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Baba Padmanji (1831 – 1906) II: Marathi Writer and Translator

December 28, 2017 ctla-admin

Guest Post

Dr. Deepra Dandekar
Researcher, Center for the History of Emotions
Max Planck Institute for Human Development

 

Baba Padmanji was a prolific Marathi writer, who espoused women’s education, empowerment, the need for spiritual reform, and Christian conversion in mid-nineteenth century Maharashtra. Educated in convents and influenced by the Scottish Free Church Institution of India, and especially by charismatic Christian reformists such as Rev. Narayan Sheshadri, Padmanji went on to stay in Bombay as a missionary of the Scottish Free Church and became well-known for his vociferous Marathi Christian texts.

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Baba Padmanji (1831 – 1906): Conversion and Reform

December 14, 2017 ctla-admin

Guest Post

Dr. Deepra Dandekar
Researcher, Center for the History of Emotions
Max Planck Institute for Human Development

 

Baba Padmanji’s conversion from Hinduism (from the Tvashta Kasar caste) to Christianity in 1854 was tumultuous. Not only was he considered the most prolific among writers of vernacular Christian texts in mid-nineteenth century Maharashtra, but his writings became emblematic for scripting a positive and phantom image of Hindu Brahminical reformist engagement with religious conversion.

I say phantom, because Hindu Brahmins in Maharashtra during the mid-nineteenth century did not engage with Christian conversion in any positive manner,

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Self-Transformations: Writing Faith Journeys in Verse – Tariq Latif

October 31, 2016 ctla-admin

“I was raised on a farm, in the Punjab,
where death and life were accompanied
with the utterance of Allahu Akbar.
Each day and each season’s harvest
was an expression of Gods’ grace.”

This is a quote from my most recent poem titled “Faith with doubt,” which I wrote specifically in preparation for my workshop. The idea of a divine creator was as natural and as real as breathing for me. This was re-inforced even more when I studied Physics at Sheffield University in 1984 when a friend handed me a copy of the Bible.

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Transformation in Faith: Exploring Hopes and Fears

October 27, 2016 ctla-admin

Explore the hopes and fears caused by experiences of religious conversion. Participate in our innovative theatre workshops to explore how families and communities can respond to conversion sensitively. The World Kitchen Team will provide a themed meal following the workshops, where we can discuss food choice, religious identity and conversion.

In order create a rich and meaningful event, there will be a mix of people from all faiths and none. Everyone will have experienced, or have an interest in, religious conversion.

In order to help us, please register your interest for this event.

Once you have registered you will be sent two short questions to answer to determine your eligibility for attendance and for us to design a workshop that is most suited to all attending.

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Self-Transformations: Writing Faith Journeys in Verse – Georgi Gill

October 12, 2016 ctla-admin
Georgi Gill - Learning Manager at Scottish Poetry Library

When Hephzibah contacted the Scottish Poetry Library to discuss her ideas for a series of poetry workshops exploring faith, conversion and spiritual awakenings, I was fascinated from the outset.

To lay my cards on the table, I don’t approach the subject of faith from a conventional or easily defined position. As the daughter of a lapsed Methodist mother and a sometime Buddhist father, my spiritual cultural inheritance is something of a hotchpotch. I practise meditation fairly regularly and, like most British people who wouldn’t describe themselves as Christian, each year I relish wrapping presents and scoffing mince pies while a choir sings Christmas carols on the radio.

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A Battle for the Soul: Preparations

June 22, 2016 ctla-admin

I first came across Annie George and her work in theatre and film when she got in touch with me while researching the history of Christian communities of the South-west Indian state Kerala for a play she was writing. When The Bridge was advertised (www.anniegeorge.wordpress.com) I could see some historical and thematic resonances with our project topic and got in touch with her. Would she be interested in developing a play based on the many first-hand accounts of conversion we’d unearthed as a project team?

Annie was indeed interested and so began our several long conversations on autobiographical narratives left by converts to Christianity in colonial India,

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‘A Battle for the Soul’ : Hidden Voices from India’s Past

May 12, 2016 ctla-admin

The first in a series of events that the CTLA project are involved in this year, A Battle for the Soul – Hidden Voices from India’s Past presents narrative snapshots of the lives of young Indian men and women, drawn from recently uncovered autobiography and written testimony.

Theatre artist Annie George presents this rehearsed reading with projections, drawing on recent research at the University of Edinburgh by the CTLA project, documenting stories of personal dilemmas, faith and family conflict at the time of colonial rule in India. The reading will be followed by a discussion exploring some of the issues raised along with refreshments.

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Conference news

January 29, 2016 ctla-admin

After a successful New Delhi workshop in December 2015 the project team have a panel at the 24th ECSAS (European Conference on South Asian Studies)  at the University of Warsaw from 27 to 30 July 2016.

Keep up to date with all our conference news here.

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