Lalita du Perron talks to Afghan historian Mejgan Massoumi (PhD, Stanford, now at Carnegie Mellon University) and South Asia bibliographer Ryan Perkins about the incredible Ustad Mahwash archive, recently acquired by Stanford Libraries. They discuss the ongoing relevance of Ustad Mahwash’s legacy, some gems that are in the collection and worth checking out, and the importance of archives in keeping traditions alive. 

Episode notes and resources:

Ustad Mahwash's main online exhibit page. 

Ustad Sarahang’s letter

Brief biographical sketch of Ustad Mahwash

Notes about the music files in the episode

1)  Beshnaw az Nai (Listen to the Reed) The poetry is from Mawlana's (Rumi's) opening lines to his Mastnavi. This is one of Ustad Mahwash's masterpieces from the Kharabati/Classical Afghan Music tradition. (Featured in the podcast  Intro-  00:00-01:30 min).

2) Houri, Houri, Houri (Houri/Noori is the name of a girl, and Noori comes from the Arabic Noor meaning Light, as in light of God, light of beauty, etc.) This is a signature Ustad Mahwash "pop" song and many attach it to her repertoire. (Part of this song is featured at 20:52-21:47 min in the podcast). 

3) Guleh Seybem (My Apple Blossom, i.e. another way of saying my Beloved or My Sweetheart, etc) This is also a signature Ustad Mahwash "pop" song and it is wildly popular because the more contemporary female Afghan superstar, Aryana Sayeed, made one of her debut concerts in Afghanistan in the early 2000s with this song. Ironically most people associate this song with Aryana Sayeed, because they do not know or realize it's original performance was from Ustad Mahwash. (Part of this song is featured at the outro of the podcast starting at 26:23 mins- end).

Lalita du Perron talks to Stanford Law student Archit Lohani about his work on digital rights, transparency in technology governance, and the ramifications of Artificial intelligence. 

Lalita du Perron talks to Nidhi Mahajan, Associate Professor of Anthropology at UC-Santa Cruz about her new book Moorings: Voyages of Capital across the Indian Ocean, the way her fieldwork interviews shaped her project, and the arduous process of turning a PhD into a monograph. 

Lalita du Perron talks to Daniel Praburaj, former pre-doctoral fellow at the Stanford King Center on Global Development about his journey to Stanford (spoiler: it did not involve an IIT) and his plans for the future. Lalita and Daniel are joined at the start of the podcast by the meows of Lalita’s cat Michelle, but after about 10 minutes she gives up trying to be the main character of the episode. 

Daniel is the Co-founder & CTO of Mithram.

Lalita du Perron talks to Shanthi Senthe of the University of Windsor Law School about her former life as a corporate lawyer, her current life as a scholar of law and business, and her experiences doing fieldwork in Sri Lanka. 

Lalita du Perron welcomes Sumeet Mhaskar to discuss his Fulbright Fellowship in the Department of Anthropology at Stanford and his book project on the changing job landscape in the textile mills of Mumbai. 

Lalita du Perron welcomes scholar and dancer Preethi Ramaprasad to talk about their joint work on consent and dance, and Ramaprasad’s upcoming performed and curated art shows.

As You Are - Sept, 12-14, BAMHouse, Oakland, tickets here 

When Eyes Speak Oct 11-12, Joe Goode Annex, tickets here 

Lalita du Perron talks to Amrit Deol of Fresno State University about her project on the Ghaddar party and Sikh diasporic history, and her future work on life in the borderlands.

Lalita du Perron talks to Stanford Life Design Fellow Deepak Ramola in this 2-part episode, about what it means to be a wisdom historian, an artist, and a writer, while we try to figure out why grandmothers are always so wise!

Over the last 15 years, Deepak has worked at the intersection of wisdom and lifelong learning through his organization Project FUEL, collecting life lessons from 195 countries.

Lalita du Perron talks to Stanford Life Design Fellow Deepak Ramola in this 2-part episode, about what it means to be a wisdom historian, an artist, and a writer, while we try to figure out why grandmothers are always so wise!

Over the last 15 years, Deepak has worked at the intersection of wisdom and lifelong learning through his organization Project FUEL, collecting life lessons from 195 countries.