Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s3.t2.10

c7.s3.t2.10

¹ Compare an account of Jashns in various chronicles. Hasan Nizami describes the parties of Qutb-ud-din Aibak and Iltutmish. In one place the author, by no means a man of secular outlook becomes so enthusiastic in describing wives ‘the source of happiness and the treasure of gaiety’ that he parts with his orthodox professions for the moment and frankly avows that drinking is quite legitimate and permissible (*halal*) for every sensible man and is prohibited only in the case of fools who are obsessed with the *Shari‘at*. Iltutmish used to go out for the chase and polo after these Jashn parties. *Vide* T.M. (II), 63-5. Compare the account of Barani for the *Jashns* of the austere Sultan Balban. Like Sultan Sanjar and Khvarazm Shah, the parties of Balban were organized on a gigantic scale. Flower carpets and curtains of brocade were used to decorate the halls; the service was gold and silver and there was abundance of all kinds of fruits, sweets, drinks, and betel-leaves. The guests attended in gorgeous costumes. The court poets recited their poems. *Vide* B., 32. Mubarak Shah Khalji was a gay monarch at his best. To celebrate the birth of his eldest son, he organized a *Jashn*, to some decorations of which we have already referred. Arched pavilions were constructed in the city and decorated with velvet and brocade curtains, after being lined with silks. The royal band played in the small cabinet at the top of this arch. All round the place, Persian and Indian musicians and dancers performed. The Sultan also held a *darbar* on the occasion and distributed lavish gifts in honour of the event. *Vide* K.K., 768-72.