Poets

Wali Muhammad Wali (also known as Wali Deccani, Urdu: ولی دکنی, Wali Gujarati and Wali Aurangabadi) was a classical Urdu poet of the subcontinent.

He is the first established poet to have composed Ghazals in Urdu language and compiled a divan (a collection of ghazals where the entire alphabet is used at least once as the last letter to define the rhyme pattern).

Before Wali, Indian Ghazal was being composed in Persian – almost being replicated in thought and style from the original Persian masters like Saa'di, Jami and Khaqani. Wali began using not only an Indian language, but Indian themes, idioms and imagery in his ghazals. It is said that his visit to Delhi along with his divan of Urdu ghazals created a ripple in the literary circles of the north, inspiring them to produce stalwarts like Zauq, Sauda and Mir.

Early Life

Born in 1667 at Aurangabad, an important town in the present Maharashtra State. He loved travelling, which he regarded as a means of education.

Career

Wali Mohammed Wali's visit to Delhi in 1700 is considered to be of great significance for Urdu Gazals. His simple, sensuous and melodious poems in Urdu, awakened the Persian loving poets of Delhi to the beauty and capability of "Rekhta" (the old name for Urdu) as a medium of poetic expression. His visit thus stimulated the growth and development of Urdu Ghazal in Delhi.

Wali died in Ahmedabad in 1707, and was buried in the same city. On 28 February 2002, a mob tore down ..