Who among the following was the author of the book ‘Kitab-i-Nauras’?

Correct: A) Ibrahim Adil Shah II. Ibrahim Adil Shah II (r. 1580-1627) of the Bijapur Sultanate wrote the Kitab-i-Nauras, a treatise on music. It contains around 300 songs, many in praise of Saraswati and Ganesha, written in Persian and Dakhni. He was a major patron of arts and letters, and the work shows how Deccani courts blended local and Persianate traditions.

• B) Ali Adil Shah: Ali Adil Shah I (r. 1558-1580) was his predecessor and not the author of this work.
• C) Quli Qutab Shah: The Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda are a different dynasty. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah is known for his Deccani Urdu diwan (Kulliyat) and for founding Hyderabad, not for a music treatise.
• D) Akbar II: The Mughal emperor Akbar II (r. 1806-1837) had no link to this work.

Concept: Deccani Sultanates as centres of composite culture, which is a recurring theme in Art and Culture and in Mains answers on syncretism.

Trap: Mixing up the Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi rulers, or assuming that a regnal name like 'Adil Shah' refers to only one king.