Bhakti and the Gendered Self

A Courtesan and a Consort in Mid Nineteenth Century Punjab

Bibliographic Data

ID3626240
AuthorsAnju Malhotra (0000-0003-0155-3531, University of Delhi, corresponding author), Anshu Malhotra
Year2012
Volume46
Issue6
Pages1506-1539
Publication date2012-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0026749x11000837
OpenAlexW2080355243
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited11

Bhakti is viewed as a movement that is subversive of orthodoxy, and inverts the societal norms prescribed by thedharmashastras. This paper looks at the Bhakti movement's long history and transformations into the nineteenth century in Punjab. If womanlydharmawithin the normative tradition is defined by sexual containment through marriage and wifehood, the accumulated Bhakti legends and hagiographies are examined to see the place of the prostitute in it, and the limits of its revolutionary potential are brought to the fore. By looking at the writings of the Muslim prostitute Piro who comes to live in the establishment of a 'Sikh' guru Gulab Das, in Chathianwala near Lahore during the period of Ranjit Singh, this paper attempts to read Piro's use of Bhakti legends and imagery to build support for her unusual step. The imbrication of the Gulabdasis in hybrid practices that borrowed elements fromadvaita, Bhakti and Sufi theologies is also delineated. The paper shows Piro's engagement with the radical potential of Bhakti, but also maps her move towards social conformity-the paradox that makes her look at herself simultaneously as a courtesan and as a consort

Buddhism · Conformity · Dharma · Hinduism · Normative · Orthodoxy · Political science · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology · Religious studies · Social Psychology · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Diaspora