A Gathering of Wise Friends: The Lives of Indian Religions Symposium
௭௱௮௰௩. நவில்தொறும்
நூல்நயம் போலும் பயில்தொறும்
பண்புடை யாளர் தொடர்பு .
“Akin to the joy of reading a good book more
and more is the joy of getting more and more
acquainted with good friends.”
- Thirukkural 783
Leslie Orr presenting at the Lives of Indian Religions symposium.
After the second round of midterm examinations in my first year as an undergraduate student, I was yearning for a brief taste of something different—a novel experience wherein I could explore beyond the scope of my present study. This led me to The Lives of Indian Religions, an on-campus symposium organized by Sonam Kachru, Assistant Professor in Religious Studies at Yale University, and Charlotte Gorant, Ph.D. candidate in Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. Held on November 8 and 9, 2024 at Room 276 of the Humanities Quadrangle, the room’s wood paneling of subtle excellence and stained glass of delicate crafting offered a majestic juxtaposition to the biting cold of the gray outdoors.
The symposium was occasioned by the publication of Religions of Early India: A Cultural History (Princeton UP 2024) by Richard H. Davis, Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at Bard College and former Associate Professor in Religious Studies at Yale. The book is described as his “magnum opus” by presenter Subhashini Kaligotla, Barbara Stoler Miller Associate Professor of Indian and South Asian Art at Columbia University, who was inspired by one of Davis’s previous publications, Lives of Indian Images (Princeton UP 1999).
Ronald Inden presenting at the Lives of Indian Religions symposium.
Religions of Early India focuses on looking beyond the already-delineated narratives of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism between 1300 BCE and 700 CE to analyze the other, “often unnamed religions…classified as ‘folk’ or ‘popular’ religions” (Princeton UP). This mission to uncover the overlooked arose throughout the symposium, whether in the discussion of Jainism by John Cort (Denison University), who countered the oft-misguided “story of the disappearing Jains,” or in evaluating “the truth of genealogy” by balancing divergent historical narratives as asserted by Nabanjan Maitra (Bard College). Perhaps the symposium’s quality of reimagination is apt considering its dedication to Davis, for as Jack Hawley (Barnard College) marked in kindness, Davis “always pus[hes] the envelope.”
Symposium participants and attendees examining objects during a tour of the Yale University Art Gallery led by Denise Leidy, Ruth and Bruce Dayton Curator of Asian Art.
With an approachable group of esteemed North America-based scholars in Indic studies, the symposium’s atmosphere exemplified a friendly community that champions knowledge-based inquiry. Indeed, many of these scholar-friend relationships extend back decades, as recollected by Leslie Orr (Concordia University) of her summertime research discussions with Ann Selby (Harvard University) and Richard Davis in Besant Nagar, Chennai. As many of the scholars in attendance could trace their fascination with Indic studies to education at the University of Chicago, described by Davis as a hub for the field especially in the 1970s and 80s, it would not be remiss to characterize the event as a family reunion with the shared value as a commitment to distinguished scholarship. This may be playfully exemplified in the creative usage of englobement (i.e., gradual incorporation of separation) by Leslie Orr which was a pleasurable highlight of conversation for the two-day gathering.
In-session drawings by symposium organizer, Sonam Kachru.
I was amazed by the variety and depth of knowledge in the various presentations, from the analysis of englobement in Tamil Nadu temples with both Saivite and Vaishnavite deities by Leslie Orr, to the intersection of mythology and history with respect to Raja Bhoja of the Rajputs by Daud Ali (University of Pennsylvania). It was also remarkable that I could engage in historically informed discussions of Ponniyin Selvan: I, the 2022 Tamil historical blockbuster film, with scholars who had also watched and enjoyed it.
The intriguing insights and intellectual rigor of the symposium appropriately encapsulate attributes of the individual for whom The Lives of Indian Religions was dedicated. A fitting commentary on Davis was provided towards the end of the symposium by Jack Hawley, who noted how Davis expanded the boundaries of scholarship. In playful exasperation, Hawley observed repeatedly over a half-hour how Davis nearly always “got there first” as far as research was concerned.
By the symposium’s conclusion, I felt as though I had been invited into a new community—one that takes pride in propagating knowledge, especially that which is overlooked, to reimagine perspectives. Observing the attendees exit the Humanities Quadrangle and make their way together to the Omni New Havel Hotel for the book launch, I could not help but think of a phrase that has continually surfaced over the course of my first semester: “a company of scholars, a society of friends” (Yale historian George W. Pierson).
Participants in the Lives of Indian Religions symposium pose for a photo at the post-symposium reception.
Prithvi Vijay Narayanan is a first-year undergraduate student at Yale and a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar. He is from central Pennsylvania and intends to major in political science.
- Humanity