PAINTING
The history of painting in the Sultanate period is obscure compared with its architecture. This is due primarily to the non-availability of any surviving specimens for at least the first hundred years of the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.
Equally surprising is the absence of illuminated books, an art carried to supreme height in the Islamic world by 1200. However, the researches during the last 20-25 years have unearthed new and some crucial evidence, forcing the scholars to change their opinion radically. We now know that not only book illumination but murals too were executed during the Sultanate period. The art of painting may thus be divided into the following three categories each of which will be discussed separately.
1. Literary Evidence for Murals
The closest view that one may have of the murals as a flourishing art form during the rule of the Delhi Sultanate is through a large number of literary references occurring in the chronicles of this period. These have been compiled and analysed by Simon Digby (‘The Literary Evidence for Painting in the Delhi Sultanate')
The earliest reference to murals in the Sultanate period is in a qasida (Tabqat-i Nasiri) in praise of Iltuttmish, on the occasion of the gift of Khila't from the Caliph in 1228. The verses in this composition make it clear that human or animal figures were depicted upon the spandrels of the main arch raised to welcome the envoy of the Caliph.
'The most important single reference to painting in the Delhi Sultanate occurs in the context of un-Islamic observances of earlier rulers inviting a ban by Feroz Tughluq (Tarikh-i Ferozshrhi by Afif). It indicates the existence of a continuous tradition of figural painting on the walls of the palaces of Delhi, which was sought to be banned by Feroz Tughluq.
This tradition of painting was not confined to the murals alone. In a reference relating to the entertainment parties thrown by Qutbuddin Mubarak Khalji (1316-20), mention is made of a profusely painted open-sided tent: The decorations would therefore appear to be on painted cloth (Nuh Siphr by Amir Khusrau).
In contrast, there did survive a tradition of wall painting in the houses of the common people, especially the non-Muslims. It is testified by :
• A stanza from a 14th century Hindi poem Chandayan written by Maulana Daud in 1379-80, which describes the painted decoration of the upper rooms ,of the house were Chanda, the leading lady of this poem, sleeps with her female companions.
• an actual painting from one of the illustrated manuscripts of this poem belonging to tbe 15th century and showing the bedchamber of Chanda, on the walls of which are painted scenes from the Ramayana.
2.The Quranic Calligraphy
Calligraphy was the most revered art in the Islamic world,and was used as a decorative feature both on stone and on paper. In the hierarchy of craftsmen, a calligrapher was placed above the illuminator and painter. However, the calligraphy of the Quran became one of the foremost forms of book art, where copies of Quran were produced on a majestic and expansive scale.
The earliest known copy of the Quran is dated 1399. It was calligraphed at Gwalior, and has a variety of ornamental motifs,derived both from Iranian and Indian sources. The geometrical frontispiece of this manuscript seems to be in the Sultanate style and suggests the folloving as prominent features of the Delhi ateliers in the 14th century:
• The work produced here is in line with the Iranian tradition.
• The script used in the headings and inscriptional panels of the Quran is invariably Kufi
• The illumination of geometrical frontispieces was the speciality of this school.
The state of book-art in the 15th century, under the Saiyyid and Lodi dynasties, remained a sad shadow of its former self as it became incapable of supporting artistic endeavour on a large scale. The initiative seems to have been wrested by provincial dynasties.
3 Manuscript Illustration.
Manuscript illustration in the Sultanate period is a hotly debated and disputed subject. There is very little concurrence among scholars on terminology and provenance. Thus, deciding the traits of Sultanate manuscript illustrations is a cumbersome job. On the contrary, though a good number of illustrated manuscripts in Persian and Awadhi from the period between 1400 and the advent of the Mugalsare now known, some of these manuscripts appear to have been produced at provincial courts. However, there is a distinct, although small, group of manuscripts which was probably not connected with any court. They seem to have been produced for patrons, presumably independent but located somewhere in the Sultanate. They have sometimes been termed as representing a 'bourgeois' group and are attributable to the period 1450-4500. Given below are brief notes on two of these manuscripts forming the 'bourgeois' group.
Hamzanama
This manuscript is dated to about 1450 and depicts the legendry exploits of Amir
Hamza, one of the companions of the Prophet (P BUH).
Chandayan
It is datable to 1450-70 and illustrates the romance of two lovers Laur and Chanda.
It was composed in the Awadhi dialect of Hindi by Maulana Daud of Dalmau near
Rai Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh in 1389.
MUSIC
The development of music as an art form in Delhi Sultanate took a back seat compared with the growth of architecture and painting. Moreover the history of music during this period suffers from a serious handicap, the lack of documentation. Historical references are scattered and scanty and most of the modern day writings are speculative rather than historically substantive. They are replete with fables and legends about music in the Sultanate period.
The 14th century is perhaps the most important period in the history of the Delhi
Sultanate from the point of view of music, That music in some form was practiced in the courts of the early Sultans is, however, not improbable. Kaiqubad had built for himself a magnificent palace at Kilugarhi. The courtly revels included dancing and singing of Persian and Hindi songs by beautiful girls. But it was Amir Khusrau who has left an enduring mark on the music not only of the Sultanqte but of India as a whole. Amir Khusrau was the disciple of the great sun saint Shaikh Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi. He was also the court poet of Alauddin Khalji who was himself very fond of music. The genius of Amir Khusrau in the sphere of music was mainly utilized in innovating new compositions as well as in assimilating different forms of music prevalent in his time. He is credited with having introduced:
• The qawwali mode of singing into the countryside for the first time.
• several of our modem rags like Zilaph, Sazgiri and Sarparda, etc., produced by combining Persian and Indian tunes.
• Khayal form of singing by abandoning the traditional dhrupad.
• a new musical instrument called sitar by combining the old Indian vina and the Iranian tambura.
• modifications in the conventional percussion instrument mridang to bifurcate it into two and call them tabla.
The changes introduced by Amir Khusrau had far-reaching social consequences in
bringing together people of two divergent creeds.