An international scholar and orientalist today 'questioned' the authenticity of some of the best-known ghazals presently attributed to poet Amir Khusrao, saying these verses may have been "altered in transmission".
"Some of the best-known ghazals attributed to him cannot be traced in the original manuscripts. They cannot be authentic...These verses may have been altered in transmission," Professor David Mathews said.
Mathews said this in his keynote address at an international three-day seminar organised by the Institute of Persian Research at the Aligarh Muslim University.
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Mathews, who teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London pointed out that the existing editions of some of his "divans " were in a very "poor state".
"Amir Khusrao was not only a great writer and innovator but also an important comment of his age. It is surprising that the existing editions of his works are in a such a poor state," he said.
A great scholar like Khusrao "deserves better treatment from present day scholars." His famous "masnavis are in a very bad shape and we cannot be sure whether the readings are correct", he lamented.
Khusrao whose writings in Hindi, Urdu and Persian is known the world over for his Sufi poetry. In India he is lauded as the founding father of "khadi boli", a remarkable amalgam of local dialects, Urdu and Hindi. His verse is today commonly used in ghazals and qawallis.
The seminar was inaugurated by Gholam Ali Haddad, former speaker of the Iran Parliament. Leading Persian scholars from all over the world are also participating in it.
