The South Asia section of UW Libraries received a rare gift of 416 slides of Chandayan Manuscript offered by Dr Naseem Hines. These slides came from the John Ryland Museum in Manchester, U.K. Cāndāyan is the very first masnavī composed in Awadhi, the regional language of the eastern Gangetic plains. The story of Cāndāyan is adopted from a locally popular love narrative called Canainī. Originally, an oral folktale, Canainī is the story of Cāndā and Lorik’s love. These slides were the basis of Naseem’s recently published book The English Translation of Chandayan. In her book (2023), each stanza of Candayan (1379) originally composed in the Awadhi language but taken down in the Perso-Arabic script, is translated into English with notes.
Deepa Banerjee is looking forward to working with Special Collections to process, digitize and create a finding aid for this precious gift of rare slides.
From the terrace Lorik Enjoyed the Scene of Chand’s Bedroom Where She Slept with Her Handmaidens
Slide # 0327, courtesy of the manuscripts of Cāndāyan from the John Ryland Library in Manchester,
U.K.
When Chanda doesn’t revive after the second day, Lorik sets up a funeral pyre and holding her in an embrace, he prepares to self immolate with her. Slide 077: An example of stylized calligraphy on the left page
The Wizard Recited the Mantras and Chand Regained Consciousness
Slide # 0106, courtesy of the manuscripts of Cāndāyan from the John Ryland Library in Manchester, UK