq (a collection of letters),
  • Josh-o-Kharosh (masnavi)
  • Mehr-o-Mah
  • Ibrat Fasana
  • Guka-ri-Kayal (a long poem on Holi and the coming of the spring)

Arzu also translated Nawadir-ul-Alfaz from Gharaib.

gollark: There seem to be lots of "elites" who are basically *fine*, except you don't hear about them because people only go on about "SOME ELITES DID BAD THINGS".
gollark: > In capitalism, being selfish and ruthless tends to give you more profit and thus economical power. That's why most of the elite are bad, while so many of the poor have good hearts. Though the pressure to survive also ruins and corrupts the poor.Have you never heard of positive-sum stuff? Have you actually *checked* this in any way or are you just pulling in a bunch of stereotypes?
gollark: Newtonian ethics and all.
gollark: It would only practically work if people cared enough to expend significant resources locally to help people far away, and humans don't seem to like that.
gollark: This is a values problem, not an economic system one.

See also
  • Persian language in South Asia

References
  1. Braj B. Kachru; Yamuna Kachru; S. N. Sridhar (27 March 2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-521-78141-1.
  2. Abida Samiuddin (2007). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Urdu Literature. Global Vision Publishing Ho. p. 75. ISBN 978-81-8220-191-0.
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