

Hauntings | Ghosts and shadows in our cultures
July 28 @ 6:00 pm - July 30 @ 5:30 pm
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.