Hatim Ali Mehr

Mirza Hatim Ali Beg — known by his pen name Mehr — was a classical Urdu poet of the nineteenth century and a contemporary and friend of Mirza Ghalib. He began writing poetry at about fourteen and soon won notice for his fluency, his smooth diction, and his command of language; he was also skilled in composing chronograms. By profession he was a High Court lawyer, and after the upheaval of 1857 he was rewarded for his loyalty to the government with robes of honour and the grant of two villages, whose income let him live the rest of his life in comfort. He also served as an honorary magistrate in Agra. His works include Diwan-e-Mehr, Para-e-Arooz, Ayagh-e-Farangistan, Almas-e-Darakhshan, and several masnavis, among them Masnavi Shua-e-Mehr and Masnavi Dagh-e-Figar. Ghalib admired his Shuaa-e-Mehr and corresponded with him. Mehr died in 1879. His ghazals survive as a fluent, witty voice from the last generation of the Delhi tradition before the old order passed.