Born in 1829, Miyan Daad Khan wrote under the pen name Sayyah. His homeland was Aurangabad, but his family left it for livelihood and settled in Surat. He was a close friend and disciple of Mirza Ghalib. He was very fond of traveling, and given this interest of his, Ghalib decided his nom de plume to be ‘Sayyah’ or traveler. Sayyah had traveled to Punjab, Bengal, Kashmir, Arabia, and many other countries. For a long time, he used to make counterfeit notes. Once at a station, he cashed a Rs 100 note for a ticket. Unfortunately, another passenger immediately came to buy a ticket with a hundred rupee note of the same number. After investigation, he was tried and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. Fortunately, the jailer appreciated his knowledge and skill, which afforded him all possible concessions inside a jail. On the occasion of Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee, he sent an ode, which reduced his period of captivity by several years. After his release, Sayyah renounced traveling. He spent the rest of his life in trying circumstances in Surat. Noted among the many books authored by him is ‘Sair-e-Sayyah’, which is a travelogue of his journey to Northern India. Sayyah died in Surat in 1907.