Bahr-e-Zakhkhār: Graphic Art

Wajihuddin Ashraf. Bahr-e-Zakhkhār. 3 vols. Ed. Azarmi Dukht Safavi. Aligarh, 2012.

Subject

Kangal-er Gaan [Penniless Songs]

Description

This “song” is based on a prose narrative in Bahr-e-Zakhkhār, the Persian biography of Indian saints and mystics produced by Wajihuddin Ashraf in 1788-89. The Sufis described in this biography, from which a short excerpt has been selected, not only had their own discourse of dearth and ascetic practice, they also directly intervened, often through prayer, miraculous powers of fasting, and charitable acts, or by reinterpreting religious injunctions on food, during times of dearth, famine, and pestilence.

Graphic artist Argha Manna interprets this story by bringing to bear his scientific illustration practices which foreground the medical philosophy of Sufism underpinning Ashraf's narration.

 

Creator

Manna, Argha

Publisher

University of Exeter

Date

2021-03

Contributor

Dutta, Shrutakirti
Gupta, Abhijit
Halder, Bhagirath
Mukherjee, Ayesha

Rights

CC BY-NC

Format

Mixed media on cartridge paper

Coverage

c. 1788-89

Original Format

Graphic narrative

Physical Dimensions

21 cm x 25 cm