The Mughals - Epic Music

Music by Farya Faraji, vocals by Ashish Ali, Marriam Zeeshan, rubab and sitar by Marc Planells. Please note that this isn't reconstructed music from the era of the Mughal Empire, but modern music rooted in Indian, Pakistani, Afghani and Iranian elements. The instruments used are the santour, rubab, sitar, dilruba, sarangi, and a panoply of Indian percussions, as well as the Iranian tanboor and dotar. The structure of the music and its aesthetics are derived from Hindustani Classical music, aspects of Carnatic Classical music, as well as Qawwali, the main Sufi musical repertoire of the Indian subcontinent. The melodies use the vast repertoire of the Raga system, some of them pentatonic in nature, as well as the Dastgah system of Iranian music.

The Mughals were a dynasty that ruled over the near totality of the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Self-named Gurkanians; they were Persian-speaking Muslims whose genealogical roots were found in Timur, and by extension, Genghis Khan, hence the historiographical term "Mughal," which means Mongol.

The lyrics sung are derived from a variety of sources: poetry in the Chagatai language written by Babur, the founder of the dynasty, poetry in the Persian language by Zeb-un-Nissa, a Mughal princess and daughter of Aurangzeb, and highly persianised Hindustani language with Arabic words.

Lyrics:
(Hindustani)
Tu noor-e Hindustan hai,
Noorani, noorani hai,
Ya Ali, ya Muhammad,
Ey meherban ey nigahban,
Merhaba ya merhaba,
Shahenshah ya padishah,
La Illah ha i-lallah,
Jallah jallalah bismillah

You are the light of Hindustan,
You are radiant,
O Ali, oh Muhammad,
O generous one, o guardian,
Welcome, welcome
Shahenshah and Padishash,
There is no god but God,
May his glory be glorified

(Chagatai)
Islam ichin avara-i yazi buldim,
Kuffar u hind harbsazi buldim
Jazm aylab idim uzni shahid olmaqqa,
Amminna' lillahi ki gazi buldim

I am become a desert wanderer for Islam,
Having joined battle with infidels and Hindus
I readied myself to become a martyr,
God be thanked I am become a ghazi.

(Persian)
Afarin bar jegaram bad ke dar keshvar e Hend,
Sekkeye naghde sokhan rajeye Iran zade am,
Baz emrooz delam sooye Khorasan rafte ast,
Reshteye kofr boridast o be iman rafte ast,
Va nashod chon ghoncheye del, dar baharestane Hend,
Raft morghe rouge Makhfi, goosheye Kabol gereft

Hail to my soul, for within the country of India,
I speak the valuable tongue of Iran,
Again today, my heart years for Khorasan,
It cuts off the root of blasphemy and goes towards faith,
The flower of the heart does not bloom in the garden of India,
Makhfi's secret bird instead flies away, and goes towards Kabul.

[faryafaraji]

Music by Farya Faraji, vocals by Ashish Ali, Marriam Zeeshan, rubab and sitar by Marc Planells. Please note that this isn't reconstructed music from the era of the Mughal Empire, but modern music rooted in Indian, Pakistani, Afghani and Iranian elements. The instruments used are the santour, rubab, sitar, dilruba, sarangi, and a panoply of Indian percussions, as well as the Iranian tanboor and dotar. The structure of the music and its aesthetics are derived from Hindustani Classical music, aspects of Carnatic Classical music, as well as Qawwali, the main Sufi musical repertoire of the Indian subcontinent. The melodies use the vast repertoire of the Raga system, some of them pentatonic in nature, as well as the Dastgah system of Iranian music.

The Mughals were a dynasty that ruled over the near totality of the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Self-named Gurkanians; they were Persian-speaking Muslims whose genealogical roots were found in Timur, and by extension, Genghis Khan, hence the historiographical term "Mughal, " which means Mongol.

The lyrics sung are derived from a variety of sources: poetry in the Chagatai language written by Babur, the founder of the dynasty, poetry in the Persian language by Zeb-un-Nissa, a Mughal princess and daughter of Aurangzeb, and a localised form of Persian that overlaps linguistically with Hindustani.

Lyrics:
(Hindustani)
Tu noor-e Hindustan hai,
Noorani, noorani hai,
Ya Ali, ya Muhammad,
Ey meherban ey nigahban,
Merhaba ya merhaba,
Shahenshah ya padishah,
La Illah ha i-lallah,
Jallah jallalah bismillah

You are the light of Hindustan,
You are radiant,
O Ali, oh Muhammad,
O generous one, o guardian,
Welcome, welcome
Shahenshah and Padishash,
There is no god but God,
May his glory be glorified

(Chagatai)
Islam ichin avara-i yazi buldim,
Kuffar u hind harbsazi buldim
Jazm aylab idim uzni shahid olmaqqa,
Amminna' lillahi ki gazi buldim

I am become a desert wanderer for Islam,
Having joined battle with infidels and Hindus
I readied myself to become a martyr,
God be thanked I am become a ghazi.

(Persian)
Afarin bar jegaram bad ke dar keshvar e Hend,
Sekkeye naghde sokhan rajeye Iran zade am,
Baz emrooz delam sooye Khorasan rafte ast,
Reshteye kofr boridast o be iman rafte ast,
Va nashod chon ghoncheye del, dar baharestane Hend,
Raft morghe rouge Makhfi, goosheye Kabol gereft

Hail to my soul, for within the country of India,
I speak the valuable tongue of Iran,
Again today, my heart years for Khorasan,
It cuts off the root of blasphemy and goes towards faith,
The flower of the heart does not bloom in the garden of India,
Makhfi's secret bird instead flies away, and goes towards Kabul.

[Eugene-tmfm]

Farya your fame and talent have reached a point that if you go to the Mazandarani people page on Wikipedia or the list of Mazandaranis page you’ll see your name on there. Keep up the good work, this song is absolutely beautiful!

[hzali]

It's so strange and impressive at the same time that I as a Turkish man understand both Chagatai and Hindu lyrics in this video with the help of heavy influence of Persian language in my language.

[CatastrophicDisease]

I love how the Urdu, Turkic, and Persian sections are all thematically different in lyrics and music in ways that make perfect sense vis-a-vis each of those cultures' relationships with the Mughals.

[fantom_rr]

And the third one of the gunpowder empires! Also amazing Timur leitmotif! proud to be named after him!

[nicksingh]

You never fail to amaze us with your compositions! I love the fusion of Turkomongol, Persian and Indian instruments and vocals. Northern India has been a crossroad for South Asian and Iranian cultures because of the Mughal Empire. Although my ancestors rose up and fought against them, it is undeniable that they left us with an extremely rich cultural heritage with great musical potential, which you exploited impressively! Keep it up!

[luthfilofianda]

Three epic musics (Chagatais, Safavids, and Mughals) in just 2 months is just an absolute blessing.

[pinchevulpes]

Does anyone else make up epic movie scenes in their heads to match the themes created by Farya? You’ve done it again maestro!

[PROOB-xqrq]

I like how you included Persian and Central Asian elements in this video.

Babar, the dynasty's founder, was said to have descended from Tamerlane and Genghis Khan from his father's and mother's side respectively. Moreover, the Mughals liked Persian culture so much that it caused the creation of Urdu, a mix of Perso-Arabic and Sanskrit.

[OneFlyingTonk]

This is perhaps one of the, if not the, best synergies of musical styles you have done, giving justice to one of the most weird and fascinating dynasties in Asian history. ¡Kudos to you!

[sal]

In (stretching the definition, I know) retrospect, this is one of the most dynamic and energetic pieces you've done so far, comprised of so many different elements in such a short timespan, with none of them overstaying their welcome, this is really a great work and I feel it really captures the diversity inherent to any state that controled all of that vast unknowable subcontinent.

[kiwanoh]

I love how I hear the melody from Timur song you did but with such a new twist and vibe that just makes me enjoy this so much.

[lomionaredhelion]

This is a jewel. Ashish's voice is amazing. Everyone did a great job, of course. It's cool that not only, we have little history and musical lessons, but we also get to discover new artists 🙌

[BhagyalaxmiKumari-vbub]

Farya, please don't pay any attention to trolls or hatemongers. History is history and we all just just love your work. Keep doing your good work. You produced a very good Mughal era music, thoroughly researched and well made. Kudos....👏

[ioanasavu]

Dear Farya, today is my birthday and sincerly playing your music for a small bit made it even more amazing. Love from Romania ❤

[herratr]

Man, i love the indo-aryan, and turkic musical traditions, specially mixed together. Hope to see more of this.
A truly Masterpiece, as always, Farya.

[yara_amanary]

12 minutes??? Iranian daddy spoil us too much 🗣️

[IX-SINCHANCHATTERJEE]

In search of gold I have once again found diamond!!! Thank you Farya for making this masterpiece ❤ Though I know this masterpiece will be criticised by many Indians but we must accept the fact that the Mughals too played an important role in shaping mediaeval and early modern India. Anyways, keep it up!!

[NaCk]

Just throwing an idea here: music piece about The kingdom of Pontus and/or Mithridates Eupator. Another opportunity to mix hellenic and persian influences!

[Jeremiah-hu]

this is amazing, I love the diversity of different music traditions merged together, representing a real culture/dynasty.