Join us on Mondayfix when Imran Ali Khan talks to Arshia Sattar about the Ramayana, her translation of the Valmiki text first published in the 1990s and the complexities of reading this story in the 21st century. Arshia will speak about the process of translating a text that has come to mean different things at different times, unpack the existential crisis that follows the characters in decisions between right and wrong.
Arshia Sattar is a translator, author and director. Sattar obtained her PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 1990. Arshia’s translations of the Kathasaritsagara was published by Penguin in 1996. Arshia’s engagement with the Ramayana goes back three decades when, after her PhD, she translated Valmiki’s Ramayana. Arshia’s work with the Ramayana has resulted in countless essays, articles, three children’s books and the wonderful collection of essays entitled, Lost Loves: Exploring Rama’s Anguish (published by Penguin). Arshia writes regularly for the Open Magazine and Mint Lounge. Arshia teaches classical Indian Literatures in India and abroad, and is currently a freelance writer and researcher.
Imran Ali Khan is a writer and researcher and sometimes he makes images too. He uses stories as maps to find his way. Imran’s last project, entitled Kiski Kahani: The Ramayana Project, looked at ways in which the Ramayana, in its many diverse retellings and forms, could be archived and documented. Imran then went on to work closely with Ramayana performances in India, specifically at the foothills of the Himalayas in the Kullu Valley. In 2018 Imran was a fellow at the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Germany where he worked on his research and created a large scale installation entitled, In the Valley of Memory. Imran continues to finds his way in the world through the many tellings of the Ramayana.
Zoom Meeting link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85638561326
Meeting ID: 856 3856 1326
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