Of Sacred and Secular Desire - by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The fertile land of the five rivers (punj+ab in Persian) has persistently stirred the imagination of its peoples. Its story is the story of invasion. In 326 BCE Alexander the Great marched through the Hindu Kush, conquered the verdant plains now divided between India and Pakistan, and stamped Greek cultural and linguistic influence on the region. Over the centuries the lure of the Punjab attracted further waves of outsiders: Scythians, Sassanians, Huns, Afghans, Turks, Mughals and - closer to our own times - the British. Many savage battles were fought. But at the same time, as different ethnic and religious groups came together and melded, the collective psyche of the Punjab was coloured by vibrant new patterns, new worldviews and new languages. Punjabi poetry is the dynamic result of these cross-cultural encounters. In her rich and diverse anthology, Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh makes a major contribution to interfaith dialogue and comparative literary studies. Covering the entire spectrum of writers, from the artistic patterns of the first Punjabi poet (Baba Farid, 1173-1265) to feminist author Amrita Pritam (d.
2005), the volume serves as an ideal introduction to the three faiths of Sikhism, Islam and Hinduism. Whether focusing on Sikh gurus or Sufi saints, it boldly illuminates the area's unique character, linguistic rhythms and celebrations, and will have strong appeal to undergraduate students of religion, literature and South Asian studies, as well as general readers.

Review Quotes

""In these powerful and lyrical translations, Nikky Singh penetrates the surface of interreligious violence in the Punjab and reveals to us another world where Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus share a rich treasure of vivid images of ordinary life and a brilliant vision of love, both carnal and divine. Of Sacred and Secular Desire brings into the mainstream of world poetry a great tradition that for far too long awaited an extraordinary translator like Nikky Singh to do it justice. The book is a most unusual combination of extraordinary beauty and great scholarly importance."" - Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago

""Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh lucidly narrates five centuries of the literary and cultural history of Punjab through the voices of the region's most beloved poets. Her beautiful English renditions of the verses of eleven prominent Punjabi literary figures (ranging from the medieval Sufi poet Baba Farid and the much revered Sikh Guru Nanak to the contemporary feminist Amrita Pritam), and her insightful discussion of the significance of their poetry in the context of their times, provide refreshing frameworks through which to appreciate the complex interactions between disparate traditions in the region. Her analysis boldly challenges the rigid communalist boundaries that have been imposed on the Punjab's rich pluralistic heritage by contemporary discourses of nationalism in South Asia. Students of South Asian literatures, cultures, and religions will find this book to be a sensitively-written and accessible introduction to Punjabi literary culture in all of its diversity and complexity."" - Ali Asani, Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures, Harvard University

""We need books like this one. It will introduce Punjabi literature to new audiences, providing a sense of the broad scope of Punjabi literature over time, and its achievements. We hear from Sufi poets - Baba Farid, as well as Bulhe Shah and Waris Shah - alongside the Sikh Gurus and other saints included in the Sikh sacred scripture. We hear modern voices, who embraced new styles and genres while adhering to the particular cadence and content of the Punjabi language. I hope this is a beginning, that it will inspire due attention to Punjabi literature, which has so little written about it in English, and so little available in translation. Our understanding of South Asian literature, and indeed world literature, demands this attention."" - Anne Murphy, Chair in Punjabi Language, Literature and Sikh Studies, University of British Columbia

About the Author

Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh is the Crawford Family Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College, Waterville, Maine. Co-Chair of the Sikh Studies Section of the American Academy of Religion, she is the author and editor of several books which include Sikhism: An Introduction (I.B.Tauris, 2011).