1800 (Delhi) – 1851 (Delhi) • Hakeem-ul-Ummat
"A true Renaissance man of 19th-century Delhi, Momin Khan Momin was a practicing physician (Hakeem), an expert astrologer, a chess master, and a romantic to his very core. Unlike many of his contemporaries who leaned on mysticism, Momin strictly wrote about earthly, sensual love, deliberately avoiding Sufi metaphors. His traditional ghazals are celebrated for their deep complexity and intricate romanticism. Mirza Ghalib was so mesmerized by Momin's famous verse, 'Tum mere paas hote ho goya, jab koi doosra nahi hota' (You are close to me as if, when there is no one else), that he famously offered his entire diwan (poetry collection) in exchange for it."