

Hauntings | Ghosts and shadows in our cultures
July 28 @ 6:00 pm - July 30 @ 5:30 pm
Reading Indian Epics together
Focus
Who is it for?
For open minds eager to explore, ask questions and share their reflections
Reading materials
Please read the following texts to prepare for the event.
The Palace of Illusions
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
This text refers to a well-known episode in the Mahabharata. In this modern novel, it becomes a description of Draupadi’s life after she marries the five Pandava brothers.
The Missing Queen
by Samhita Arni
This text places Sita at the heart of a detective thriller where a young woman journalist sets out to look for a queen who has mysteriously vanished from her own life and been erased from public memory.
Background reading
- The Ramayana | Valmiki, Penguin Classics, translated with an introduction by Arshia Sattar
- Mahabharata for children, Juggernaut Books, India, by Arshia Sattar
- Ramayana for children, Restless Books, New York, by Arshia Sattar
Programme
10 hours (incl. breaks) over 3 days. Our time together will be one of story telling and reflection. The sessions consist of a close reading of the texts and inspiring interactive discussions.
Friday
18.00 – 20.00
Saturday
14.30 – 18.30
Sunday
13.30 – 17.30
Guest Teacher
Arshia Sattar
Arshia Sattar has a Ph.D. from the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. She has worked with myth and epic and the story-telling traditions of India for over 30 years. Her abridged translation of the Sanskrit epic, the Valmiki Ramayana is considered a contemporary classic. Arshia teaches and writes about Indian literatures in her home country and abroad.