Futures of the past

mnemocultures and the question of inheritance

Emil Volek

pp. 59-88

in: , Cultures of memory in South Asia, Berlin, Springer, 2014

Abstract

In contrast to the European preference for archivally retained memories, this chapter demonstrates how Sanskrit traditions sustained and augmented their inheritances through embodied and performative memories. While examining their cultivated indifference toward literacy, the chapter emphasizes the absence of any significant impact of literacy on Sanskrit traditions for millennia. Contemporary debates regarding the memory and literacy in the Indian context are critically examined in this chapter.