ABSTRACT
In the 11th and 12th centuries, when the modern Indian languages took shape, Punjabi came under the rule of Persian- and Turkish-speaking Muslims. The modem Indian languages, like Punjabi, did not become languages of the court. On the contrary, those who provided romantic diversion to the people by singing legends of love and battle in the form of Qissas and Romances took to those languages, including Punjabi. They had mostly learnt by rote what they sang. The composers also came from among them. For this reason, it can be assumed that the Qissas available to us in written form are only a very small part of the total amount of literature written in that form.
