The 155th death anniversary of classical Urdu poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib is being observed today.

Ghalib wrote hundreds of Ghazals during his life which have since been interpreted and sung in many different ways.

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib is considered, in South Asia, to be one of the most popular and influential poets of the Urdu language.

Ghalib’s greatness is not merely limited to the beauty of his poetry and the quality of his words; his true genius lies in the fact that he would study human psychology and the realities of life in depth and would embed it in his poetry with great simplicity thus making it accessible for the common man.

Ghalib today remains popular not only in India and Pakistan but also amongst the communities around the world.

Mirza Ghalib died on this day at the age of 71 in New Delhi in 1869.