Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c4.s2.t3.8.1

c4.s2.t3.8.1

2. *Poetry and Songs.*—Besides Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan there were numerous other Persian poets whose works have disappeared, as was mentioned earlier. The poems of Badr-i-chach are available, and slight references to other poets are made by Bada'uni in his history. But the value of these poems is meagre for our immediate purpose. They are composed in a foreign language and their style is highly conventional. The Persian poets on the whole are very different from the poets of the land, who sang in their own language. To name only two of them, Mukand Ram and Chandi Das of Bengal are famous, and no student of social history can fail to turn to them without pleasure and profit.¹ The more important poetic activity was, however, shown in composing devotional religious songs (the Bhakti songs) which are an extremely valuable source for the study of social conditions. Their tone, in general, is gloomy, and their criticism of social life somewhat unbalanced; but they disclose a wealth of information and reveal the deep emotions which moved the people of that age. There are rich collections of these songs from all parts of Hindustan.