-
Before Surdas: Periyalvar’s South Indian Bhakti that First Envisioned Child Krishna’s Play
This long-form study maps how Tamil Āḻvar poetry—especially Periyāḻvār’s Tiruppallāṇḍu and Periyāḻvār Tirumoḻi—pioneered an intimate, vernacular devotion to Krishna as a child centuries before Surdas. It explains the theological innovation of blessing the Lord, the poetic craft that domesticates the divine, and the temple-liturgy networks that diffused these moods northward. The analysis situates Periyāḻvār within…
-
Mian Muhammad Bakhsh (1830–1907): The Soul-Stirring Sufi Voice Behind Saif-ul-Malook
Mian Muhammad Bakhsh (1830–1907), the renowned Punjabi Sufi poet of Khari Sharif in Azad Kashmir, shaped 19th-century literature through Saif-ul-Malook and a broader vernacular corpus that fused classical learning with oral tradition. His allegorical narrative of Prince Saif maps a universal journey from longing to spiritual realization, making profound insights accessible to everyday audiences. The…
-
A 19th Century Murder that Excavated a Second-Century Sanskrit Manuscript: Episode One
How the brutal murder of a 19th century British trader led to the unlikely discovery of a valuable 2nd century Sanskrit Manuscript. The story begins with the British explorer, tea-planter and diplomat Robert Barkley Shaw who established the Central Asian Trading Company in 1873 to trade primarily in Indian tea.