Scholar, interpreter, arbitrator, citizen: The many lives of Maridas Pillai
By: Parasher, Gauri
.
Material type: 
BookPublisher: The Indian Economic and Social History Review Description: 62(2), Apr-Jun, 2025: p.149-187.Subject(s): Maridas Pillia, go-between, Indo-French, Pondicherry/Puducherry, Citizen, Courts
In:
The Indian Economic and Social History ReviewSummary: This article examines afresh the life and works of the eighteenth-century Indo-French intermediary Maridas Pillai from Pondicherry. He is known primarily for his French translation of the Bhagavatam, the earliest translation of the text in a European language. Yet many aspects of his life remain obscure. Drawing on new sources, the article shows that Maridas was much more than just a translator of the Bhagavatam. He was also a court translator and interpreter in Pondicherry, an arbitrator of individual and group disputes, and a man of letters who mediated knowledge about India for the benefit of French audiences. In studying these neglected dimensions of Maridas Pillai’s activities, the article argues that he was a different kind of intermediary than the well-known dubashes or commercial brokers. Carefully fashioning himself as a bridge between the French government and its Indian subjects, his work focused on mediating non-commercial, cultural, legal and societal knowledge. His life, therefore, reveals hitherto little-known dimensions of the Indo-French encounter.-Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00194646251330459
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Vol info | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Articles
|
Indian Institute of Public Administration | 62(2), Apr-Jun, 2025: p.149-187 | Available | AR136776 |
This article examines afresh the life and works of the eighteenth-century Indo-French intermediary Maridas Pillai from Pondicherry. He is known primarily for his French translation of the Bhagavatam, the earliest translation of the text in a European language. Yet many aspects of his life remain obscure. Drawing on new sources, the article shows that Maridas was much more than just a translator of the Bhagavatam. He was also a court translator and interpreter in Pondicherry, an arbitrator of individual and group disputes, and a man of letters who mediated knowledge about India for the benefit of French audiences. In studying these neglected dimensions of Maridas Pillai’s activities, the article argues that he was a different kind of intermediary than the well-known dubashes or commercial brokers. Carefully fashioning himself as a bridge between the French government and its Indian subjects, his work focused on mediating non-commercial, cultural, legal and societal knowledge. His life, therefore, reveals hitherto little-known dimensions of the Indo-French encounter.-Reproduced
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00194646251330459
There are no comments for this item.