This book provides a socio-cultural analysis of khayal bandishes composed by Ne’mat Khan ‘Sadarang’ and Feroze Khan ‘Adarang’. It argues that deciphering khayal bandishes as cultural symbols provides an understanding of the constitution of medieval Indian society and shows how society gets represented via such symbols. The author examines the cultural forces that nurtured the context of compositions by Sadarang and Adarang. She touches upon the cultural exchanges between Hindu and Muslim communities through scholarly and philosophical discourses to create a rationale for khayal as a syncretic form of art.

A unique contribution to the study of Indian culture and music, the book will be an indispensable resource for students, teachers, and researcher scholars of South Asian studies, Hindustani music, cultural studies, history, and medieval Indian society.

Barnashree Khasnobis is Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru, India. She earned her PhD from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. Her thesis focused on the socio-cultural analysis of khayal bandishes. Her research interests include exploring the interdisciplinary connections between music and literature. Her research articles have appeared in Kalakalpa (a journal by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts), Comparative Literature: East & West (Taylor & Francis) and National Identities (Taylor & Francis).