 Hazrat Amir Khusrau of Delhi was one of the greatest poets of medieval India.

He wrote

in both Persian, the courtly language of his time, and Hindavi, the language of the

masses.

 The same Hindavi later developed into two beautiful languages called Hindi and Urdu.

 A disciple of famous Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Khusrau’s contributions

towards the development of Qauwalli, South Asian Sufi music, and Indian Islamic mystic

culture, Sufism, were very important.

 He is also credited with the invention of Sitar and many other musical instruments.

Khayal and Tarana, two popular forms of Hindustani classical music, are believed to

have been discovered by him.

 Amir Khusrau is also remembered as a founder of the Ganga-Jamani Tehzeeb or the

Indian culture “which is a synthesis of Muslim and Hindu elements.”

 Poetry in Hindavi

 By writing in Persian, Khusrau reached out to the upper crust of society. For the masses,

he wrote his poetry in Hindavi. Across

 . At times, he had beautifully mixed these two languages.

 Hazrat Amir Khusro was born in AD 1253 and died in AD 1325. In these 72 years, he
made seminal contributions as a philosopher, mystic, scientist, historian, diplomat,
tactician, and above all, as a poet and musician. Much of this is either lost or remain only
in manuscripts confined to library shelves. His poetry and music, however, have spawned
not one but several living traditions that flourish to this day.
 In respect of music, Amir Khusro is today credited with a bewildering number of
inventions and innovations. According to many, he created musical instruments like the
Sitar and the Tabla, composed new Ragas like Yaman and Zeelaf, Talas like Chakka and
Soolfakhta, and created musical forms such as the Qawwali, the Khayal, and the Tarana.
Amir Khusro’s Life

 Amir Khusro’s father was an immigrant from Turkey, forced to flee his home due to
repeated Mongol invasions. He settled down in Delhi and soon acquired a position of
prominence. He married the daughter of Imaad ul Mulk, an Indian by birth and a
nobleman in the court of emperor Ghiyasuddin Balban.
 Khusro’s Indian ancestry exposed him to the greatness of Indian culture, especially its
music, for which he developed a special liking. He was never an attentive student, but
discovered an abiding love for poetry at a very early age. This, coupled with his equally
strong spiritual inclinations, led him to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia at the tender age of
eight.
 Amir Khusro was also an astute politician and tactician. He served no less than eleven
kings spanning three important dynasties. Clearly, his diplomatic skills were of a very
high order, for he managed to remain in royal favour even in such turbulent times.
 Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia died in 1325 at the age of 95. Khusro was in Awadh at that
time. When he came to know of his mentor’s demise, he was inconsolable and declared
he would not live long either. Within a few months his prediction came true, and a still
grief-stricken Amir Khusro joined his master in the other world.


 Khayal and Tarana

 The word ‘khayal’ literally means ‘thought’ or ‘imagination’. Ejaz-e-Khusravi contains
several references to this term. However, little inference can be made as to how such
Khayals were performed in that era. Certainly, it cannot bear a close resemblance to
today’s iteration. The noted Persian scholar Shahab Sarmadee has put forward the
conjecture that Khusro used the term in a more general sense, that is to say, in its literal
meaning rather than as a reference to a musical form. Others have speculated that in
Khusro’s time Khayals and Qawwalis used to be sung together, and only later did
Khayals acquire the status of classical music.
 Nevertheless, several musicians sing Khayal compositions whose words as well as music
they attribute to Khusro. A prominent example is ‘Piya Navelara Paya’, a composition in
Raga Poorvi.
 Amir Khusro’s putative associations with the Tarana run much deeper. One of the most
persistent legends of Hindustani music relates to the encounter between Amir Khusro,
who was then associated with the court of emperor Allauddin Khilji, and Gopal Nayak,
court-musician to the king of Devagiri. Allauddin commanded Gopal Nayak to present
the Raga Kadambak for six evenings running. During the entire performance, Khusro lay
concealed under the emperor’s throne, and stealthily absorbed all that the Nayak had
sung. On the seventh day, he astonished everyone present in the court by reproducing all
that Gopal Nayak had presented. However, since he couldn’t follow the Nayak’s
language, he substituted the text of the compositions with meaningless syllables. And that
is how the Tarana was born!
 Modern scholars, however, are quick to dismiss this story as an urban legend. One reason
for this is that the Raga Kadambak is such a complex composition that assimilating its
 intricacies merely by listening is virtually impossible. At the same time, especially given
the significance of such apparently meaningless syllables to Sufi practices, and given also
the structure of the Qaul and the Qalbana, we may safely contend that Khusro did indeed
play a significant role in the ultimate emergence of the Tarana as we know it.
 Khusro’s Influence on Contemporary Musicians
 The last eight hundred years have done much to erode Amir Khusro’s contributions to
music. This is so much so that today we have no way of distinguishing his own work
from later interpolations in his name. Hence, unlike in the field of literature, for instance,
as a musician Khusro continues to remain an indistinct, even legendary figure.

 Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253-1325) is one of the most celebrated poets of
medieval India, writing both in Persian, the courtly language of Muslims of the Sultanate
period, and Hindavī, the vernacular language of the Delhi area. Also known as Tūtī e-
Hind (=Parrot of India) and “Turk of India” for his poetic eloquence and fluency in
Persian and Hindavī, Amīr Khusrau has stood for a major cultural icon in the history of
Indian Civilisation for almost seven hundred years. In this paper, we delve into his work
and try measure it on the standards of modern history writing in order to establish how
helpful the work is, in reconstructing the past of Medieval India.
 Although Amīr Khusrau included much autobiographical information in his writings, the
details of his origins are not clear. His father was Saifuddīn Shamsī, who is said to have
migrated from Central Asia, and was married to the daughter of Imād al-Mulk, an Indian
Muslim. Though the first and second-generation Turkish immigrants were generally an
elite group who looked down on recently converted Indian Muslims, it appears that
intermarriage did take place between the two communities. It is said, that Khusrau was
proud of both sides of his lineage and his writings symbolise a synthesis of the two
different cultures. Thus, he appropriately called himself an “Indian Turk” and; in India,
the designation ‘Turk’ came to be synonymous with ‘Muslim’.
 Although Khusrau’s father was an illiterate man, but he made sure that his sons received
proper education. He died when Khusrau was eight and as a result, the boys were raised
by their maternal uncles and grandfather. Khusrau writes with great fondness about his
grandfather who was the most influential figure in his life during his formative years.
Even before he reached his teens, he began to compose his poetry in Persian. In terms of
the language of instruction, he would have been educated in both Persian and Arabic,
perhaps some spoken Turki, and definetly used Hindavī.

 It was at the age of twenty that Khusrau began his career as a professional writer, when
he began composing verses in praise of his patrons. For the next fifty years, until his
death in 1325, Khusrau was a court noble and a poet, initially in the court of other smaller
nobles and princes, then later permanently at the court of the Sultan of Delhi. Serving
five rulers and witnessing the rule of several more, he managed to survive the political
intrigues of the various factions and individuals at work in Delhi and outside.
 Khusrau was not only a courtier, but a a Sūfī mystic as well; one of the favourites of the
famous Sūfī saint Nizamuddin Auliya.
 During his lifetime, Khusrau travelled from one part of the country to another and
acquired vast knowledge of the subcontinent, studying its culture, languages, flora and
fauna as he came into close and personal contact with the people belonging to various
walks of life. Such a cosmic experience of men and manners was bound to, and in fact
did, endow him with a broad and humanistic approach towards society.
 Amīr Khusrau’s account of the kings and nobles was based on his personal knowledge
and experience. He wrote about Kaiqūbād’s meeting with Bughrā Khān, as he had
accompanied Sultan to Awadh. He wrote about Jalauddin’s early campaigns on the
similar basis as he was one of the nadīms of the Khiljī Sultān and used to attend special
majilis. He wrote about Duwal Rānī and Khizr Khān, Allāuddīn’s campaigns in the
Deccan and numerous administrative measures, market control, Mongol policy and so on.
 Khusrau’s major works include his five dīwāns- Tuhfat al-Sighar (poems of
adolescence), Wasat al-Hayāt (poems of middle life- twenty to thirty four years of
age), Ghurrat al-Kamāl (poems of maturity) collected in 693/1293; Baqiyya-yi-
Naqiyya completed in 715/1315 and Nihāyat al-Kamāl; Khamsa- comprising of Matlā al-
Anwār, Shirīn-i-Khusrau, Majnūn-Laylā, Āīnā-yi-Sikandarī and Hasht Bihisht; Rasā’il
al-Ijāz or Ijāz-i-Khusrau, a treatise (akhlaq) on prose composition, and five risālas.
 His masnavīs, offer insight into more than just history. A most important work is Qirān
al-Sadain (=conjunction/meeting of two planets), which he completed in 688/1289. It is
written in Persian and includes ghazals. Its main theme is the meeting and the conflict
(and its resolution) between BughraKhān and his son, Sultān Muīzzuddīn Kaiqubād.
Besides that, Khusrau also gives information bout the army, the climate in Awadh and the
description of the city of Delhi.
 Khazāin al-Futūh (=Treasure of Victory) was completed in 711/1311 and talks about the
life and times of Sultān Alāuddīn Khiljī, his conquests and administrative prowess. Of
peculiar interest to modern historians may be his description of the destruction of the
temple at Somanāth.
 Tughlaq Nāmā was completed in 720/1320 and details the ascension victories
of Ghiyāsuddīn Tughlaq against Khusrau Khān. The Āshiqā Duwal
Rānīwā Khizr Khān was completed in 715/1316 is an account of the love story
between Khizr Khān, (son of Alāuddīn Khiljī) and Duwal Rānī, daughter of Rājā Karn of
Naharwāla. Nūh Sipihr (=Nine Skies) was completed in 718/1318, its main theme being
the memorable deeds of sultān Qutbuddīn Mubārak Shah Khiljī but consists largely of the
details of his court and the flora and fauna and languages of India. Lastly, Miftāh al-
Futūh completed in 690/1291 was a masnavī regarding the battle campaigns and victories
of Jalāluddīn Khiljī.
