Agra has been the muse of scores of poets, inspiring them with its beauty and life. Let the city work its magic upon you through verse as we explore some of its poets’ haunts - both historic as well as contemporary! Agra’s poets can make one realise that language is not a barrier but a tool to establish human connections. The city and its culture have been beautifully documented in poetic verses of the likes of Nazir Akabarabadi, Ghalib, and Mir Taqi Mir its three towering pillars of culture. This tradition has continued with new poets emerging and evolving from different languages and communities. These great poets have gone on to inspire generations of poets.
This beautiful tour helps you recapture the rich nuances of Agra’s many splendoured cultural heritage in terms of its captivating poetry, language and literature. Unravel tales of its three pillars of culture or adab, the great Urdu poets Mir Taqi Mir (1723 – 1810), people's poet Nazeer Akabarabadi (1735 – 1830), Ghalib (1797 – 1869) last of the Mughal poets and purportedly amongst the most influential of them, Discover afresh how they have shaped the thoughts and works of India’s contemporary poets. Ghalib later moved to Delhi to join the court of Mughal emperor of Bahadur Shah II (1837 to 1857) as a favoured poet. His closest rival at court was Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq, the court poet. The emperor himself was an accomplished poet writing under under the nom de plume of Zafar. Zauq, in fact, was the emperor’s mentor.
This poetry walk takes you across the old city to visit the birthplaces of some great poets, read and talk about the poetry of Agra, and try to understand the key role of language and verse within the city’s rich culture. The walk takes you through the Kala Mahal area to visit Mirza Ghalib's birthplace. Nazeer Akbarabadi was buried in Tajganj and his mazar is in Malko Gali area. Mir Taki Mir, who, lies buried now in Lucknow, but in his lifetime moved between Delhi and Agra, witnessed the attacks of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali on Delhi, and the decline of Mughal Empire.