Contributing

This is in essence a forum and the general aim is to stimulate readers to share views, thoughts and news on this subject – the great idea bounce.  Here’s some ideas on how different people might contribute:

1. Sanskrit scholars and students: those who have studied a particular text or author, or who are an expert in a related field, could contribute articles on an aspect of their chosen subject.  So someone who was writing a PhD on the Ramayana for instance might want to share their views on the different endings, or discuss how the epic has been reinterpretated by different authors and communities throughout India.  Reviews of recently published scholarly articles or books are also welcome.

2. Arty types: people who might not necessarily be Sanskritists, but may have been involved in an translation/performance or adaptation/interpretation of a Sanskrit literary text whether as a play, a book, music or art.  If this is you, please do share your experiences of being involved in such a project.  I’m also inviting reviews of plays, books, films etc…

3. Sanskrit enthusiasts: people who are interested in Sanskrit, perhaps those learning it or those who can speak and read, could submit original compositions in Sanskrit.  Please do be sure to include an English translation below for readers who can’t read Sanskrit.

4.Readers and audiences: people who’ve read a Sanskrit text recently (whether in translation or not) or seen a play or film and want to write either a review or a more general article. For instance, you might read a play for the first time and be struck by the similarities to the typical formulaic happy-ending Bollywood film – it would be really interesting to see an article about that…

5. Artists/authors: Finally, I’d also like the blog to act as a stimulant for artists and authors – perhaps someone might read the verse of the week and be inspired to try and represent it visually.  That would be really fantastic.

The practicalities of submitting material:

•  If you want to submit a written piece, please email me a Word document at venetia.ansell@gmail.com and I’ll post it as a submitted article with your byline. 
• In general, I’m inviting pieces written in English, but if you want to write something in Sanskrit (or any other language) please do but include a translation below.  This blog is intended to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible – which means everything needs to be in English or to have an English translation.
• If you have a media file of some kind – a photo, image, scan, video etc – then please send me this via email and again I’ll post it and attribute it to the sender.
• If you have news, links, or comments, please feel free to use the comment button on the blog or email me if you’d prefer.