Maqbool Shah Kralawari (1820-'76) was
educated in Persian literature and is considered as the finest lyricist of the
19th century Kashmir. In his Malanama, he lacerated the 'mullahs' for being hand
in glove with the ruthless landlords but masquerading as the defenders of virtue
and the redeemers of the poor. On the other hand in his Grisynama he exposed the
foibles and frivolities of the landless peasantry reduced to sub-human
condition.. However, his creative genius reached its apogee in Gulrez (Scattered
Flowers). It is one of the best mathnavis (descriptive poem) of the 19th
century.