Talk on Baba Fareed Ganjshakar
Date: October 6, 2016
Time: 6.30 pm
Venue: A-11, LUMS
Speaker: Dr. Asma Qadri
About
Fareeduddin Masud Ganjshakar lived and wrote in the 13th century in India. A disciple of the famed Chishti order of Sufism, Fareed spent most of his later years in Pakpattan, Punjab, where he received devotees, taught pupils and practiced a pious, ascetic life carefully distanced from the Mamluk throne. A celebrated saint, his shrine in Pakpattan is always abuzz. His urs is celebrated on 5th Muharram every year.
However, Fareed the poet is often eclipsed by Fareed the saint. Fareed was also the founder of the Punjabi poetry tradition, his couplets about life, virtue, love and suffering resonating through the works of his celebrated successors such as Shah Hussain and Baba Nanak. Join us as we commemorate and discuss the life and works of Punjabi's earliest literary icon.
About the speaker
Dr. Asma Qadri is an Associate Professor at the Punjabi Department, Punjab University. She recently completed her post-doctoral research on Baba Fareed at the University of California, Santa Barbara. For her PhD, she worked on the classical forms of poetry in Punjab. She has also recorded an online archive of poetry recitations as a teaching aid for students.
