Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The different strands of cosmopolitanism, the hallmarks of Deccan identity, came together on Wednesday at a day-long seminar on ‘Cosmopolitan Deccan’ at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University.

Seema Alavi built and shared her research on Indian Muslim scholars who travelled the world, dodged power-centres and tried to carve a niche for themselves beyond flat identities between British empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Ms. Alavi, whose “Muslim Cosmopolitanism in the Age of Empire” triggered new ways of seeing identities, spoke about Syed Fadl, who travelled from Malabar in present day Kerala to the edge of Empire. “They tested kinship, trade, commerce, and information networks and brought together the political economies and cultures of the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean worlds while retaining their self-identity,” said Ms. Alavi, professor of history at Ashoka University.

Two practising fabric designers, Ariba Khanam and Binil Mohan, shared how Kalamkari designs, created and crafted in the Coromandel region, reflected the world.

Heritage conservation consultant Sajjad Shahid linked the evolved language of Deccani with food habits, dress and architecture. He spotlighted poets who travelled from elsewhere in the country and decided to settle down by singing peans about the land and the people in Deccan.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Telangana / by The Hindu Bureau / September 18th, 2024