Paper short abstract:

This paper examines posthumous stories in Persian about Khushhal Khan kalawant, chief singer to Aurangzeb ‘Alamgir. Such stories reveal much about the imputed powers of music, the political roles of musicians -- and the political purposes of musical tales in Mughal historical narratives.

Paper long abstract:

Perhaps the most famous anecdote of Aurangzeb 'Alamgir's reign concerns his "burial of music", a parodic funeral procession put on by devastated court musicians in protest at the Emperor having banned music c.1668. In previous work, I investigated the veracity of 'Alamgir's ban at length, coming to the conclusion that reports of music's death during his reign had been greatly exaggerated. What I did not do then, in pursuit of clearing away a major obstacle to the history of Mughal cultural practices in the time of 'Alamgir, is consider what this and other such stories have to tell us about the intense relationship between music and political power in the Mughal period. Although the instigator of the burial protest is not named in either of the seventeenth-century retellings, we know that the principal target of 'Alamgir's rulings restricting musical performance in his presence were his chief dhrupad singer, Khushhal Khan kalawant, and his brothers. In this paper I will investigate eighteenth-century stories about Khushhal Khan in Persian-language tazkiras and musical treatises that give us more information about his implication in court politics. These telling tales tell us much about Mughal uses of music as a form of power, the political roles and intrigues of elite musicians at the Mughal court -- and the political purposes of musical stories in Mughal historical narratives.