Persian Poem was written in calligraphic style by Bahadur Shah Zafar. The poem was gifted to Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe on 29th April 1844 The image shared above is the poem autographed by Bahadur Shah of Delhi, the last Mughal emperor is part of “Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi”, an album consisting of 89 folios with approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi, as well as other contemporary material, with an accompanying manuscript by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe (1795-1853), the Governor-General’s Agent at the imperial court. The poem reveals an interesting and complex relationship between the last Mughal emperor and the British resident (or ambassador) Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe. The well-known Persian poem is written in Bahadur Shah Zafar's handwriting. Historian Rana Safvi notes that a poem in one’s own calligraphic style and giving it to someone was considered a sign of friendship. Metcalfe’s note on the poem reveals that His Majesty Bahadur Shah of Delhi gifted the handwritten poem to Metcalfe on 29th April 1844. The Persian poem in Zafar’s calligraphy reads, “Dost an bashud ke Gheerud dust-i Dost Dur Pureshan hali,o-dur mandigee, Dost mu shoomur an ke dur Neeamut zanud, Laf yeearee o Biradur khandigee”

Mughal Library