Poets/Writers

One of the founding fathers of Urdu poetry. Contemporary of Meer Taqi Meer

Widely celebrated and sung Urdu poet. Rose to iconic stature through his seductively romantic and anti-establishment poetry

The greatest Urdu poet of humour and satire who was a Sessions judge at Allahabad.

One of the greatest Urdu Poets. National poet of Pakistan who penned 'Saare jahaan se achha hindostaan hamara' and 'Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri'

First Poet of Rekhta/Hindvi. Musician and Disciple of Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia. Known for his "pahelis", which form part of Indian folklore. He is famous for inventing two most important musical instruments tabla & sitar. Wrote "Ze-hal-e-miskin…" one of the earliest prototypes of Urdu ghazal written in Persian & Hindvi.

Asha Bhosle is an Indian playback singer and the sister of Lata Mangeshkar. Her awards include the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the Padma Vibhushan among many others.

Last of classical poets who celebrated life and love. Famous for his playfulness of words (idioms/ phrases).

One of the widely celebrated and popular Urdu poets. Equally sung in romance and rebel. Faced political repression against his revolutionary views

One of the most influential Pre-modern poets who paved the way for the modern Urdu ghazal. Known for his perceptive critical comments. Recipient of Gyanpeeth award.

Famous Pakistani ghazal singer belonging to the Patiala gharana. They have a unique style of blending Hindustani classical music with ghazals. Also sung for a number of Indian and Pakistani films.

Celebrated poet, novelist, song and scriptwriter. Acclaimed for directing tele-serial on Mirza Ghalib. Recipient of Sahitya Academy and Dada Sahab Phalke awards

Hariharan is an Indian singer who has sung for films in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu languages. He is also an esteemed ghazal singer and winner of the Padma Shri and National Awards.

One of the most firebrand poets of Lucknow. Contemporary of Meer Taqi Meer. His rivalry with Mushafi is well-recorded. Also wrote Rekhti poetry and 'Raani Ketki ki kahani" in prose

Most prominent fiction writer, known for his stories woven around the experience of Partition and for his individual style of telling tales. The first Urdu writer to have been shortlisted for Man Booker prize.

Jagjit Singh was a prominent Indian ghazal singer, songwriter and musician. Also known as 'Ghazal King', he was the recipient of many prestigious awards, some of which were, Rajasthan Ratna, Padma Bhushan and the Sahitya Akademi Award.

One of the most prominent modern Urdu poets. Popular among masses for his unconventional ways

Most prominent linguist and lexicologist, mentor of Mir and Mir Dard

Sufi poet, contemporary of Mir Taqi Mir, known for his deep knowledge of Indian music.

Kishore Kumar was an Indian film playback singer, actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenplay writer and scriptwriter. He has sung in many Indian languages. The Kishore Kumar Award has been introduced in his memory.

A contemporary of Manto, associated with the Progressive Writers Movement, known for his stories of romance and social realism.

Lata Mangeshkar is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. She has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke Award. She is the elder sister of Asha Bhosle.

One of the most prominent classical poets at Lucknow, who excelled in Mersia poetry, contemporary of Mirza Ghalib.

Considered to be the foremost poet of masnavi

One of the greatest Urdu poets. Known as Khuda-e-Sukhan (God of Poetry)

Mehdi Hasan was a ghazal and playback singer of Pakistan. He was also known as 'Shehenshah-e-Ghazal'. He was honored with the Pride of Performance Award and numerous Nigar Awards for his inimitable contribution to music.

Legendary Urdu poet occupying a place of pride in worldwide literature. One of the most quotable poets having couplets for almost all situations of life