The Annemarie Schimmel Memorial Lecture—“I Saw My Lord in the Form of a Beardless Youth”

Murad Khan Mumtaz, Assistant Professor, Williams College As a young prince, Dara Shikoh (1615–1659), heir to the Mughal throne, compiled an album for his fiancée, Nadira Banu Begum. The album celebrates the theme of union through various visual and literary metaphors, including the conspicuous presence of dervishes shown viewing princes and princesses in idyllic garden settings. In this talk, join Murad Khan Mumtaz, Assistant Professor, Williams College, to explore how depictions of Muslim ascetics in this album aided in constructing the courtly persona of Dara Shikoh as a locus of godly manifestation within Indo-Muslim devotional culture. The lecture series is made possible by The Norbert Schimmel Trust.