Andal or Godadevi is the only female among 12 Alvar saints. She was active in 8th century and is credited for great Tamil works Thiruppavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi. A women’s group of South India called Goda Mandali is inspired from Andal. Andal herself is known as a beloved of lord Vishnu.
Tansen also referred to as Tan Sen or Ramtanu, was a prominent figure of Hindustani classical music. He accepted Islam at the hand of great Sufi mystic saint Muhammad Ghaus of Gwalior. It is believed that he could bring rain and fire through singing the ragas Megh Malhar and Deepak respectively.
Firdausi was a persian poet and the author of Shahnameh also known as “Book of Kings”, which is one of the world’s longest epic and the national epic of Greater Iran.
Mughal Emperor Babur’s daughter, Gulbadan Banu Begum wrote an account of her brother’s life, the Ahval-i HumayunBadshah or the Humayun Nama. The work throws light a feminist perspective and also raises questions on the genre of history writing.
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