The Indian Style and Claimers of its Leadership

One of the complicated and ambiguous issues discussed in the books on the history of Iranian literature is the starting point and the manner in which the Indian style was established. A review of the works done by researchers working in this area reveals a considerable diversity of opinion and view. Some researchers believe this style was the inevitable outcome of the natural path that the Persian literature went through. On the other hand others have surveyed this issue regarding social factors and the environment leading to its constructor. Still there are researchers who assume that the root and origin of this style springs from the poetry of past times rather than social factors or even the environment shaping it. These researchers have mostly mentioned poets such as Khaqani, Hafez, and Vahshi Bafqi etc as the founders of this style. But the significant point is that the result of such researches has not been accepted generally. The truth is that a wide scope style -such as the Indian style- can not be regarded as taken from the poetry of one poet, instead it is preferred to speak of the quality and quantity of the influence of these poets on this style, whereas this can merely happen using a new method; which is content analysis. This essay also intends to show how and in what manners poets like Khaqani, Hafez, Vahshi Bafqi and Baba Faqani- the four leading poets of the Indian style- affected the foundation of the Indian style.