Munni Bai Hijab is an integral part of the life and work of Mirza Dagh Dehlavi, one of the best poets of Urdu language, who was the teacher and mentor of a host of poets including Allama Iqbal and Nuh Narvi. Many courtesans have been associated with Mirza Dagh Dehlavi but Munni Bai Hijab had influenced him a lot and one of the distinguished masnavis of Urdu canon ‘Fardyad-e-Dagh’ is homage to her.
Named Mah-e-Munir ‘Illuminated Moon’ Munni Bai Hijab was a courtesan from Kolkata, who was beautiful, lovely, attractive and a poet herself, whose name de plume was Hijab. Her persona and features have been described by her lover in poetic diction and her short biography is found in almost all biographical dictionaries written around the era she lived. She was a popular courtesan among elites of political corridors in Kolkata and famous for her signing and courtesan qualities.
Munni Bai Hijab met with Dagh Dehlavi during ten days long Benazir Festival, which was celebrated in the last quarter of nineteenth century by the knights of Rampur State splendidly. It was a feast for concerts, literary gatherings, poetic symposiums, exhibitions, marshal art competitions and other water sports. The scene of festival was a garden known as Bagh-e-Benazeer beside a river and lush green rural landscape not far from Rampur, the capital of Rampur State.
Mirza Dagh Dehlavi fell in love with Munni Bai Hijab and she also did not disappoint him. Although she was practical woman, being attracted towards the charm of the poetry of Dagh and his fame and prospectus she did not give much attention to his color and age but her conditions of marriage were harsh so it did not materialize and she returned to her place of business Calcutta. However, her likeness for her beloved poet did not decrease and she invited Dagh to Kolkata and he went there.
The period spent by Dagh with Munni Bai Hijab in Kolkata was blissful and these love birds enjoyed the company of each other to the fullest. Nevertheless, as the separation is the destiny of lovers, Dagh was called back by his employer from Kolkata and returned by two days rail journey and after return from Kolkata, he paid his best homage to Munni Bai Hijab in his long poem ‘Faryad-e-Dagh, which secured the place of this courtesan in the annals of Urdu literature and now she is a known muse, who had inspired one of the best literary assets of Urdu language.
Munni Bai had married a Maulana in Kolkata but she divorced him to marry Dagh coming to Hyderabad during the last years of the life of Dagh but it could not happen because of the relatives of Dagh and her own orthodoxy she developed later in her life.
Hamid Siddiqui
CEO – Muslims of India Portal and Director of AM Education and Welfare Society, Muzaffarpur
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