Baksh Nasikh

Baksh Nasikh (Urdu:    (1776–1838) was an Urdu poet of the Mughal era.

Early life

Baksh Nasikh, known with his honorific as Iman Baksh Nasikh, was born in Faizabad, India, which was then ruled by the Mughals. His poor father died early in his childhood.^{[citation needed]} Afterwards, Khuda Buksh Kheema Doz, a wealthy merchant from Lahore, adopted him and gave him a good education and a carefree early life. When his adoptive father died, his brothers tried to challenge the inheritance. A failed attempt to poison him occurred. Ultimately the issue went to court and the court decided in his favor.^{[citation needed]}

Literary life

Nasikh learned Persian with Waris Ali and other learned scholars of Farangi Mahal, a quarter of Lucknow noted for its erudition and boasting of a noted academy of Persian and Arabic learning.^{[citation needed]} He was not proficient in Arabic, but knew it enough for the Urdu poetry. He learned poetry on his own, and was not known to be a pupil of any notable figure in poetry.^{[citation needed]}

After Lucknow became the capital city of Oudh, Nasikh moved to the city and spent the rest of his life in a neighourhood called Teksilla. It was reported^{[by whom?]} that, during Nasikh's learning years he sought advice on poetry from the Urdu poet of Lucknow, Mir Taqi Mir. Mir did not help him and Nasikh returned broken-hearted.^{[citation needed]} He vowed to perfect his poetry skills with renewed vigour and remained a great admirer of Mir Taqi Mir, of whom he said: "Aap bey bahrah hai jo muataqid e Mir nahin", which means "He who does not vow by Mir is himself not learned."^{[citation needed]}

He took the takhalus (تخلص or poet pen-name) of "Nasikh", which implies that his splendor has eclipsed and abrogated that of all other poets.^{[citation needed]}

Faith

Although not explicit in his poetry, Nasikh was apparently a Sufi.^{[citation needed]} Much like Mir Taqi Mir, his predecessor, he was probably a follower of the Malamati (Blameworthy) aspect of the Sufi tradition.^{[citation needed]} Using this technique, a person ascribes to oneself an unconventional aspect of a person or society and then plays out its results, either in action or in verse. As in Ghalib or Mir's poetry, Nasikh's ridicule of Abrahamic/Koranic concepts of paradise, hell, zahid, etc. are very much found in his poetry. For example,

O waiz (the righteous person), now I leave mosque for the pub
As I pick the wine bottle, the wazoo (ablution for prayers) gone wasted^{[citation needed]}

Famous couplets

لکھتے ھی اڑتے ھین اطراف جھان مین اپنے شعر
طائر معنی کو کاغز، شٰھ پر پرواز ھے

My verses fly out to the corners of the world
as if the paper tunrs into the birds of meaning^{[citation needed]}

Don't expect the poet's pen to always write the best of verse
Pearls are but rarely formed, often though the rains burst^{[citation needed}