"The praise of God and the eulogy of the prophet having here ended;
Now I begin that which is requisite to be done.
O God! for the sake of the posterity of thy prophet, [11]
Render this my story acceptable to the hearts of high and low."
The reasons for compiling this work are these, that in the year of the
_Hijra_, 1215, A.D. 1801, corresponding to the [12] _Fasli_ year 1207,
in the time of his Excellency the noble of nobles, Marquis Wellesley,
Lord Mornington, Governor-general, (in whose praise the judgment is at
a loss, and the understanding perplexed, and in whom God has centred
all the excellent qualities that great men ought to possess. In short,
it was the good fortune of this country that such a chief came here,
from whose happy presence multitudes enjoy ease and happiness. No one
can now dare to injure or wrong another; and the tiger and the goat
drink at the same _ghat_; [13] and all the poor bless him and live,)
[14] the pursuit of learning came into vogue, and the gentlemen of
dignity perceived that by acquiring the _Urdu_ tongue, they might
hold converse with the people of India, and transact with perfect
accuracy the affairs of the country; for this reason many books were
compiled during this same year, according to orders.
To those gentlemen who are learned, and speak the language of
_Hindustan,_ [15] I address myself, and say, that this "Tale of the
Four Darwesh" was originally composed by _Amir Khusru,_ [16] of _Dihli_
[17] on the following occasion; the holy _Nizamu-d-Din Auliya_,
surnamed _Zari-Zar-bakhsh_, [18] who was his spiritual preceptor,
(and whose holy residence was near _Dilli_, three _Kos_ [19] from the
fort, beyond the red gate, and outside the _Matiya_ gate, near the red
house), fell ill; and to amuse his preceptor's mind, _Amir Khusru_ used
to repeat this tale to him, and attend him during his sickness. God,
in the course of time, removed his illness; then he pronounced
this benediction on the day he performed the ablution of cure: [20]
"That whoever will hear this tale, will, with the blessing of God,
remain in health:" since which time this tale, composed in Persian,
has been extensively read.
Now, the excellent and liberal gentleman, the judge of respectable
men, Mr. John Gilchrist, (may his good fortune ever increase as
long as the _Jamuna_ and _Ganges_ flow!) with kindness said to me,
"Translate this tale into the pure _Hindustani_ tongue, which the
_Urdu_ people, both _Hindus_ and _Musalmans_, high and low, men,
women and children, use to each other." In accordance with his
honour's desire, I commenced translating it into this same dialect,
just such as any one uses in common conversation.
But first this guilty being, _Mir Amman_, of _Dilli_, begs to relate
his own story: "That my forefathers, from the time of King _Humayun_,
served every king, in regular descent, with zeal and fidelity; and they
[21] also (i.e. the kings), with the eye of protection, ever justly
appreciated and rewarded our services. _Jagirs_, titles and rewards,
were plentifully bestowed on us; and we were called hereditary [22]
vassals, and old servants; so that these epithets were enrolled
in the royal archives. [23] When such a family (owing to which all
other families were prosperous) dwindled to such a point! which is too
well [24] known to require mention, then _Suraj Mal_, the _Jat_, [25]
confiscated our _Jagir_, and _Ahmad Shah_ the _Durrani_, [26] pillaged
our home. Having sustained such various misfortunes, I abandoned that
city, which was my native land, and the place of my birth. Such a
vessel, whose pilot was such a king, was wrecked; and I began to sink
in the sea of destitution! a drowning person catches at a straw,
and I sustained life for some years in the city of _'Azim-abad_,
[27] experiencing both good and bad fortune there. At length I left
it also--the times were not propitious; leaving my family there,
I embarked alone in a boat, and came in quest of a livelihood [28]
to Calcutta, the chief of cities. I remained unemployed for some time,
when it happened that _Nawwab Dilawar Jang_ sent for me, and appointed
me tutor to his younger brother, _Mir Muhammad Kazim Khan_. I stayed
with him nearly two years; but saw not my advantage [in remaining there
any longer.] Then, through the assistance of _Mir Bahadur 'Ali Munshi_,
I was introduced to Mr. John Gilchrist (may his dignity be lasting.) At
last, by the aid of good fortune, I have acquired the protection of
so liberal a person, that I hope better days; if not, even, this is
so much gain, that I have bread to eat, and having stretched my feet,
I repose in quiet; and that ten persons in my family, old and young,
are fed; and bless that patron. May God accept [their prayers!]
"The account of the _Urdu_ tongue I have thus heard from my
ancestors;--that the city of _Dilli_, according to the opinion of
the _Hindus_, was founded in the earliest times, [29] and that their
_Rajas_ and subjects lived there from the remotest antiquity, and
spoke their own peculiar _Bhakha_. [30] For a thousand years past,
the _Musalmans_ have been masters there. _Mahmud_ of _Ghazni_ [31] came
[there first]; then the _Ghori_ and _Lodi_ [32] became kings; owing to
this intercourse, the languages of the _Hindus_ and _Musalmans_ were
partially blended together. At last _Amir Taimur_ [33] (in whose family
the name and empire remain to this day), conquered _Hindustan_. From
his coming and stay, the _bazar_ of his camp was settled in the city;
for which reason the _bazar_ of the city was called _Urdu_. [34] Then
King _Humayun_, annoyed by the _Pathans_, went abroad [to Persia]; and
at last, returning from thence, he punished the surviving [_Pathans_],
and no rebel remained to raise strife or disturbance.
When King _Akbar_ ascended the throne, then all tribes of people, from
all the surrounding countries, hearing of the goodness and liberality
of this unequalled family, flocked to his court, but the speech and
dialect of each was different. Yet, by being assembled together,
they used to traffic and do business, and converse with each other,
whence resulted the common _Urdu_ language. When his majesty _Shahjahan
Sahib Kiran_ [35] built the auspicious fort, and the great mosque, [36]
and caused the walls of the city to be built; and inlaid the peacock
throne [37] with precious stones, and erected his tent, made of gold
and silver brocade; and _Nawwab' Ali Mardan Khan_ cut the canal [38]
[to _Dilli_]; then the king, being pleased, made great rejoicings, and
constituted the city his capital. Since that time it has been called
_Shajahan-abad_, (although the city of _Dilli_ is distinct from it,
the latter being called the old city, and the former the new,) and
to the bazar of it was given the title of _Urdu-e Mu'alla_. [39]
From the time of _Amir Taimur_ until the reign of _Muhammad Shah_,
and even to the time of _Ahmad Shah_, and _Alamgir_ the Second, the
throne descended lineally from generation to generation. In the end,
the _Urdu_ language, receiving repeated polish, was so refined, that
the language of no city is to be compared to it; but an impartial
judge is necessary to examine it. Such a one God has at last, after
a long period, created in the learned, acute and profound Mr. John
Gilchrist, who from his own judgment, genius, labour and research,
has composed books of rules [for the acquisition of it]. From this
cause, the language of _Hindustan_ has become general throughout the
provinces, and has been polished anew; otherwise no one conceives
his own turban, language and behaviour, to be improper. If you ask
a countryman, he censures the citizen's idiom, and considers his own
the best; "well, the learned only know [what is correct]." [40]
When _Ahmad Shah Abdali_, came from _Kabul_ and pillaged the city of
_Dilli, Shah 'Alam_ was in the east. [41] No master or protector of the
country remained, and [42] the city became without a head. True it is,
that the city only flourished from the prosperity of the throne. All at
once it was overwhelmed with calamity: its principal inhabitants were
scattered, and fled wherever they could. To whatever country they went,
their own tongue was adulterated by mixing with the people there; and
there were many who, after an absence of ten to five years, from some
cause or other, returned to _Dilli_, and stayed there. How can they
speak the pure language of _Dilli_? somewhere or other they will slip;
but the person who bore all misfortunes, and remained fixed at _Dilli_
and whose five or ten anterior generations lived in that city, and who
mixed in the company of the great, and the assemblies and processions
of the people, who strolled in its streets for a length of time,
and even after quitting it, kept his language pure from corruption,
his style of speaking will certainly be correct. This humble being
[viz. _Mir Amman_], wandering through many cities, and viewing their
sights, has at last arrived at this place.