Love and Longing across the Indian Subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is home to several languages and contains one of the most strikingly diverse and vibrant bodies of literature spanning several centuries and a wide geographic landscape. The aim of this course is to introduce you to primary texts such as poems and narrative works in various languages (in translation) that provide a glimpse into the types of love—romantic, devotional, filial, platonic among others—and the theories and prescriptive texts that accompany them. From ancient sensual Sanskrit and Tamil Sangam love poems to multilingual Bhakti verses, Marathi abhangs and Kannada vacanas; from Urdu and Persian ghazals to Indian cinema, this course combines literary texts with visual materials and performance arts to acquaint you with the various moods and expressions of love in the subcontinent and demonstrate the symbiotic and inextricably intertwined relationship between various media in the region.