Remembering Shahbaz: A critical review of “Artefacts of Devotion: A Sufi Repertoire of the Qalandariyya in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh, Pakistan”

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

Based on four chapters, “Artefacts of Devotion: A Sufi Repertoire of the Qalandariyya in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh, Pakistan” is a fascinating volume authored by a French Scholar, Michel Boivin. First published in 2011 by the Oxford University Press in Karachi, Pakistan, the book is a publication project of ‘Centre of Social Studies in Karachi series’, developed by the ‘Centre of Social Sciences in Karachi (CSSK)’. Inaugurating with the foreword by Carl Ernst, Boivin’s work is easy-to-follow in terms of multiple aspects: the author has prioritized colloquial pronunciation of Urdu and Sindhi over a formal transliteration scheme; arguments put forth by the author employ simple grammatical construction and are extremely thought-provoking, highlighting the research gaps and the scope of further research in the concerned field; eloquent use of primary and secondary sources retain the interest of the readers throughout; an adequate amount of Sufi cant has been elucidated in their relevant contexts in the glossary provided at the end of the book.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Damani, A. J. (2021). Remembering Shahbaz: A critical review of “Artefacts of Devotion: A Sufi Repertoire of the Qalandariyya in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh, Pakistan”. Ancient Asia, 12, 12. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aa.221

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