Twilight of the Sultanate c16.s2.12

c16.s2.12

But the upheaval caused by Tīmūr’s invasion dispersed the musicians of Delhi to the far-off courts of Gwalior, Jaunpur and Gujarat which remained centres of musical art throughout the fifteenth century. Husain Sharqī of Jaunpur was a great lover of music and he is said to have invented the Khayāl. Another great centre of music in northern India was Gwalior. Raja Mān Singh and his queen are said to have been proficient composers and singers. It is said that the Raja called a conference of musicians to make a proper classification of Rāgas.⁵⁹ Undoubtedly he was the founder of the Gwalior school of classical music.⁶⁰ He is said to have revived the Dhrupad style which had been neglected and therefore forgotten since the days of Amīr Khusru.⁶¹ He was the author of a treatise on music entitled *Mān-Kutuhal*.⁶² He also got the *Rāgadarpana*, a treatise on Indian classical music, translated into Persian. In his court flourished masters like Baijū, Pandvī, Lohang. The master musician was Nāyak Bhikshū. It is, therefore, not surprising that Tānsen originally belonged to Gwalior. In the far-off Vijāyanagar empire the art of music developed rapidly. Both Krishna Dēva Raya and the Regent, Rāma Raya, were proficient musicians, and during this period some new treatises on music were produced, about which we shall study a little later.