Sajjad
Shahid
Unlike northern India which shared boundaries with states predominantly under the sway of Persian culture, the Deccan, far removed from the frontiers, was free from the cultural bias which defines relations between neighbouring countries. This freedom promoted an atmosphere conducive to greater exchange between the local population and the Muslims settlers who patronised existing art forms with unbridled enthusiasm. The resulting social milieu enabled local talent to intermingle with the Deccan nobility on equal terms.
The common language, Dakhni, originating from the interaction of two distinct cultures first gained popularity through its usage by the Sufis who had migrated to the Deccan. Its development in the Deccan, however, was far more rapid and pronounced, for Dakhni gained acceptance as a literary language long before Urdu attained a similar status in the north. Dakhni differs to a great extent from its northern sibling as its area of interaction was home to a different set of languages, predominantly of Dravidian extract. Its contacts with Kannada, Telugu, Marathi and other South Indian languages and dialects, from which it absorbed freely, gave Dakhni its distinct flavour and identity.
The first major work in Dakhni, the epic ‘Kadam Rao Padam Rao’ by Nizami of Bidar, was composed around 1460. Its vocabulary, although relying heavily on Sanskrit t a t s a m a s, is rendered in a diction which is both expressive and supple enough to prove that the author was expressing himself through a living medium. It is notable that the Hindu pantheon often shares the stage with Islamic heroes in compositions of Dakhni poets. During the long period of interaction, the regional languages of the Deccan also came under Persio-Arabic influence. It is therefore not surprising that words like k u z a (for water container), are still prevalent in Telugu long after their use has been rendered archaic in the Urdu language.
It is notable that the euphoria of Akbar’s times was also mirrored in the South where similar results were achieved in the field of synthesis. The two major kingdoms of the Deccan __ Golconda and Bijapur, also reached a zenith in their socio-cultural development during this period of history. Unlike Akbar (1556-1605) who lacked formal education, his contemporaries in the Deccan were accomplished poets. Mohammed Quli of Golconda (1580-1611) and Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur (1580-1626), along with their court poets have left behind a vast storehouse of literature which being in Dakhni – a language of the masses, is a better representative of its times when compared to the court productions of Mughal India which are rendered mainly in Persian, a language restricted to the elite.
So great was the contribution of the Deccan sultans to local arts that some of them are considered masters in their chosen field. Ibrahim Qutub Shah of Golconda, a patron of the Kuchipudi, was so instrumental in promoting the dance form that his name (Malik Brhama) is invoked as a prelude to traditional performances. Jagatguru Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur was a famed musician of his time and his ‘Kitab-e Nauras,’ a treatise on music, illustrates the finer points of various r a g a s and r a g i n i sand bears testimony to the extent of cultural fusion achieved in the Deccan.
Even after the fall of Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687), there was a continuation of Dakhni literary traditions for quite some time. Although Zaifi sang praises of Aurangzeb, the trend in general had shifted from love sonnets and m a s n av i s to religious poetry with notable exceptions being the compositions of Ruhi, Mirza and Qadir which are considered by some as disguised elegies lamenting the fall of Golconda. The most important and popular poet of these times was Shah Mahmud Bahri of Gogi in the Gulbarga district who kept the torch of Sufi poetry burning during this bleakest period of Deccan history. He shifted to Hyderabad and composed his masterpiece ‘Man Lagan’ at the request of the Mughal governor but disappointed with the conditions in the city returned to his hometown where he died in 1718. We can gauge from his compositions that the universality of God and brotherhood of man remained the base of Sufi thought – unchanged with the passage of time.
Unlike northern India which shared boundaries with states predominantly under the sway of Persian culture, the Deccan, far removed from the frontiers, was free from the cultural bias which defines relations between neighbouring countries. This freedom promoted an atmosphere conducive to greater exchange between the local population and the Muslims settlers who patronised existing art forms with unbridled enthusiasm. The resulting social milieu enabled local talent to intermingle with the Deccan nobility on equal terms.
The common language, Dakhni, originating from the interaction of two distinct cultures first gained popularity through its usage by the Sufis who had migrated to the Deccan. Its development in the Deccan, however, was far more rapid and pronounced, for Dakhni gained acceptance as a literary language long before Urdu attained a similar status in the north. Dakhni differs to a great extent from its northern sibling as its area of interaction was home to a different set of languages, predominantly of Dravidian extract. Its contacts with Kannada, Telugu, Marathi and other South Indian languages and dialects, from which it absorbed freely, gave Dakhni its distinct flavour and identity.
The first major work in Dakhni, the epic ‘Kadam Rao Padam Rao’ by Nizami of Bidar, was composed around 1460. Its vocabulary, although relying heavily on Sanskrit t a t s a m a s, is rendered in a diction which is both expressive and supple enough to prove that the author was expressing himself through a living medium. It is notable that the Hindu pantheon often shares the stage with Islamic heroes in compositions of Dakhni poets. During the long period of interaction, the regional languages of the Deccan also came under Persio-Arabic influence. It is therefore not surprising that words like k u z a (for water container), are still prevalent in Telugu long after their use has been rendered archaic in the Urdu language.
It is notable that the euphoria of Akbar’s times was also mirrored in the South where similar results were achieved in the field of synthesis. The two major kingdoms of the Deccan __ Golconda and Bijapur, also reached a zenith in their socio-cultural development during this period of history. Unlike Akbar (1556-1605) who lacked formal education, his contemporaries in the Deccan were accomplished poets. Mohammed Quli of Golconda (1580-1611) and Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur (1580-1626), along with their court poets have left behind a vast storehouse of literature which being in Dakhni – a language of the masses, is a better representative of its times when compared to the court productions of Mughal India which are rendered mainly in Persian, a language restricted to the elite.
So great was the contribution of the Deccan sultans to local arts that some of them are considered masters in their chosen field. Ibrahim Qutub Shah of Golconda, a patron of the Kuchipudi, was so instrumental in promoting the dance form that his name (Malik Brhama) is invoked as a prelude to traditional performances. Jagatguru Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur was a famed musician of his time and his ‘Kitab-e Nauras,’ a treatise on music, illustrates the finer points of various r a g a s and r a g i n i sand bears testimony to the extent of cultural fusion achieved in the Deccan.
Even after the fall of Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687), there was a continuation of Dakhni literary traditions for quite some time. Although Zaifi sang praises of Aurangzeb, the trend in general had shifted from love sonnets and m a s n av i s to religious poetry with notable exceptions being the compositions of Ruhi, Mirza and Qadir which are considered by some as disguised elegies lamenting the fall of Golconda. The most important and popular poet of these times was Shah Mahmud Bahri of Gogi in the Gulbarga district who kept the torch of Sufi poetry burning during this bleakest period of Deccan history. He shifted to Hyderabad and composed his masterpiece ‘Man Lagan’ at the request of the Mughal governor but disappointed with the conditions in the city returned to his hometown where he died in 1718. We can gauge from his compositions that the universality of God and brotherhood of man remained the base of Sufi thought – unchanged with the passage of time.
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