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Gujarati Language and the Literature
Gujarati Language and the Literature
Dr. Neelima Shukla-Bhatt
Visiting Assistant Professor in South Asian Studies
Wellesley College
Abstract:
This presentation will provide an overview of the development of the Gujarati language and its literature from Shaurseni Prakrit and Gurjar Apabhramsha of early centuries of the second millennium CE through various stages of its development to present day. It will briefly discuss the following major periods: 1) works of early medieval Jain monks who contributed significantly to the development of Gurjar Apabramsha, 2) medieval Hindu and non-Hindu poets who wrote in old Gujarati and popularized the form of devotional lyric (pad) and the longer religious narrative poem (akhyan), 3) beginning of prose writing in Gujarati – journalism, essays, novels – during the early colonial period, a period known as 'the age of Narmad' after its most prominent writer Narmad, 4) development of modern Gujarati prose and poetry with varied subject matters during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, known as “the age of Pundits,†5) Gandhi and his influence on Gujarati language and literature, and 6) Modern Gujarati literature – poetry, novels, short stories, plays, autobiographies, travelogues, essays, and humor - in Gujarati since independence. For each phase of development, lines from the original texts will be presented to offer a glimpse of changes in language, subject matter, and style. Remarks on Gujarati folk literature will be made.
Speaker's bio:
Neelima Shukla-Bhatt is an active researcher in Gujarati literature. She received her Ph.D. in the Study ot Religion from Harvard University (2003), where her dissertation was on the devotional poetry of the renowned Gujarati saint-poet Narasinha Mehta. A native of Gujarat, she belongs to a family that has been actively involved in Gujarati literary circles in both India and North Amercia. She has taught Guajrati language at both Harvard university and at Wellesley College. She is currently the Assistant Visiting Professor in South Asian Studies at Wellesley College.
Date: 02/10/2007
Location: Hall A, Harvard University Science Center
1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Time: 3:00 pm
Cost: Free
Contact: 617-864-5121, 617-495-3295
Web: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~sanskrit/outreach.html
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