The biography of Abul Hasan Yamn al-Dn Khusru

Ab'ul Hasan Yamn al-Dn Khusrow (Persian: (1253-1325 CE),

better known as Amr Khusrow Dehlaw , was an Indian
musician, scholar and poet of Persian descent. He was an iconic
figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent. A Sufi
mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi,
Amr Khusrow was not only a notable poet but also a prolific
and seminal musician. He wrote poetry primarily in Persian, but
also in Hindavi.

He is regarded as the "father of qawwali" (the devotional music
of the Indian Sufis).He is also credited with enriching
Hindustani classical music by introducing Persian and Arabic
elements in it, and was the originator of the khayal and tarana
styles of music.The invention of the tabla is also traditionally
attributed to Amr Khusrow. Amir Khusrau used only 11
metrical schemes with 35 distinct divisions. He has written
Ghazal, Masnavi, Qata, Rubai, Do-Beti and Tarkibhand.

A musician and a scholar, Amr Khusrow was as prolific in
tender lyrics as in highly involved prose and could easily
emulate all styles of Persian poetry which had developed in
medieval Persia, from Khqn's forceful qasidas to Nezm's
khamsa. His contribution to the development of the ghazal,
hitherto little used in India, is particularly significant.

Early life
Amr Khusrow was born in Patiali near Etah in northern India.
His father, Amr Sayf ud-Dn Mahmd, was a Turkic officer and
a member of the Lachin tribe of Transoxania, themselves
belonging to the Kara-Khitais.His mother was the daughter of
Rawat Arz, the famous war minister of Balban, a king of the
Mamluk dynasty (Slave dynasty) (1246-87) who belonged to the
Rajput tribes of Uttar Pradesh.

Career
Major life events in chronological order
1253 Khusro was born in Badaun near Etah in what is today the
state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. His father Amir
Saifuddin came from Balkh in modern day Afghanistan and his
mother hailed from Delhi.
1260 After the death of his father, Khusro went to Delhi with his
mother.
1271 Khusro compiled his first divan of poetry, "Tuhfatus-
Sighr".
1272 Khusro got his first job as court poet with King Balban's
nephew Malik Chhajju.
1276 Khusro started working as a poet with Bughra Khan
(Balban's son).
1279 While writing his second divan, Wastul-Hayat, Khusrau
visited Bengal.
1281 Employed by Sultan Mohammad (Balban's second son)
and went to Multan with him.
1285 Khusro participated as a soldier in the war against the
invading Mongols. He was taken prisoner, but escaped.
1287 Khusro went to Awadh with Ameer Ali Hatim (another
patron).
1288 His first mathnavi, "Qiranus-Sa'dain" was completed.
1290 When Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji came to power, Khusro's
second mathnavi, "Miftahul Futooh" was ready.
1294 His third divan "Ghurratul-Kamal" was complete.
1295 Ala ud din Khilji (sometimes spelled "Khalji") came to
power and invaded Devagiri and Gujarat.
1298 Khusro completed his "Khamsa-e-Nizami".
1301 Khilji attacked Ranthambhor, Chittor, Malwa and other
places, and Khusro remained with the king in order to write
chronicles.
1310 Khusro became close to Nizamuddin Auliya, and
completed Khazain-ul-Futuh.
1315 Alauddin Khilji died. Khusro completed the mathnavi
"Duval Rani-Khizr Khan" (a romantic poem).
1316 Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah became the king, and the
fourth historical mathnavi "Noh-Sepehr" was completed.
1321 Mubarak Khilji (sometimes spelled "Mubarak Khalji") was
murdered and Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq came to power. Khusro
started to write the Tughluqnama.
1325 Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq came to power.
Nizamuddin Auliya died, and six months later so did Khusro.
Khusro's tomb is next to that of his master in the Nizamuddin
Dargah of Delhi.

Khusro the Royal poet
Khusro was a prolific classical poet associated with the royal
courts of more than seven rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. He is
popular in much of North India and Pakistan, because of many
playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. Through his
enormous literary output and the legendary folk personality,
Khusro represents one of the first (recorded) Indian personages
with a true multi-cultural or pluralistic identity.

He wrote in both Persian and Hindustani. He also spoke Arabic
and Sanskrit. His poetry is still sung today at Sufi shrines
throughout Pakistan and India.

Amir Khusro was the author of a Khamsa which emulated that
of the earlier poet of Persian epics Nezami Ganjavi. His work
was considered to be one of the great classics of Persian poetry
during the Timurid period in Transoxiana.


Amir Khusro and the origins of the Sitar and the Tabla
Amir Khusro is credited with fashioning the tabla as a split
version of the traditional Indian drum, the pakhawaj.

Popular lore also credits him with inventing the sitar, the Indian
grand lute, but it is possible that the Amir Khusro associated
with the sitar lived in the 18th century (he is said to be a
descendant of the son-in-law of Tansen, the celebrated classical
singer in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar). See Origin
Of Sitar and About Sitars.

Some samples of Khusro's poetry

Persian couplet


Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.

If there is any paradise on the face of the earth,
This is it, this is it, this is it
Persian poems

Kafir-e-ishqam musalmani mara darkaar neest
Har rag-e mun taar gashta hajat-e zunnaar neest;
Az sar-e baaleen-e mun bar khez ay naadaan tabeeb
Dard mand-e ishq ra daroo bajuz deedaar neest;
Nakhuda dar kashti-e maa gar nabashad goo mubaash
Ma khuda daareem mara nakhuda dar kaar neest;
Khalq migoyad, ki Khusrau butparasti mikunad
Aare-aare mikunam, ba khalq mara kaar neest.

I am a pagan (worshiper) of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do
not need;
Every vein of mine has become (taut like a) wire; the (Hindu)
girdle I do not need.
Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!
The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved
other than this no medicine does he need.
If there be no pilot on our ship, let there be none:
We have God in our midst: the pilot we do not need.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So I do, so I do; the people I do not need,
the world I do not need.



Khusro dariya prem ka, ul v k dhr,
Jo utr so b gay, jo b so pr.

Khusro! the river of love has a reverse flow
He who enters will drown, he who drowns will get across.


Sej vo sn dekh ke rovun main din rain,
Piy piy main karat hn pahron, pal bhar sukh n chain.

Seeing the empty bed I cry night and day
Calling for my beloved all day, not a moment's happiness or
rest.

Hindavi poems


Chhp tilak sab chn re mose nain milike
Bt atham keh dn re mose nain milike
Prem bha k madv pilike
Matvl kar lnh re mose nain milike
Gor gor bayn, har har chuiyn
bayn paka dhar lnh re mose nain milike
Bal bal jn main tore rang rajv
Apn s kar lnh re mose nain milike
Khusro Nijm ke bal bal jaiye
Mohe suhgan knh re mose nain milike
Bt atham keh dn re mose nain milike

You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine from the distillery of love
You've intoxicated me by just a glance;
My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,
Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.
I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,
You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,
You've made me your bride, by just a glance.

Hindavi riddles
1. Nar naari kehlaati hai,
aur bin warsha jal jati hai;
Purkh say aaway purkh mein jaai,
na di kisi nay boojh bataai.

Is known by both masculine and feminine names,
And lightens up (or burns up) without rain;
Originates from a man and goes into a man,
But no one has been able to guess what it is.

2. Pawan chalat weh dehe badhavay
Jal peevat weh jeev ganvavay
Hai weh piyari sundar naar,
Naar nahin par hai weh naar.

With the blow of wind she flares up,
And dies as soon as she drinks water;
Even though she is a pretty woman,
Shes not a woman, though shes feminine.

Answers
1. Nadi (Stream) 2. Aag (Fire)

Unique Multi-lingual Poem
Zeehaal-e miskeen makun taghaful,
duraye naina banaye batiyan;
ki taab-e hijran nadaram ay jaan,
na leho kaahe lagaye chhatiyan.

Shaban-e hijran daraz chun zulf
wa roz-e waslat cho umr kotah;
Sakhi piya ko jo main na dekhun
to kaise kaatun andheri ratiyan.

Yakayak az dil do chashm-e jadoo
basad farebam baburd taskin;
Kise pari hai jo jaa sunaave
piyare pi ko hamaari batiyan.

Cho shama sozan cho zarra hairan
hamesha giryan be ishq aan meh;
Na neend naina na ang chaina
Na aap aaven na bhejen patiyan.

Bahaqq-e roz-e wisal-e dilbar
ki daad mara ghareeb Khusrau;
Sapet man ke waraaye raakhun
jo jaaye paaon piya ke khatiyan.

NOTES

The phrase "Zeehaal-e-miskeen" comes from a poem of Amir
Khusrau. The unique thing about this poem is that it is a
macaronic, written in Persian and Brij Bhasha. In the first verse,
the first line is in Persian, the second in Brij Bhasha, the third in
Persian again, and the fourth in Brij Bhasha. In the remaining
verses, the first two lines are in Persian, the last two in Brij
Bhasha. The poem showcases Amir Khusrau's mastery over both
languages. The English translation is:

Do not overlook my misery
Blandishing your eyes, and weaving tales;
My patience has over-brimmed, O sweetheart,
Why do you not take me to your bosom.

The nights of separation are long like tresses,
The day of our union is short like life;
When I do not get to see my beloved friend,
How am I to pass the dark nights?

Suddenly, as if the heart, by two enchanting eyes
Is beset by a thousand deceptions and robbed of tranquility;
But who cares enough to go and report
To my darling my state of affairs?

The lamp is aflame; every atom excited
I roam, always, afire with love;
Neither sleep to my eyes, nor peace for my body,
neither comes himself, nor sends any messages

In honour of the day of union with the beloved
who has lured me so long, O Khusrau;
I shall keep my heart suppressed,
if ever I get a chance to get to his place

Works
Tuhfa-tus-Sighr (Offering of a Minor) his first divan, contains
poems composed between the age of 16 and 19
Wastul-Hayat (The Middle of Life) his second divan, contains
poems composed at the peak of his poetic career
Ghurratul-Kamaal (The Prime of Perfection) poems composed
between the age of 34 and 43
Baqia-Naqia (The Rest/The Miscellany) compiled at the age of
64
Qissa Chahar Darvesh The Tale of the Four Dervishes
Nihayatul-Kamaal (The Height of Wonders) compiled probably
a few weeks before his death.
Qiran-us-Sadain (Meeting of the Two Auspicious Stars)
Mathnavi about the historic meeting of Bughra Khan and his son
Kyqbad after long enmity
Miftah-ul-Futooh (Key to the Victories) in praise of the victories
of Jalauddin Khalaji
Ishqia/Mathnavi Duval Rani-Khizr Khan (Romance of Duval
Rani and Khizr Khan) a tragic love poem about Gujarats
princess Duval and Alauddins son Khizr.
Noh Sepehr Mathnavi. (Mathnavi of the Nine Skies) Khusraus
perceptions of India and its culture
Tughlaq Nama (Book of the Tughlaqs) in prose
Khamsa-e-Nizami (Khamsa-e-Khusrau) five classical romances:
Hasht-Bahisht, Matlaul-Anwar, Sheerin-Khusrau, Majnun-Laila
and Aaina-Sikandari
Ejaaz-e-Khusrovi (The Miracles of Khusrau) an assortment of
prose compiled by himself
Khazain-ul-Futooh (The Treasures of Victories) one of his more
controversial books, in prose
Afzal-ul-Fawaid utterances of Nizamuddin Auliya
hliq Br a versified glossary of Persian, Arabic, and Hindawi
words and phrases attributed to Amir Khusrau, but most
probably written in 1622 in Gwalior by iy ud-Dn husrau
Jawahar-e- Khusrovi often dubbed as the Hindawi divan of
Khusrau
Laila Majnu
Ayina-i-Sikandari
Mulla-ul-Anwar
Shrin-wa-Khusrau