Scrolls & Leaves: World History Podcast

Scrolls & Leaves: World History Podcast


12: Evolution of Indian Blues - Bidesia

February 17, 2021

At the turn of the 20th century, the British took Indian indentured labourers to sugar plantations in Fiji. There, Indian women would sing “bidesia” -- laments for a lost homeland. In this Chatroom, acclaimed Fijian poet-philosopher Sudesh Mishra speaks of bidesia, and also about Fijian indigenous knowledge systems that place humans as part of the planetary assemblage.