Hundred Great Muslims

272 Hundred Great Muslims
According to the celebrated musician Hakim Muhammad Akram Khan,
the author of Maadan Mausiqi (The Treasure of"Music), ..Amir Khus-ou was
considered Nayak of his time. He invented seventeen tunes of Dholak, and is
looked upon as the originator of Purbi Rag (Eastern Tune) which was the
favourite of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia" .
Writing in his well-known book, The Life and Works of Amir Khusrou,
Mirza Mahmood Ahmed says: "The natural inclination which Amir had for
music pervades all his writings. The originality inherent in his nature revolted
against the dogmatism of traditional school of Indian music. There had not been
a greater artist in the history of classical music of India" .
Herbert A. Poplay pays glowing tribute to the genius of Amir Khusrou
when he acknowledges in his celebrated work, Music of India that Amir Khusrou
was not only a renowned poet and musician but also a great soldier and statesman.
The following few anecdotes pertaining to Amir Khusrou will be found of
great interest:
Once Amir Khusrou called on a Sufi Saint. At the door he was stopped by
the durban (doorman) who would not let him in without the permission of the
Saint. This very much offended and angered Amir Khusrou who, on the spur of
the moment, wrote on a scrap of paper the folIowinghemistich extemporaneously:
A dervish requires no doorman.
The doorman delivered it to the Saint who instantaneously added to it the
following hemistich:
(There should be (posted) one, so that no worldly dog may intrude).
This evoked a sardonic chuckle from Amir Khusrou and, at the same time,
amused him. He was forthwith admitted to the presence of the Saint.
It is said that on one occasion a few guests who came to dine with Amir
Khusrou, were not inclined to leave long after the dinner was over. He began
to be bored by their prolonged presence and wanted them to quit. Meanwhile
the kettle-drum sounded the near midnight hour. Thereupon, satirically addressing
the guests, he asked if they knew what it implied and before anyone of
them could reply, he laughingly observed that the kettle-drum said it was time
for them to depart. Simultaneously, he recited the following couplet composed
impromptu in Persian chiming with the number of hours struck by the kettledrum: