Aangan: South Asian Center for Art & Thought

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Join us for a conversation with Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai on her new book, Krishna's Mahabharatas! What is Beneath the Canopy?In many South Asian villages, banyan trees are considered sacred places for communities to meet, learn, and discuss. Beneath the Canopy is a lecture & discussion series that brings this tradition of learning together into a modern age. The series features presentations by academics from across the US sharing their work on topics related to South Asian art, history, culture, and current events, in a way that is accessible and enjoyable for artists, enthusiasts, and the generally curious.  About the book: Krishna's Mahabharatas: Devotional Retellings of an Epic Narrative<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(88, 89, 91); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(88, 89, 91);font-family:Roboto;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit"> is a comprehensive study of premodern regional Mahabharata retellings. This book argues that Vaishnavas (devotees of the Hindu god Vishnu and his various forms) throughout South Asia turned this epic about an apocalyptic, bloody war into works of ardent bhakti<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(88, 89, 91); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(88, 89, 91);font-family:Roboto;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit"> or “devotion” focused on the beloved Hindu deity Krishna. Examining over forty retellings in eleven different regional South Asian languages composed over a period of nine hundred years, it focuses on two particular Mahabharatas: Villiputturar's fifteenth-century Tamil Paratam<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(88, 89, 91); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(88, 89, 91);font-family:Roboto;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit"> and Sabalsingh Chauhan's seventeenth-century Bhasha (Old Hindi) Mahahbharat<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(88, 89, 91); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(88, 89, 91);font-family:Roboto;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit">. <span fr-original-style="color: rgb(88, 89, 91); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(88, 89, 91);font-family:Roboto;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit">Through close comparative readings, this book reveals the similar ways poets from opposite ends of the Indian sub-continent transform the story of the Sanskrit Mahabharata<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(88, 89, 91); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(88, 89, 91);font-family:Roboto;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit"> into devotional narratives centered on Krishna. At the same time, it also shows how these Mahabharatas are each unique pieces of religious literature that speak to different local audiences in premodern South Asia. Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai is Assistant Professor of Religion and Director of Film and Media Studies at Kalamazoo College where she teaches courses on religious traditions in South Asia, religion in cinema, and epic literature. She is a comparatist of South Asian religious narratives and her area of specialization is the Mahabharata and the Ramayana epic traditions. She is the author of Krishna's Mahabharatas and co-editor of Many Mahabharatas with Nell Shapiro Hawley.

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip " fr-original-style style="background-color:rgb(248, 248, 255);border:1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255);border-radius:4px;color:rgb(42, 42, 196);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:1px 8px;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;overflow-wrap:anywhere;user-select:none;box-sizing:inherit">First name , Thank you for registering for Beneath the Canopy: Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai on Krishna's Mahabharatas! We are excited to have you join the conversation.  Here is a link to the event: Zoom Code: 729-531-4763https://zoom.us/j/7295314763 Aangan is a 501c3 non-profit organization and our work is made possible by supporters like you! If you would like to further support our work, you can donate or leave a testimonial at <a>www.aangannyc.org/donate</a>.  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon.  Warm regards,Shachi Phene & Barkha PatelCo-Founders info@aangannyc.org

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai on her new book, Krishna's Mahabharatas! What is Beneath the Canopy?In many South Asian villages, banyan trees are considered sacred places for communities to meet, learn, and discuss. Beneath the Canopy is a lecture &amp; discussion series that brings this tradition of learning together into a modern age. The series features presentations by academics from across the US sharing their work on topics related to South Asian art, history, culture, and current events, in a way that is accessible and enjoyable for artists, enthusiasts, and the generally curious.  About the book: Krishna's Mahabharatas: Devotional Retellings of an Epic Narrative is a comprehensive study of premodern regional Mahabharata retellings. This book argues that Vaishnavas (devotees of the Hindu god Vishnu and his various forms) throughout South Asia turned this epic about an apocalyptic, bloody war into works of ardent bhakti or “devotion” focused on the beloved Hindu deity Krishna. Examining over forty retellings in eleven different regional South Asian languages composed over a period of nine hundred years, it focuses on two particular Mahabharatas: Villiputturar's fifteenth-century Tamil Paratam and Sabalsingh Chauhan's seventeenth-century Bhasha (Old Hindi) Mahahbharat. Through close comparative readings, this book reveals the similar ways poets from opposite ends of the Indian sub-continent transform the story of the Sanskrit Mahabharata into devotional narratives centered on Krishna. At the same time, it also shows how these Mahabharatas are each unique pieces of religious literature that speak to different local audiences in premodern South Asia. Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai is Assistant Professor of Religion and Director of Film and Media Studies at Kalamazoo College where she teaches courses on religious traditions in South Asia, religion in cinema, and epic literature. She is a comparatist of South Asian religious narratives and her area of specialization is the Mahabharata and the Ramayana epic traditions. She is the author of Krishna's Mahabharatas and co-editor of Many Mahabharatas with Nell Shapiro Hawley.

Aangan: South Asian Center for Art & Thought

Beneath the Canopy: Talk with Dr. Sohini Sarah Pillai on Krishna's Mahabharatas

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$15

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