First appeared in www.scroll.in on September 6, 2014. Tarana, a vocal form in Hindustani music said to have been developed by Amir Khusrau, probably best represents the vocalist’s urge to move away from song-text and into the realm of instrumental music. It uses syllables like dere, naa, deem, tana, and pakhawaj syllables. These syllables, therefore, are used as a musical language tied in with melody and rhythm, allowing musicians to be unfettered by the restrictions that literal language may