Hazrat Ameer Khusro

Shrine of Hazrat Amir Khusro

Ab'ul Hassan Yamin al-Din Khusro (Persian & Hindi (1253-1325 CE), better known as Amir Khusro Dehlavi, was an Indian musician, scholar & poet of Persian descent. He was an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent. A Sufi mystic & a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, Amir Khusro was not only a notable poet but also a prolific & 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 & Arabic elements in it & was the originator of the khayal & tarana styles of music. The invention of the tabla is also traditionally attributed to Amir Khusro. Amir Khusrau used only 11 metrical schemes with 35 distinct divisions. He has written Ghazal, Masnavi, Qata, Rubai, Do-Beti & Tarkibhand.

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

Early life:

Amir Khusro was born in Patiali near Etah in northern India. His father, Amir Saif ud-Din Mahmud, was a Turkic officer & 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.