Bhakti and Sufi Interactions in South Asia

V. Narayana Rao, Visweswara Rao and Sita Koppaka Professor
in Telugu Culture, Literature and History

and Scott Kugle, Professor of South Asian and Islamic Studies

“Bhakti and Sufi Interactions in South Asia”

The Bhakti movement in Hindu communities and the Sufi movement in Muslim communities had a long and fruitful interaction in South Asia. What did they have in common and how did they interact? This conversation will focus on mystical sensual poetry and song to understand whether there was a confluence of Hindu and Islamic movements in pre-modern South Asia. Profs. Rao and Kugle will focus on the Deccan as an especially fertile region for Bhakti and Sufi interaction.