rescued after several weeks. This event is recorded in his short account of the journey. After the Haj, Shefta became more religious and his writing became spiritual and abstemious in tone. His writing was widely praised for its simplicity, clarity and purity of diction. Amongst his proclaimed admirers were Ghalib, Hasrat Mohani and Altaf Hussain Hali who wrote: Hali sukhan mein Shefta se mustfeed hai, Ghalib ka molqid hai, muqlid hai Mir ka. (Hali owes his poetic skill to Shefta, is an admirer of Ghalib, an emulator of Mir) Shefta sought advice or islah for his own Urdu poetry from Momin, and for Persian verse from Ghalib. He also authored an early history of Urdu poetry called Gulshan-e-be-khaar ("The Thornless Garden"). References Indian people of Pashtun descent Urdu-language writers from India 1809 births 1869 deaths