Mah Laqa Bai, born Chanda Bai, and sometimes referred to as Mah Laqa Chanda, was an Indian 18th century Urdu poet, tawaif and philanthropist based in Hyderabad. In 1824, she became the first female poet to have a diwan of her work, a compilation of Urdu Ghazals named Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa, published posthumously. She lived in a period when Dakhini was making its transition into the highly Persianized Urdu. Her literary contributions provide insight into such linguistic transformations in southern India.
