542 Hindi and Urdu Hindi Tazkiras. [June, 



The subjoined list comprises the names of all the Tazkiras of Hindi 

 and Urdu Hindi writers, that I have anywhere seen mentioned. Nos. 4, 

 22, and 23 are Anthologies. Works of this description are often useful 

 in verifying extracts found in Tazkiras. A small portion only of the 

 first Anthology just referred to, is devoted to the poetry of the vernacular 

 language of Hindustan ; and the same may be said of the Tazkira of 

 Abu Talib. These small portions are, however, valuable. 



I am unable at present to say whether No. 1 1 is a Persian, or a Hindi 

 Urdu Tazkira, or a compound of both ; and I am in the same doubt with 

 regard to several others whose names I have not given. A number of 

 these, there are strong reasons to suppose, treat, in good part, of writers 

 of the vulgar tongue. 



If encouragement be offered to my present project with reference to 

 Hindi and Urdu Hindi Tazkiras, I may on some future occasion prepare 

 a list of Tazkiras containing memoirs of natives of India that have 

 written in Persian. Nearly all of the Urdu Hindi authors of celebrity, 

 and very many of inferior rank, have written more or less in the lan- 

 guage of Hafiz and Firdausi. Works of the class just mentioned must, 

 consequently, in so far as they treat of Indian writers, possess almost 

 equal importance with Hindi and Urdu Hindi Tazkiras, strictly so called. 

 Biographies of this description are very numerous. A formidable list 

 might be culled from Mr. Bland's searching article on the lives of the 

 Persian poets, published last year in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic 

 Society. 



1 . Tazkira-i Shuara-e Hindi, by Ghulam-i Hamdani Mushafi. 



2. Tazkira-i Shuara-e Hindi, by Fath Ali Khan Husaini Gurdaizi.* 



3. Gulzar-i Ibrahim, by Nawwab Ali Ibrahim Khan. 



4. Guldasta-i Nashat, by Mannu Lai Lahori. 



5. Diwan-i Jahan, by Beni Narayanf Jahan Lahori. 



6. Nikat-u-shshuara, by Mir Muhammad Taqi. 



7. Gulshan-i Hind, by Mirza Ali Lutf. 



* In the older of the two MSS. of this Tazkira that once belonged to the library of 

 the College of Fort William, which is now in my possession, I find &J<S or jo, A 

 instead of iiJ^jZ. But 1 find no such place on the maps. 



t This is the orthography which this writer uses in his Chahar Gulshan, in preference 

 to the vulgar corruption, Narayan. 



