Amir Khusrow - 1

Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn al-Dīn Khusrow (1253-1325 CE) better known as Amīr Khusrow Dehlawī, 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, Amīr 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 Amīr 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, Amīr 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 Khāqānī's forceful qasidas to Nezāmī's khamsa. His contribution to the development of the ghazal, hitherto little used in India, is particularly significant...

Early life and background

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

Career

Major life events

1. 1253 Khusro was born (1253) 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. 2. In 1260. After the death of his father, Khusro went to Delhi with his mother. He compiled his first divan of poetry, "Tuhfatus-Sighr" in the year 1271. 3. In 1272 Khusro got his first job as court poet with King Balban's nephew Malik Chhajju. 4. In 1276 Khusro started working as a poet with Bughra Khan (Balban's son). 5. 1279 While writing his second divan, Wastul-Hayat, husrau visited Bengal. 6. 1281 Employed by Sultan Mohammad (Balban's second son) and went to Multan with him. 7. In 1285 he participated as a soldier in the war against the invading Mongols. He was taken prisoner, but escaped. 8. In 1287 Khusro went to Awadh with Ameer Ali Hatim (another patron). 9. 1288 His first mathnavi, "Qiranus-Sa'dain" was completed. 10. 1290 When Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji came to power, Khusro's second mathnavi, "Miftahul Futooh" was ready. 11. 1294 His third divan "Ghurratul-Kamal" was complete. 12. 1295 Ala ud din Khilji (sometimes spelled "Khalji") came to power and invaded Devagiri and Gujarat. 13. 1298 Khusro completed his "Khamsa-e-Nizami". 14. 1301 Khilji attacked Ranthambhor, Chittor, Malwa and other places, and Khusro remained with the king in order to write chronicles. 15. 1310 Khusro became close to Nizamuddin Auliya, and completed Khazain-ul-Futuh. 16. 1315 Alauddin Khilji died. Khusro completed the mathnavi "Duval Rani-Khizr Khan" (a romantic poem). 17. 1316 Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah became the king, and the fourth historical mathnavi "Noh-Sepehr" was completed. 18. 1321 Mubarak Khilji (sometimes spelled "Mubarak Khalji") was murdered and Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq came to power. Khusro started to write the Tughluqnama. 19. 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.
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