PERSIAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

A DEEP IMPACT ON INDIA

By

Harshit bhardwaj

M.A(Spanish) part I

Persian culture has been regarded as one of the richest and most influential cultures in the world history that encompasses many disciplines including art , architecture, painting,calligraphy, crafts and stonemasonry. It is one of the ancient cultures that still persists and has influenced many nations and their cultures in the course of history. The Persian culture itself has gone through numerous phase of evolution. The Islamic era drastically brought changes to the style and practice of the arts, each dynasty with its own particular charchterisitics.

Thus, India too came into contact with the Persian culture and tradition with the advent of Delhi sultanate in the subcontinent. It was first introduced by the Muslim rulers and reached to zenith under the Mughal empire.

In the Persian world Iran emerged as the pole bearer of the Persian art and architecture in several aspects. Persian art , considered as one of the most intricate and rich art flourished in Iran , Afghanistan and India. Painting in Iran is thought to have reached a climax in the Tamerlane era. Under the Safavid school of painting, the style of miniature painting came into prominence and a number of painters and calligraphers trained in Iran made importanat contributions to book production and illustration in Mughal India. One reason for the number and persistence of those connections was the Mughal enthusiasm for Iranian painting and calligraphy fostered in art by an eagerness to stress both dynastic and cultural links to the Timurids. Iranian artists brought new methods for producing paintings . Many notable artists like Abd al Samad Shirazi made a great contribution to Mughal paintings.

With the onset of Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent, the architecture of India began to come under the Persian influence, which gave birth to the Indo –Islamic architecture. The muslims having inherited a wealth of varied designs from the Sassanian and the Byzantine empires and being naturally endowed with good taste for buildings, never failed to adapt to their own requirements the indigenous architecture of almost every foreign country that they conquered. The most important factors common to both form of architecture , especially in respect of mosques and temples, were that to both styles , ornamental decoration was very vital. With the coming of new Persian architecture, certain aspects came into transformation, like the principle of true arch, mihrab ,mouselem, tomb and the geometrical and arabesque pattern and ornamental calligraphy and formal representation of palnt and floral life. Also with it came the structures of minarets , pendentive, squinche arch, dome and use of concrete as a factor of construction.

They also produced gilding and painting in varied colours and designs. Use of glazed tile and the color blue ,that was not present in Indian architecture , the Subz Mosque is a fine example of the tiled architecture. The calligraphic plaques , in which the verse of Quran were inscribed . the Qutub Minar, Adhai din ka Jhonpda have carved pillars. One of the finest example of the arch is the Alai Darwaza. The Gol Gumbad of Bijapur is the mausoleum with the largest dome in the world. Under the Mughal patronage, the Humayun tomb, Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri and the beautiful Taj Mahal, with its beautiful inlay work is the most influential work of the Persian influence of Indian architecture.

With the coming of Islam , the Islamic thought came into contact with the Indian theology and thus they contributed a lot to each other. It resulted into the birth of Sufism and the shrine culture in India. The sufi saints and their thoughts , which were heavily based on Persian philosophical thoughts came into existence. With the deaths of these saints, their tombs were recognized as a place of worship , called shrines. The shrines were an an observance to the sufi saints and their thoughts. With these many well known shrines, such as the shrine ok Khwaja Salim chisti , in Fatehpur sikri dates back to the Mughal era. Other prominent shrines are of Nizamuddin Auliya amd Khwaja Bakhtiyar kaki.

The Persian influence was heavily seen in the social context where rituals and traditions went into transformation. Islamic festivals , like Id –ul –fitr, muharram

and nowruz began to be celebrated by major communities. The long processions like Urs and Mawalid werer also seen as the festivals brought by the Persian influence.

This change was also seen in the field of musicThe ‘sufi’ influence in the hindustani music during the medieval period were fused with ideas from Persian music, particularly through the influence of sufi composers like Amir Khusru and Tansen. However, Amir Khusru is erroneously referred to as the inventor of the sitar and tabla and numerous musical forms which were not developed until many centuries after his deathHe symbolizes a crucial turning point in the development of Indian music. Amir Khusru is an icon representing a growing Persian influence on the music. This influence was felt to a greater extent in the North than in the South. The consequence of this differing degree of influence ultimately resulted in the bifurcation of Indian music into two distinct systems; the ‘Hindustani sangeet’ of the North and the ‘Carnatic sangeet’ of the South. Many new musical forms like Khayal and Ghazal came into existence. Persian music influenced in India Persian music is the music of Persia and Persian language countries: musiqi, the science and art of music, and muzik, the sound and performance of music. Many Ustads, or professional musicians, have learned North Indian classical music in India, and some of them were Indian descendants who moved from India to the royal court in and they use the Hindustani musical theories and terminology, for example raga (melodic form) and tala (rhythmic cycle). Many new forms of singing like qawwali , which later became so famous that it is sung till date in the subcontinent.

Thus , we can see, how Persian culture and civilization left a dep impact on Indian culture which left an indeliable print in the history and traditions of India, and gave Indians a very rich heritage of the Persian influence.