Ze Haal-e-Miskeen | Nafees Ahmed | Ameer Khusrau | Arshad Mahmud

Poetry : Ameer Khusrau
Music Composer : Arshad Mahmud
Singer : Nafees Ahmed
Cinematographer : Shoeb Suleman Razzak
Video Director : Zarak Qaim Khani
Art Direction : Uzma Sabeen
Mastered, mixed, and videography at SMB Studios

Zihal-e-Miskeen

Ameer Khusrau is perhaps one of the most revered and influential personalities in the history of South Asia. He was not only a poet and musician but also a linguist, and a scholar, and cultural visionary. People across a vast region stretching from the Bay of Bengal to Central Asia and as far as the Bosporus honoured him with the title “Tuti-e-Hind” a tribute to his eloquence, wisdom, artistic brilliance and popularity.

From the perspective of the deep fondness for poetry among the people of South Asia, one observes a temperament that is truly unique — a temperament that not only embraces but celebrates diversity. Over the past thousand years, the region’s literature bears witness to this spirit of openness. A closer look through this literary lens reveals a profound enthusiasm for social harmony, an enduring respect for pluralism, and a remarkable capacity for coexistence among different religions, races, and cultures.

This ghazal, “Zihal-e-Miskeen, ”itself is an extraordinary example of linguistic harmony — where the first half is written in Persian, and the second half in Brij Bhasha or Khari Boli, the vernacular spoken by the people of what is now Uttar Pradesh.

In many ways, “Zihal-e-Miskeen” stands as a symbol of the emergence of a new linguistic expression — one that, over the centuries, would blossom into Urdu. Born from the confluence of diverse cultural and linguistic traditions, this language perfectly captures the sensibility that we, the people of South Asia, inherently possess yet have perhaps grown less conscious of — a sensibility that is inclusive in spirit, and profoundly human in its expression.

Urdu could have flourished nowhere but in South Asia, a region which, 200 years ago was conspicuous by its openness, inclusivity, and enduring spirit of coexistence. Born from centuries of cultural and linguistic exchange, Urdu emerged not through conflict but through harmony — a language shaped by dialogue, affection, and mutual respect. Drawing vocabulary from Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Sanskrit, and local dialects. Urdu is, therefore, not just a means of communication, but a living testament to the region’s pluralistic soul.

As a son of this soil, I felt a deep sense of obligation to compose this piece and share it with those around me. I chose to set it in Zeelaf — a pentatonic raga originally created by Ameer Khusrau himself. In South Asia, this raga is rendered in two distinct Thaats: Bhairon and Asawari, each possessing its own distinctive character — the former evoking a Central Asian resonance, and the latter carrying a distinctly South Indian sensibility.

After listening closely to both melodic frameworks, I and my friend Ustad Nafees Ahmed an acclaimed sitarist and the singer of this piece decided upon the Bhairon version, as it seemed to best reflect the lineage of Ameer Khusrau. While I as the composer, remained faithful to the raga’s original structure, I introduced subtle and delicate touches — a Teewar "Ni" here and a Komal "Re" there — not to alter its essence, but merely to enhance the aesthetic and emotional nuance of the text.

I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this endevour.

Arshad Mahmud

Produced by Sound Musical Business (SMB Studios) In association with MoUSICi

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