Mir Babar Ali Anis

Mir Babar Ali Anees (; 1800–1874), also known as Mir Anees, was an Indian Urdu poet. He used his pen-name (takhallus) of Anees (, meaning "close friend, companion") in poetry. Anees used Persian, Urdu, Arabic, and Sanskrit words in his poetry. Anees wrote prolonged Marsias, which was a custom of his times, but nowadays only selected sections are narrated even in religious ceremonies. He died in 1291 Hijra, corresponding with 1874 CE.

Family Mir Babar Ali Anis was born in 1803 CE at Faizabad. In his book Khandaan- e-Mir Anees ke Naamwar Sho’ara (Famous Poets from the family of Mir Anis), Zameer Naqvi lists 22 poets from Mir Anis’ family and their poetry. A researcher in Urdu Literature, Syed Taqi Abedi, has shown that Mir Anis's family has written poetic literature for three centuries, first in Persian and later in Urdu. Mir Anis was a fifth-generation poet, a fact he mentioned in the first stanza of "Namak-e-Khwaan-e-Takallum hai Fasaahat meri":

Education Anis's mother appears to have been his greatest inspiration. He gained a traditional Shia education.

Life Anis was invited to Lucknow where he reached the zenith of his reputation. He stayed in Lucknow because he believed that his art was not appreciated elsewhere. Yet, after the annexation of Oudh by the British, he was persuaded to visit Azimabad (Patna), Dulhipur (Varanasi), Hyderabad and Allahabad.

In 1870 Nawab Tahwar Jung invited Anis to Hyderabad where he declined to be presented at the court of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the then Nizam of Hyderabad State. The Nizam himself went to the Majlis where the poet was to recite. While returning from Hyderabad, he sojourned at Allahabad in 1871 and recited his marsia in the Imambara of late Lala Beni Prasad Srivastava, Vakil, who was a devotee of Imam Husain.

In his essay "How to read Iqbal?" Shamsur Rahman Faruqi wrote: "Iqbal was placed better because he had, among others, Bedil (1644–1720) in Persian and Mir Anis (1802–1874) in Urdu." He further asserts: "The mention of Mir Anis may surprise some of us until we realize it that Mir Anis’s Marsiyas are the best premodern model in Urdu of narrative-historical, narrative-lyrical, and oral-dramatic poetry, and Iqbal’s poetry extends and exploits the possibilities created by Anis."

Mir Anis was criticized for playing on religious sentiments giving his work a vertical appeal at the expense of poetic beauty. While Farhat Nadir Rizvi, in her research, has propounded that Anis was narrating recorded history and was therefore restricted in use of pure imagination and fantasy, yet he dexterously harnessed the art of storytelling in his work and we cannot but accept that he was not only a Marsiya writer but also a successful storyteller. Anis has been compared with Shakespeare. Shakespeare creates imaginary plots and characters so beautifully that they appear real to the reader; Anis narrates events and characters fossilized in history so vividly that they become alive in the eyes of his audience.

Anis is also known as a pioneer in Rubai, an Urdu poetry branch, and enjoys status akin to that of Mirza Sauda, Khwaja Mir Dard and Dabeer.

Books on Mir Anis

Marsiya Khawani Ka Funn and Marka-i-Anis-au-Dabir (Urdu) by Nayyar Masood Urdu Marsiye K a Safar Tajzia-i-Yadgar Marsia, Research and compilation by Taqi Abedi Intikhab-e-Kalam Compiled by Muhammad Reza Kazimi Rubaiyate-e-Anis Compiled By Mr. Mohammad Hasan Bilgrami and Anis Shakhsiyat Aur Fun by Mr. Fazl-e-Imam published by UP Urdu Akademi, India. Books by Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi Mir Anees Ki Shairi (in Urdu Language) & The poets in the family of Mir Anis (published in 1996) 2nd Book is about the life history of 22 family members of Mir Anis that were poets and their poetry. The immortal poetry & Mir Anis (English) by Syed Ghulam Abbas. Published in 1983 by Majlis-e-Milli, Pakistan in Karachi The battle of Karbala 90 pages (Urdu) Translated by David Matthew Original from the University of California Digitized 27 February 2008 Publisher of 2nd Edition: Rupa & Co., 1994 Mir Anis Aur Qissa Goi Ka Fan 498 pages: By Farhat Nadir Rizvi Turki ba Turki (ترکی بہ ترکی ), a rejoinder to Kaleemuddin Ahmed and other critics on Mir Anis - By Dr. Syed Qasim Mahdi, pen-name Shaoor Azmi. Anis ki Marsiya Nigari by Khan Bahadur Mirza Jafar Ali Khan Asar Lakhnawi written in refutation to the article by Mohammad Ahsan Farooqi.