Mulla Da'ud's CHANDAYAN:
the First Work of Hindi Literature?
Saturday April 16, 2011, 10:30-3:30
Columbia University, Knox Hall, room 208
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The workshop is sponsored by the South Asia Institute and the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University. It is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required:

*REGISTRATION FORM*
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Workshop schedule:
10:00-10:30 coffee ~~ 10:30-12:30: readings
12:30-1:30: lunch ~~ 1:30-3:30: discussion
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STUDY MATERIALS FOR THE WORKSHOP
(copies of selected parts of this material will be made available at the workshop itself and will be read and discussed)


In English:

*A very brief introduction to the text by Naseem Hines*

*An overview of the plot by Naseem Hines*

*"The snakebite episodes within Chandayan: a journey within a journey," by Naseem Hines*

*An introduction to the (related) 'Madhumalati' by Aditya Behl and Simon Weightman*

*An overview of the Chhatisgarhi version by Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger (see Chapter 6)*

*"Baramasas in Hindi and Urdu," by Francesca Orsini*

*"Baramasa in Chandayan and in folk traditions," by Shyam Manohar Pandey*

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In Hindi:

*An introduction to the text by Mataprasad Gupta*

*The text as edited by Mataprasad Gupta*

*A glossary by Mataprasad Gupta*

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In Urdu:

*An introduction to the text by Muhammad Ansarullah*

*The text as edited by Muhammad Ansarullah*

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WORKSHOP PACKET MATERIALS (selected by Allison Busch):

1. Stuti Khand -- We will focus especially on verses 1, 6, 8, 9,17
All of the major Hindi Sufi works begin with a “stuti khand” or “praise chapter.” These introductions, which draw upon the Persian Masnavi tradition, reveal interesting theological and political details. We also can learn something about how the author situates his work.

2. Chanda and Lorik first meet and fall in love -- focus on v. 153 (Gupta)= v. 152 (Ansarullah);
vv. 169-73 (Gupta)= vv. 168-72 (Ansarullah)
Love or “piram” is one of the major themes of the Indo-Muslim Sufi narrative. Here Daud takes up the poetic theme of viraha, lacing it with yogic and Sufistic imagery. (NB the verse numbering is slightly different between the Gupta and Ansarullah editions)

3. The second snake bite episode -- focus on verses 315, 320, 323, 324
Chand, Lorik’s beloved, has now been bitten by a snake for the second time. Lorik despairs of her life and laments. (For an analysis of some of the Sufi resonances, see the article by Naseem Hines.)

4. Maina’s Barahmasa -- focus on verses 339, 344, 345
A typical motif in these Sufi tales is the rivalry between the protagonist’s abandoned first wife and his favored beloved. Here Maina, Lorik’s first wife, expresses her anguish at being abandoned to Surjan, a traveling merchant. Her lament takes the form of a barah-masa, a typical Indian folk genre. (See articles by Orsini and Pandey on the workshop website.)

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~~ *list of other workshop topics* ~~ *fwp's main page* ~~



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