It is said that the poet was a tall, handsome man with a fair complexion, who used to cover his head with a turban and sported a long moustache extending across his face.

[citation needed] The Mughal Garden at Acchabal, the deep woods of Kokar Nag and Vernag Lake, are not far from the place where Rasul Mir lived.

Rasul Mir's life spans the reigns of three different sets of rulers in Kashmir - Afghan, Sikh and Dogra empire.

[1] Though, in his adolescent-youthful days, the poet has mentioned Kandahar, the former capital of the Afghan Empire, in his love-longing lullaby Bal Maraeyo: Sharmandà kärthas āftābo Qandhārich zūn Käji chāni gäjisäy läjisày daräy Bāl màräyo Translation: I, the full moon of Qandahar’, am ashamed Of your brilliance, my sun.

The first ruler of the Sikh empire, Ranjit Singh, had banned Azaan (the Islamic call for prayer) and the gathering of Muslims in Jama Masjid, Srinagar for 21 years.

Shupian was a miserable place, and Islamabad was but a shadow of its former self [10] The Sikh rule ended in 1846 when, under the Treaty of Amritsar, Kashmir was handed over by the British to the Dogra ruler, Gulab Singh, in return of seventy-five lakh (7.5 million) Nanakshahee rupees and some political concessions.

Mir was himself a muqdam (village chieftain), he must have sometimes acted as a convenient instrument of all-pervasive tyranny and exploitation but, what is surprising, his poetry shows little or no trace of the surroundings in which he lived.

Essentially rooted in folklore and folk sensibility, the tradition has been widened and enriched by influences from diverse sources; particularly Persian poetry.

From this point of view the most remarkable Persian poets are Sadi, Hafez, Nizami, Rumi, Attar, Firdausi, Bedil and Ghani Kashmiri.

Sadi's works - Gulistan, Bostaan and Pandnamah (popularly known as Karima)- constituted the first formal syllabus of conventional education in Kashmir, besides the religious texts.

[13] Another form of communal singing prevalent in Kashmir was nende baeth (songs sung while de-weeding paddy fields).

[1] In his poetry he also repeatedly refers to the places which he would often visit- Achhabal, Khannabal, Mattan, Nishat-Shalimar, Sona Lank- to name only few.

[citation needed] It is a speculation, that the poet would also visit places such as Tashawan, Srinagar (The province known for prostitution in Mir's day).

In Rasul Mir's persuasion, the singer changes from woman to man, the poems, and the elements of female beauty get mixed with distinctly male attributes producing a bivalent image.

Rasul Mir was aware of the artistic implications of this problem and tried to effect a bold and revolutionary change by altering the sex of the speaking voice from female to male in most of his lyrics.

This lent a note of realism and authenticity to his poetry and made it appear more natural as the speaking voice was freed from the fetters of an artificial pose.

Almost single-handedly, he turned Kashmiri poetry into a bubbling love, gushing forth helplessly, sincerely, fervently, as it should in a vale of beauty.

[citation needed] The Kalaam (poetic works) of Rasul Mir is limited to seventy-nine poems[1] or Baeths (a Kashmiri lyrical ballad), including a ghazal in Persian.

In Taing's standard edition, these are those poems entitled, "Nar lalawun thovnam moori lo lo", "Karinam gray kot goum", "Suy goum travith bal bave kasty" and "Gatte mye mar sone kane doorani".

[1] There is mention too, of native myths, like Kashmir's famed fable, Himal and Nagrai, in his poems, including the legend of Yusuf and Zulaikha.

There are a lot of speculations regarding Rasul Mir writing a Mathnavi based on the love story of Zeba and Nigar, which is exclusively credited to Miskin.

In his later life, the poet was often seen sitting alone, as if in an intoxicated state, near the Vernag Spring, absorbed in his own thoughts with moonlight shimmering on its blue waters.

[citation needed] It is said that during the last days of his life, he sat at the south window on the ground floor of the khanqah and spent his time in solitude.

He spoke of himself as the reincarnation of him: Ath darda sozas parda tulith gav su Rasul Mir Mahjoor laegith aav beyi dubaar Translation: Rasul Mir unveiled the bewitching face of love and compassion And was reborn in the form of Mahjoor[23]

Legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle recorded a song by Rasul Mir for Radio Kashmir, Srinagar in the summer of 1966.