Seven centuries on, Delhi is still resounding with the legacy of Amir Khusrau

Spring sends Delhi into a sort of a panic: the days of blooms, balmy breeze and glorious sunsets are painfully short-lived, sandwiched between a grey winter and fiery summer. This means a packed calendar in February and it is in the midst of this spring fever that the Hindu festival of Basant Panchami arrives at the dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya.

There is a charming story to this interfaith celebration: left distraught by the death of a nephew, the city’s beloved Sufi pir refuses to emerge from bereavement for days. To lift his spirits, his closest disciple, Amir Khusrau, arrives at his door on Basant Panchami dressed in the sunshine colours of the season, whirling and singing an uplifting bandish in raga Bahar, Sakal ban phool rahi sarson. The trick, it is said, brought the first smile on his spiritual master’s face in days.

It is this magic of music and love that draws thousands of people of all faiths to the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah this spring day every year. As the afternoon deepens, qawwali ensembles settle into the courtyard, singing the timeless compositions of Khusrau that Sufi music lovers can never have enough of – Chhap tilak, Mohe apne hi rang mein and, of course, Sakal ban, which is the...

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