Urdu soon gained distinction in literary and cultural spheres because of the hybrid nature of the language. Many distinctly Persian forms of literature, such as Ghazal, Qasida, Marsia and Nazms, caried over into Urdu literature, producing a distinct melding of Iranian and South Asian heritages. A famous cross-over writer was Amir Khusro, whose Persian and Urdu couplets are to this day read in South Asia-Central Asia.