Conference Participation

Conference Local Organiser

Session 4: Music, Drama, and Linguistic Innovation

“Sonic Cartographies: Locana Dās’ Rāgataraṅgiṇī and the Construction of Maithili Literary Identity”

Profile

Senior Lecturer in Hindi and South Asian Studies, Australian National University

Christopher’s current project concerns the literary legacy of a medieval multi-lingual poet from the North Indian region of Mithila, Vidyapati (c. 1370-1450). His, at the time, new vernacular language of song and poetry became a standardised classical style across Nepal, the Eastern Gangetic Plains, Bengal, and further afield. Christopher is currently working on a new edition and translation of some of the oldest manuscript that contain this poet’s songs and a critical analysis of the ways kings and brahmins in Nepal and Bihar employed them to project their own power and prestige. Christopher is also interested in devotional (bhakti) literature in North and East India more generally. Projects on the eastern Indian renditions of Epic and Puranic literature are on the horizon (e.g., Kashi Das and Sarala Das’ Mahabharatas, etc.).

Research Interests:

Hindi-Urdu (incl. Braj Bhasa and Avadhi), Maithili, and Bengali languages & literatures; Hinduism & Bhakti Studies; Poetry, Performance

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