DID YOU KNOW ?

The general notion about Mir Taqi Mir is that he was a heartbroken man who only wrote couplets of sorrow and pain. But few bring to light his fondness of animals- which is quite manifest in his creative Masnavis and autobiographical poems. Other poets have also written about animals, but in Mir's couplets animals have a human aspect about them, they depict various human shades and attributes. The characterization of a cat in his Nazm ‘Mohni Billi’ is quite evident, and in ‘Kapi Ka Bachcha’, the baby monkey gives the feeling of a human. Mir’s Masnavi ‘Mor-Nama’, is a tragic story of the love of a queen and a peacock, in which both are burnt to death. Apart from this, he also has poems on chicken, goat, etc.
His famous Masnavi ‘Azhdar-Nama’ is full of mentions of animals, their habits, and characteristics. In addition to the main character which is a dragon, it includes 30 different animals. Muhammad Hussain Azad has written that Mir has suggested at himself being the dragon, and considered all other poets as insects of the earth. However, no mention of any poet’s name is found in it.