Based in London over a long period of time, Akbar Hyderabadi is a respectable name of Urdu ghazal and nazm. He was born Akbar Ali khan at Hyderabad in 1925. After his education in India, he went to Oxford in 1955 for higher studies in architecture where he chose to stay on. Even while he worked as an architect, he continued writing poetry, conducting prograames on BBC at Oxford, and teaching Urdu to police officers and social workers. He also wrote some poems in English, mostly as songs.  

Akbar Hyderabadi’s poetry represents a fine blend of traditional and modernist modes of apprehension and expression. Both his ghazals and nazms have a touch of otherness and can be read for their novelty. His five collections of poetry are Khatar-e-Reguzar (1971), Numoo ki Aag (1981), Aawazon ka Shahr (1988), Zarron se Sitaron Tak (1993) and Qarz Mah-o-Saal Ke (2000).