So why was literature created in India in the 13th century being written in Persian? The answer is that this was the period of Islamic supremacy on the subcontinent, when though most of the people remained Hindus, the rulers and
their courts were often Muslims. Poetry in Persian was considered "classical" by these sultans, and was what most of them aspired to commission.
It's interesting to read in this context that, in the Mughal period itself, the Muslim sultans commissioned richly illustrated books containing translations of the Hindu classics in addition to copies of the Persian
classics such as Khusraw's Khamsa. Art in those days rose above religious differences, and maybe will do so again.
Given that so much labor was expended on the creation of the original volume, it's not surprising perhaps that the author of this one, John Seyller, writes that he has spent 15 years on the project. All the more pity, then, that the final product contains a gigantic and, to him no doubt
horrifying, error.
So that every aspect of the original book was as sumptuous as it was possible to make it, its outer covers too were decorated with elaborate paintings. These are duly described and discussed in the text, and though said to be only dimly discernible against their rich red lacquer background, they are nevertheless easily identifiable in the color reproductions here printed.
But, tragically for such a noble publication, the two llustrations have been confused, and what the caption describes as the front cover is undoubtedly in actuality the back one, and vice-versa.
There's no doubt about this. It's hard to confuse the aftermath of a tiger hunt, the subject of the front cover, with fairies frolicking with demons, the subject of the end one. But somehow the editors or designers have
managed to do it, and it mars what is otherwise an admirable scholarly monograph.
It is presumably now too late to reprint. The best that can be done is for an old-fashioned "erratum" slip to be pasted into all unsold copies. But what a loss of face for the Walters Art Museum, and for the book's distributors, Washington University Press!
Finally, a word of explanation about the book's title. "The Parrot on India" was Amir Khusraw's self-styled nickname, and "pearls" was a traditional metaphor for poetry. At his death his oeuvre added up to nearly a quarter of a million lines.
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