Urdu Studies, Vol 5 Issue 1, 2025

Bridging Cultures through Text and Tradition: Anna Suvorova’s Contributions to Urdu Literary Studies and Indo-Islamic Scholarship

Arifur Rahaman Mollah
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16527700

Abstract. Anna Suvorova (1949–2023), a distinguished Russian Orientalist, profoundly shaped Urdu literary Studies and Indo-Islamic scholarship through her interdisciplinary analyses of South Asian literature, Sufism, and performative traditions. Fluent in Russian and Urdu, Suvorova bridged Eastern and Western academic discourses, offering nuanced interpretations of Urdu genres like the masnavī, dāstān, ghazal, and prose, while situating them within Islamic cultural frameworks. This article comprehensively examines her contributions from the late twentieth to early twenty-first centuries, focusing on seminal works such as Masnavī: A Study of Urdu Romance (2000), Muslim Saints of South Asia (2004), Early Urdu Theatre (2015), Lahore: Topophilia of Space and Place (2011), and Nostalgia for Lucknow (2010). It argues that Suvorova’s methodology—integrating literary criticism, cultural history, Islamic studies, and art history—enriched global understandings of Urdu literature’s transcultural significance, though her textual focus and outsider perspective limited engagement with contemporary Muslim practices and marginalized voices, particularly women writers. By situating her work within postcolonial, comparative, gender, and digital humanities frameworks, this study highlights her role as a transcultural mediator, evaluates her global and regional reception, and proposes avenues for future research. Suvorova’s legacy underscores Urdu’s role in fostering cultural pluralism, and invites exploration of its modern, digital, and gendered dimensions.

Keywords. Anna Suvorova, Urdu Literature, Indo-Islamic Culture, Sufism, Transcultural Mediation.

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Arifur Rahaman Mollah received his Master’s degree from the Department of Islamic Theology, Aliah University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is an Assistant Teacher at Majaherul Uloom Islamia Senior Madrasah, Howrah, WB. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. at the same university. His areas of interest include comparative religion and religious history, especially Islam. He has also attended many national and international seminars in his areas of interest. Mr. Mollah is a passionate researcher who is actively engaged in pursuing research through various national and international seminars.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9066-7358
Email: arifurmollah14@gmail.com

Bridging Cultures through Text and Tradition: Anna Suvorova’s Contributions to Urdu Literary Studies and Indo-Islamic Scholarship © 2025 by Arifur Rahaman Mollah is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0