Dr Richard Williams teaches at the Rajasthani Bhasha Academy in Udaipur, India

Dr Richard Williams, Reader in Music and South Asian Studies, was guest faculty at the Rajasthani Bhasha Academy summer school in July 2025. The Academy is dedicated to promoting research and training in the languages of Rajasthan, from Marwari to Brajbhasha. The summer school hosted 65 participants, ranging from undergraduate students to professors, united in their interests in Rajasthani history and literature.

The summer school took place in the City Palace of Udaipur, and Dr Williams focused on literary sources relating to the musical history of the palace itself. He offered a keynote lecture on approaches to researching historical soundworlds, and then led reading sessions of the Bhim-vilas, a mixed-language courtly chronicle from the early nineteenth century.

The Rajasthani Bhasha Academy represents an important intervention in the promotion of language study and archival research.

Images: Rajasthani Bhasha Academy