Jameel Mazhari, son of Syed Khurshid Husain, had his schooling at Motihari (Bihar) and later studied at Kolkata University from where he did his Masters in Persian. He began his career as a journalist in a Kolkata daily. He was actively involved in anti-British movement. He also had short stints as lyricist and story writer in films and worked in Mumbai, Kolkata and Lahore. In 1946, he became lecturer in Urdu at Patna College from where he moved to the University where he served in different capacities till 1974. Jameel composed ghazals, nazms, rubai, qata, marsia and host of other forms of poetic expression. Jameel was a disciple of Vahshat Kalkatvi and considered Iqbal as his mentor and guide. His major works include Naqsh-e-Jameel (1953), Fikr-e-Jameel (1958), Wijdan-e-Jameel (1979), Irfan-e-Jameel (1979) and others.