Acknowledgements
I first heard about avadhÄna from Prof. Lidia Sudyka of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków around 10 or 11 years ago. This book would never have been created if it was not for the inspiration, expertise, help, and support of Prof. Sudyka to whom I am deeply indebted and grateful.
The interest in avadhÄna, initially only in the context of contemporary visual poetry in Sanskrit, developed and resulted in the project Avadhana. Historical and social dimension of the Indian âart of memoryâ (registration number 2018/28/C/HS2/00415) financed by the National Science Centre (NCN), Poland. The present book results from the realization of this project. I would like to express my gratitude to the National Science Centre for the possibility of conducting the research on avadhÄna and supporting it financially. I would like to thank the Jagiellonian University and, in particular, the Faculty of Philology for a chance to realize this project as an employee of the oldest university in Poland. The project allowed me to focus on the study of the art and, eventually, to meet with the practitioners, witness the performance in person, and visit the libraries in India and places where avadhÄna flourished in the past.
The conversations with the exponents of the art and their suggestions were invaluable. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the practitioners of avadhÄna, especially ÅatÄvadhÄnÄ« Dr. R. Ganesh, sahasrÄvadhÄnÄ« Medasani Mohan, and avadhÄnÄ« Venkatesha Kulkarni, with whom I had the possibility to meet and talk. The knowledge they shared with me helped to shape this book. I also had the great pleasure of working with Dr. Shankar Rajaraman, a former avadhÄna performer, who not only agreed to talk to me extensively about the visual poetry in Sanskrit and avadhÄna but also helped me a number of times to contact other practitioners and receive information about planned performances. I would never have met Dr. Rajaraman if not for the help of Venetia Kotamraju, whom I would like to thank as well.
In the process of obtaining materials for the realization of the project, many people were kind enough to offer their assistance, especially during the difficult time of COVID-19 pandemic that impeded traveling and conducting field research. I wish to thank Gabriele Zeller from the Tübingen University Library and the staff of the French Institute of Pondicherry Library.
Some of the texts quoted in the second part of this book I read initially during the reading sessions conducted in 2019â2020, in the Department of Languages and Cultures of India and South Asia of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Thanks should go to everyone who attended these sessions and helped me clarify the intricacies of the texts.
This book would also look different without the suggestions and advice of the Reviewers who assessed my works on avadhÄna. I very much appreciate their remarks and corrections. Any inaccuracies and mistakes in the book are mine only.
I also would like to thank my family and friends who supported me in this journey. The analysis of the visual verses in Sanskrit would not be complete if not for Justyna NiedbaÅa who helped me to make the illustrations.
Finally, I would like to thank the person whose love, relentless support, profound belief in my work, and patience cannot be underestimated; the first reader and reviewer of everything I write; a colleague whose insightful suggestions also improved this book. Thank you, David.