Rajasthani Summer School – Rajasthani Bhasha Academy

The Second Rajasthani Summer School

19 – 25 June

in association with

About

The Rajasthani Summer School by RBA involves intensive and interactive reading workshops, field trips, guest lectures and ethnographic exercises on different proposed subjects every year. The Academy places a centrality on language in its programs to enable scholars to access the archives in Rajasthani—both tangible and intangible– in the course of their work.

As the academy proposes it’s second Rajasthani Summer school, the focus of the year is made on ‘Religion’– understanding the subject’s intricacies though various academic instruments and experiments.

Where and when?

19-25 June, 2024

Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun

Jain Vishwa Bharati, located in Ladnun, Rajasthan, is a prestigious institution dedicated to Jain studies, philosophy, and culture. Founded in 1970 by Acharya Tulsi, it serves as a global center for learning and research in Jainism. The university promotes the core principles of Jainism, including non-violence, truth, and compassion, and offers academic programs in Jainology and comparative religion. Beyond academics, Jain Vishwa Bharati emphasizes social welfare and sustainable living.

Ladnun

Ladnun is a city located in the Nagaur district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It holds historical significance and is known for its cultural heritage. The city is famous for its temples, particularly the Jain temples, which attract devotees and tourists alike.

Focus areas this year

This year, the workshops are stitched around the broad theme of ‘Religion’. The texts being covered will range from the 12th to the 19th centuries, on areas such as poetics, war chronicles, urban histories as well as religious literature.

Kuvalayamala (8th century) and Kumarpala Charita (12th century) are two Prakrit texts in the Jain tradition selected because they represent direct ancestors of the Rajasthani language and its literary tradition.

Satinama (Bajid) – late sixteenth century text on the themes of Sati, Sant and heroism.

Dadu Janmlila Parchi is a 17th century spiritual biography of the 16th century Saint Dadu Dayal.

Savaiya Granth of Sundardas) is a 17th century collection of quatrains on Sant devotional themes. Possibly written in Fatehpur Shekhawati.

Raghunath Rupak (Mansaram Sevag) – an early 19th century book of Dingal Poetic theory written in Jodhpur.

Chhatrapati Raso (17th century) is a text from Bikaner and contains the account of the ‘मतीरै री राड़’– the battle fought over a melon, a few kilometres from the town of Ladnun.

We will listen to Dingal recitations from the 18th century Mataji ri Vachanika by Jati Jaychand.

Jain Rajasthani Gazals– famous for their depictions of urban spaces– will be covered.

For our art history modules, we will study haveli frescoes from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries from ‘Shekhawati’. We will specifically look at motifs of travel, and also how these frescoes became a community’s way of marking their identity and morality.

For our ethnography modules, our first execercise will look at local musician and artisan communities. Our second exercise will conduct a study of an important local shrine.