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A Treasury of Emotions From Classical India
Philosophical and Literary Vignettes
Speakers
What is the difference between prema, priti and sneha? Do they all mean love or are there nuances? How many emotions do we experience (6 or 156 according to some scholars)? Are there terms for particular emotions in Classical Indian languages that are not expressed in English and vice versa? Does language shape experience and if so, does the culture inflect or even determine what it is possible for its people to feel? In this conversation, scholar and author, Professor Maria Heim, will be in conversation with author Shoba Narayan about remorse, hatred, love, fear, pain and other emotions that have been described in Classical Indian languages. Based on the book ‘Words for the Heart’ by Prof. Maria Heim. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A.
Speakers
Maria Heim
Maria Heim is George Lyman Crosby 1896 & Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she teaches courses in Indian literature, philosophy, and religion. She received her PhD from Harvard in Sanskrit and Indian Studies, and has received fellowships from Guggenheim and Fulbright foundations. She has written several books on the fifth-century CE Buddhist thinker, Buddhaghosa, and works in two languages, Sanskrit and Pali.
Shoba Narayan
Shoba Narayan is the author of four books and a columnist with Hindustan Times Brunch magazine. She writes about food, travel, fashion, art and culture for many national and international publications. She is the overseas correspondent for Radio New Zealand. She has taught at IIM-Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Science. Besides writing, she watches birds, quaffs wine, and enjoys gadgets. Her lifelong mission is to get fit without exercising and lose weight without dieting.
