an excellent literary education. He was proficient in Persian and also knew
some Turkish, as well as the Hindawi dialect spoken in Hindustan, but he
failed to develop a taste for Arabic. He was a great favourite of the Delhi
Sultans and served under many of them.
Amir Khusro is remembered above all as a poet, and Persian was his
language of choice. He wrote
masnavis
(long narrative poems), shorter
pieces of poetry collected in five
divans
, panegyrics and treatises. His style
was unique and he charted a new path of stylistic expression, which he
hoped his Indian successors would follow. He is considered to be the first to
write in Hindi or Hindawi and some collections of verses in that language
are ascribed to him. There is no doubt, however, that he used Hindi words
and phrases in his Persian verses, an indication that he was very familiar
with the local language and that it came to him spontaneously. It is said that
Shaykh Nizamuddin never tired of listening to Khusro reciting his verses.
Besides being a prolific writer, he also invented several musical
instruments including the sitar, and composed a number of melodies based
on a mixture of Persian and Indian themes.The invention of
qawl
(a mode in
music) is attributed to him. It was meant to introduce novelty into
sama’
rituals, in which he also participated. In spite of his many engagements at
the court, he always managed to find time to visit his Shaykh. When the
Shaykh died, he happened to be on an expedition to Bengal with Sultan
Ghayasuddin Tughlaq.When he heard of his
pir
’s death, he rushed back to
Delhi. He could not bear the shock, and his sorrow was so overwhelming
that he could not even weep. He lived on only for another six months. He
died in September 1325 and was buried near his mentor. His tomb is a
handsome edifice enclosed by marble screens and whoever visits the tomb
of Nizamuddin Awliya pays his respects to his disciple as well.
Th e Ch i s h t i Or d e r 90
