Central Asia, folk fool, India, primary source, quotes, stories
There is an anecdote attributed to various giants of jesterdom, including the Indian Gopal, (`So exquisite was Gopal’s wit that he violated the laws of the domain and defied the Rama’s pride with impunity’), along with the Central Asian folk fool...
16th century, historical figure, India, primary source, quotes, stories
A common theme among jester stories is that of intervening on behalf of an individual whom the ruler is treating unjustly. In this case, Birbal saves a man from being executed on a whim by Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). A merchant in Delhi was known for having a face...
16th century, folk fool, India, quotes, stories
This short story regarding the Indian folk fool Tenali Rama illustrates perfectly the literalness of the fool, which you might have encountered in children, perhaps with occasional exasperation. I shared this during a talk to a group which included professional...
16th century, English, folk fool, India, primary source, quotes, stories
There are many stories of Indian jesters getting the better of Brahmins, often exposing their greed in the process. Note that the stock clown character of Sanskrit drama, the Vidusaka, was himself a Brahmin, as well as being a jester (some disagree with me on this,...
18th century, fooleum, India, primary source
A curious drawing, from the late 18th century, of a named dwarf dancing in the presence of a pair of Indian soldiers (‘sepoys’ in the title of the sketch). I stumbled across this in the same search that yielded a 17th century Dutch painting of a dancing...
18th century, fooleum, India, primary source
This sketch of an individual, done by an Anglo-Indian artist around 1790, has the intriguing title of ‘A fool named Gungarum’. At first I wondered if it was a portrait of a recognised or quasi-professional fool, but noting the similarity between the...
16th century, folk fool, fooleum, historical figure, India, primary source
Birbal was a Hindu courtier, described by some as a Minister or of similarly high rank, at the court of Akbar the Mughal emperor (r. 1556-1605). However, his fame stems from having apparently fulfilled the role of jester to Akbar, qualifying him as one of the three...
dramatic character, India, primary source, quotes, Sanskrit, stories
There is much debate as to whether the stock comic character of Sanskrit drama, the vidusaka, is or is not a court jester. This will be teased out over time drawing on many sources. If that sounds like fence-sitting, let me hop off to one side decisively: I believe...
