This small town is the place where Khusro was born in 1253. But a memorial, an institution, event or even a cultural forum in his name has eluded Patiali and deprived many of the local people of the opportunity to know that their town has a historical and cultural significance.

``Amir Khusro? Naam to suna hein hum (I've heard the name),'' responds a villager sipping tea at a local shacks. ``Yeh bhi janta hoon ki wo bada gayak the (also know that he was a great musician),'' he adds, but gives a blank stare when asked where Khusro hailed from.

At a stone's throw from the shop is a heap of ruins strewn amid small dusty dunes. The abandoned place once used to be an inhabited plot which had a house where Khusro was born. It was the place where the prodigy penned poems before leaving for Delhi at the age of 32.The death of the Delhi Sultan brought him back to his ancestral home where he nursed his mother during her old age.

The abode of the artiste, whose innovative blending of regional music with Persian strains heralded the birth of Hindustani classical, does not show any link with his birth and life there at present. Neither the Archaeological Survey of India, the State Government or the local leadership has tried to recognise the value of the place.

Laments a local school teacher: ``Politicians often call for religious harmony, but neglect what could be done for Khusro. Why don't they think of erecting a memorial for him? There can't be a better step to wean away religious animosity and pay a tribute to the legend.''

It is ironical that no handwritten material by the master of several languages is available anywhere here, even as some libraries in Delhi, Ramur and Patna have his manuscripts.

In 1997, district magistrate Umesh Sinha had sent a proposal to the State Government to erect a memorial herefor Khusro, but to no avail. Last year, when the annual industrial and agricultural exhibition was to be held here, a section of the organisers had suggested the event to named as `Khusra Mahotsav'. The proposal, however, was shot down.

Mahesh Gupta, the district magistrate now, told UNI that as of now there was no proposal regarding erecting a Khusro memorial. ``But I have a firm opinion that something the sort should come up in Patiali. I'll soon be sending proposals for possible steps in this regard,'' he said.