Taban Abdul Hai

Taban Abdul Hai was an Urdu poet from Delhi, born around 1715 and passing away young in 1749. He wrote under the pen name Taban, and his real name was Abdul Hai. He lived at a time when Delhi was a lively center for poetry and learning, and he moved easily in the company of other gifted poets of his age. He earned a special reputation not only for his verse but also for his striking good looks, which became part of his story among his contemporaries.

Taban’s poetry belongs to the classical tradition of the Urdu ghazal. His couplets show an elegant play of feeling and form. He favored clarity and musicality, choosing words that sing when spoken aloud. His themes often circle around love, longing, and the small, intimate moments that reveal larger truths. At times his lines carry a gentle melancholy, at other times they celebrate beauty and desire. He learned from established teachers of the craft and left behind a body of ghazals and shorter lyrics that readers still return to for their melodic grace.

Though he died young, Taban’s reputation endured because his work caught the ear and the heart. Poets and listeners remembered his presence in the poetic gatherings of Delhi, and his verses were preserved and later collected in a diwan. His style reflects the Delhi school of his time, where precision of language and a refined sense of rhyme and rhythm were prized. He was a contemporary of great names who shaped Urdu poetry in its classical phase, and his work offers a clear window into the sensibility of that era.

Taban Abdul Hai remains a poet appreciated by those who value sweetness of expression and formal finesse. His verses are best experienced aloud, where their rhythm and tone reveal the subtle art behind each line. For readers exploring early Urdu poetry, his work offers a gentle, lyrical voice that captures both the beauty and the fleeting nature of life.