Dear all, Just a reminder that this talk is happening today at 4 pm Central Time. The registration link is here <https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b66fdbfb-4471-4c45-8483-02036a15f6be@d7811cde-ecef-496c-8f91-a1786241b99c> for online participants.
Warmly, Akshara On Fri, Oct 24, 2025 at 12:45 PM Akshara Ravishankar < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear all, > > We are delighted to announce a talk by Prof. Anne Murphy next Wednesday at > the Ghent Center for South Asian Studies. The talk will be hybrid: the > registration link is here > <https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b66fdbfb-4471-4c45-8483-02036a15f6be@d7811cde-ecef-496c-8f91-a1786241b99c> > for > online participants, and can also be accessed via the QR code on the > attached poster. > > > *The Figure of the Faqīr* > Prof. Anne Murphy (Associate Professor, Dept of History, University of > British Columbia) > > October 29, 2025 @ 16:00 CET in-person and online > Location: Faculty Council Room (Faculteitszaal), > Blandijnberg 2, 9000 Gent > > Recent literature on the figure of the jogī/faqīr has suggested a period > of transition in the early modern period from the logic of “magic” and > technical accomplishment to that of bhakti, or devotion (Burchett 2019; > Pinch 2003, 2006). Was the faqīr understood in such terms, across North > India? This essay explores this question through examination of two texts > from the Punjab region, each of which provides a rendition of the story of > the star-crossed lovers Hīr and Rāṅjhā, an example of a local iteration of > the qissā literary form that was so remarkably productive across diverse > linguistic domains in early modern South Asia. Analysis of the figure of > the faqīr in these texts allows consideration of the relationship between > jog and bhakti—as well as the relationship between, and dating, of the two > texts under consideration: Damodar’s version of the text, which is > attributed to the sixteenth century but has relatively recent and limited > manuscript attestation, with compelling evidence for at least a seventeenth > century dating, if not before,and the classic version of the tale by Waris > Shah, dated to C.E. 1766/7. The narrative embellishments of the tale in > these two versions allows us to consider their historical relation, and > significance of the figure of the jogī in the complex religious landscape > of early modern Punjab. > > Hope to see many of you there! > > Warmly, > > Akshara Ravishankar > FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellow 2024-27 > Ghent Centre for South Asian Studies > Department of Languages and Cultures > UGent > > >
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