instruments appeared – the sita ̄r, the tambu ̄ra ̄ and the tabla ̄, for example.
Music was patronized in the courts and by the sultans.^39 The same was true
of dance – a “new” dance form emerged known as kathakin which Persian
motifs mingled with Hindu themes. Muslims and Hindus alike sang and
danced the stories of Kr.s.n.a and Ra ̄dha ̄.
Architecture also combined Islamic (especially Persian) forms with Indian
ones. A common style was the “tent motif” in which four pillars and a dome
replicate the imagery of a tent in the desert. Tombs (thought inappropriate
in orthoprax Islamic culture) were common in India. Geometric designs
shared by both Muslim and Hindu traditions were found on these structures.
Craftsmen were both Muslim and Hindu.
In the meanwhile, as we have noted, poetry proliferated in Hindı ̄, Urdu ̄,
and various vernaculars. Not least important, translations had become a
significant contribution to the literary landscape. These translations went
both ways, from Persian into the vernacular and Sanskrit texts into Persian.
The most intriguing example of the latter is the work attributed to Da ̄ra ̄
Shikoh, a prince in Akbar’s court. Portions of the Maha ̄bha ̄rataandRa ̄ma ̄yana
were translated into Persian in the sixteenth century, and in their Persian
form became accessible to Europeans. Indeed, the first glimpses Europeans
got of Sanskrit classics were offered through Muslim eyes in Persian.
The lifestyle, especially of North India, was impacted by the presence of
Islamic “culture.” The purdah(segregating women by the wearing of outer
clothes) was adapted in some Hindu families. The pajama-style of dress
for both men and women had extra-Indian origins. The use of wine and
smoking of the h.uqqah(pipe) became a shared part of North Indian culture,
as did the preparation of various foods from birya ̄nı ̄ to tandoori chicken.
It should not be a surprise then that religion was also accommodated to
the ambiance of the period. Amongst “Hindu” bhaktasand saints, one finds
an increased impatience with caste, iconography, brahmanic orthopraxy,
and expressions of sectarian identity. Amongst Muslims, especially Su ̄fı ̄s,
one finds the incorporation of music, legends, and myths derived from
“Hindu” sources. Pilgrimage sites came to share stories of Hindu deities and
Muslim saints (pı ̄rs). The building of tombs and visiting these sites (dargahs)
on regular occasions was commonplace as was the conducting of ‘urs– the
annual fair or festival performed on the anniversary of the saint’s death.
Many rites of passage performed by Muslims, from the naming of a child to
marriage, shared many rituals and customs with those of Hindus who lived
in the same region. There was even the rather loose development of a “caste”
system within Islam based, in part, on a perceived distinction between the
descendants of immigrants (known as as
̄
h
̄ra ̄f) and those who were converted
in India. Occupational distinctions also became part of the mix – virtual
castes based on the work of the family into which one was born.
Developments in the Late Medieval Period 151