ABSTRACT
Sanjhi is celebrated spectacularly across Haryana during the sharad (autumn) Navratras (the nine days dedicated to the goddess Durga (a Hindu goddess associated with motherhood, strength, and protection). Sanjhi is also considered as a goddess who is worshipped for marital bliss and is another form of goddess Durga. This festival has survived the test of time with goddess Sanjhi being translated across various spatio-temporal zones, rural and urban areas, and into varied sensory experiences.
Through an ethnographic study conducted in 2021 and 2022 in Haryana, India, this chapter traces Sanjhi as a sensory performative experience through the lens of experiential translation. This research documents a folkloric tradition that happens only once a year and is found to be socio-culturally transformative. Additionally, it focuses on the multiple ways of creating Sanjhi in both urban and rural geographical spaces (our fieldwork was conducted at several rural and semi-urban locations in Haryana, such as Bahadurgarh). By doing so, this chapter proposes experiential translation as a futuristic translation perspective that defies linguistic barriers and mobilizes indigenous communities through their cultural and social knowledge systems, thus empowering the performer, the audience, and the reader by translating art and culture of the indigenous communities.
