[INDOLOGY] Hybrid talk: The Figure of the Faqīr (Prof. Anne Murphy), October 29th @ 16.00 CET

[Akshara Ravishankar]

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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