There’s something about Mirza Ghalib, Allama Iqbal, and Saadat Hasan Manto that stays with you. These famous poets in South Asian Poetry have revolutionized our understanding of Romance and Rebellion through their beautiful Shayari. Not through cliches but rather, they captured the essence of what it means to feel deeply, live fully, and question everything.
Their words didn’t just sit unread; they moved people, shaped thoughts, and even decades later, still pulse through our hearts. Here at Manto, we honor this legacy by celebrating, reading, and adorning their poetry. Let’s take a deeper look at the themes and works of these three poetic legends.
Mirza Ghalib
Few poets have captured the torment and beauty of longing quite like Mirza Ghalib. Born in Agra in 1797, he lived through a time of chaos and change, the fall of the Mughal Empire, shifting identities, and a world in transition. Among this chaos, his words were a source of clarity; his ghazals about desires that never found a home, a fleeting sort of love, and that deep, aching space between what is and what could have been.
He didn’t follow the rules, not in life and certainly not in poetry. While others romanticized love, Ghalib questioned it. While society expected restraint, he gave us raw emotion. And in doing so, he gave generations after him a way to feel seen. Indirectly, rebellion was the subject of a lot of his work and a lot of his life. Rebellion against social norms and an open challenge to concepts we think we understand.
He wasn’t just a poet. He was a mirror for all our quiet ache, our stubborn hope, and our search for meaning. His restless longing was perfectly captured by one of his most iconic lines:
Hazaaron khwahishein aisi ke har khwahish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mere armaan lekin phir bhi kam nikle
ہزاروں خواہشیں ایسی کہ ہر خواہش پہ دم نکلے
بہت نکلے مرے ارمان لیکن پھر بھی کم نکلے
Translation:
Thousands of desires, each so intense that it could take my breath away
Many of my longings were fulfilled, yet they still felt too few
This existential line only raises the question, “What even is fulfilment?” We love this piece of poetry so much, that many of us at Manto decided to wear this poem with Manto’s Armaan Stole.
Allama Iqbal
Allama Iqbal’s poetry feels like a quiet fire; it doesn’t shout, but it stays with you long after you’ve read it. Born in 1877 in Sialkot, Iqbal’s words were a call to the heart, to the soul, to the part of us that dreams of freedom, that yearns for something bigger than ourselves.
While he’s often remembered for his philosophy and vision, at the core of it all was something deeply romantic: a love for freedom, for awakening, and the limitless potential of the self.
Iqbal’s romanticism wasn’t about roses or stolen glances—it was about loving something larger: the awakening of self, the rise of a nation, and the boundless potential of the human spirit. His verses are for the dreamers, the restless hearts, the ones who know they’re meant for more.
There's one of his lines that captures this perfectly:
Tere azaad bandon ki na yeh duniya na woh duniya
Yahan marne ki pabandi, wahan jeene ki pabandi
ترے آزاد بندوں کی نہ یہ دنیا نہ وہ دنیا
یہاں مرنے کی پابندی وہاں جینے کی پابندی
Translation:
Neither this world nor the next belongs to Your free beings
Here, dying is forbidden — there, living is not allowed
It’s not a love poem in the traditional sense, but it is about love, the kind that refuses to be boxed in and is not bound by anything. It’s about that intense and pure love for freedom. That’s Iqbal’s kind of romance.
This spirit of seeking freedom, of unbound and courageous love, is what inspired our Intifada’a Odhni—a piece for those who don’t just follow the path, but imagine a new one. For those who feel deeply, think boldly, and still choose softness as strength.
Iqbal’s poetry reminds us: real love isn’t always soft. Sometimes, it’s powerful enough to set the soul free.
Saadat Hasan Manto
The man who wrote what no one dared to say. Manto was one of the most controversial and rebellious poets in the subcontinent. He was born in 1912 in Ludhiana and was part of those who migrated at the time of partition; a time that left marks on every soul, relationship, and land. His words were never meant to comfort. They were meant to shake us, to wake us, to expose the truths we were too afraid to face.
In a world where so many tried to hide the ugly truths, Manto rebelled and brought them into the light. Much of his rebellion was in these truths, the unapologetic kind. He dared to write what no one else would even whisper, talking of the ugly truths of the partition, mental illness, and more. His work was deeply real; instead of that perfect love, he’d speak of the love that’s raw, flawed, and deeply human. At its core, his work addressed everything with a certain harsh truth that he believed the world needed to know.
There’s a perfect part of his work that speaks to his unapologetic truth:
Kabhi kabhi sochta hoon main
Apni aankhein band kar loon magar apne zameer ka kya karoon?
Meri tehrirein aap ko kadwi lagti hongi magar jo mithaas aaj aap ko pesh ki ja rahi hai us se insaniyat ko kya faida hua hai?
Neem ke patte kadwe sahi magar khoon to saaf karte hain.
Main is muashare ka hissa hoon jahan hum aayine ka samna sirf shakal dekhne ke liye karte hain.
کبھی کبھی سوچتا ہوں میں
اپنی آنکھیں بند کرلوں مگر اپنے ضمیر کا کیا کروں؟
میری تحریریں آپ کو کڑوی لگتی ہوں گی مگر جو مٹھاس آج آپ کو پیش کی جارہی ہیں اس سے انسانیت کو کیا فائدہ ہوا ہے؟
نیم کے پتے کڑوے سہی مگر خون تو صاف کرتے ہیں
میں اس معاشرے کا حصہ ہوں جہاں ہم آئینے کا سامنا صرف شکل دیکھنے کے لیے کرتے ہیں
Translation:
Sometimes I think
I should close my eyes — but what should I do with my conscience?
My words may sound bitter to you,
But what good has the sweetness you're being served today done for humanity?
Neem leaves may be bitter,
But they purify the blood.
I’m part of a society
Where we look into the mirror only to check our face — not to face ourselves.
Manto’s legacy continues to inspire, and so does his spirit. Our Khayaal Kurta, inspired by his words, carries this boldness with it, reminding us that sometimes the harshest truths are the ones that shape us the most.
Whether it was Ghalib’s aching verses, Manto’s harsh truths, or Iqbal’s soaring dreams, each of these poets gave us a different lens to see the world through. They taught us that romance isn’t always about roses, and rebellion isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s that unique and real love, and sometimes rebellion just means staying true to yourself.
At Manto, we don’t just read their words, we immortalize their Poetry in Fabric. Because when something moves you deeply, you carry it with you. Romance and rebellion, in their purest forms, aren’t just ideas; they’re ways of living, of questioning, of loving fiercely, and living truthfully. And as long as we carry these poets with us, their legacy will continue to shape us, inspire us, and remind us that we are never alone in our longing, our dreams, or our fight.