Tarana is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (madhya laya) or fast (drut laya) rate. It was invented by Amir Khusro (1253-1325 CE). In modern times, the singer Amir Khan helped popularize it and researched its origins and the syllables used. Nissar Hussain Khan was a tarana singer. Tarana was also used by Sikh tenth Guru Gobind Singh in his compositions.
