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In the traditional concept of Urdu Ghazal there were two schools of Urdu poetry specially of Urdu form of ghazal. One was famous as Delhi School of Poetry and the other the Lucknow School of Poetry. Meer Taqi Meer, Mirza Rafi Sauda, Insha’h, Mushafi, Nasikh, Atish had been representative poets of Lucknow school. The romantic and emotional upheavals were depicted in Urdu ghazal with the tender relation of lover and beloved. Craft at the level of form and chiseling at the level of the language had been the conspicuous features of the ghazal which gained such durable popularity which has never been dimmed or broken. With the changes around contemporary tendencies ushered therein but form and temper remained the same as it was exported from Persian. In the later 19^th century and till the mid of 20^th century Mirza Zakir Hussain alias Saqib Lucknawi colored up the canvas of Urdu ghazal and enriched the poetry on the whole with some of his couplets having universal appeal became so popular that they were used often at the situations similar to the idea expressed in those couplets:

Zamana bade gaur se sun raha tha,

Hami so gye daasta’n kahte kahte..

[People were listening me though attentively,

Yet I slept while telling the tale of my life]

Baghba’n ne aag di jab aashiane ko mere,

Jinpe takiya tha vahi patte hawa dene lage.

[when the gardener started setting ablaze my nest,

The leaves on which it was based began to aerate to raise the flames]

Mutthiyo’n me khaaq lekar dost aaye waqt-e-dafn,

Zindagi bhar ki mohabbat ka ye sila dene lage.

[At the time of burial friends came with dust in sifts,

That way they rewarded the lifelong love and companionship]

Saqib was born on 2^nd January and every year his birthday is being celebrated under the auspices of Saqib Memorial Society which confers awards to the literary and cultural figures doing outstanding in their respective fields. This year I wrote an article on Saqib’s poetry which was published simultaneously in Daily Aag, Daily Avadhnama- Urdu & Hindi. A grand function was held at Press Club, Lucknow which was conducted by me and Prof. Sharib Rudaulvi, Parveen Talha, Ubaidullah Nasir, Sri Tarun Prakash, Dr. Abdul Quddus Hashmi, Manish Shukla, Santosh Valmiki, Masoodul Hasan etc. received their awards from Minister in Government of U.P. Mr. Azam Khan, Mayor of Lucknow Dr. Dinesh Sharma and Dr. Anis Ansari [vice chancellor of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Urdu Arabi Farsi University] distinguished gathering witnessed the event. Mr. Mahmoodul Hasan and Dr. Asmat Malihabadi highlighted the value of the poetry of Saqib.