Bahgoor

In the glorious reign of King Bahram Gur, the vigilant monarch dispatched envoys across every realm to seek news of his subjects, desiring to know if any lived in hardship or poverty. Answers poured in from every corner of the world, extolling the prosperity of the land and showering blessings upon the crown. Yet, a complaint arose from the poor and needy. They wrote to the king that when the wealthy gather to drink wine, they wear crowns of roses and feast to the melodious sounds of musicians, viewing the impoverished as beneath notice. The poor were forced to drink their wine without the solace of lutes or the beauty of blossoms.

Upon reading their letter, Bahram Gur smiled at their gentle grievance and swiftly dispatched a courier to King Shangal of Hindustan. He requested ten thousand Luris—skilled male and female lute-players—to be sent to Iran, so that music might echo before the humblest as well as the highest, bringing joy to the hearts of the destitute.

When Shangal read the royal missive, he selected ten thousand renowned Luri musicians and sent them with honor to the Persian court. Bahram welcomed them warmly and granted each family an ox, a donkey, and a vast supply of wheat, intending for them to till the soil, reap harvests, and play their lutes for the poor while sustaining themselves through agriculture.

Yet the Luris were unaccustomed to the toil of the field. They consumed the seed-wheat and slaughtered the oxen for meat, returning to the king at the end of the year pale-faced and destitute. Bahram declared, 'Farming, sowing, and harvesting were never your trade! Nothing remains to you now but your donkeys. Pack your burdens, string your lutes with silk, and wander the world.' True to the king's words, the Luris became nomads across the earth, taking dogs and partridges into their train, roaming the highways night and day to make their living through song and stealth.