A Study of the Pictorial Nama Traditions in the Medieval Period with Special Reference to the Hamza Nāma: From Orality to Audio- Visuality through Trans-mediality

This paper is an attempt to look at how the Hamza nāma fits within the model of trans mediality from one
literary form to another that is the oral, from oral to the illustrated manuscript version and finally its
compilation into the printed form. It will start with an attempt to go through the historical background of the
various nāmas present before the Hamza project was commissioned and how the new model of an audio
visual medium is coming up through this project. After this it will move on to a detailed discussion of the
Hamza nāma itself and finally conclude with the connectivity between orality, painting and writing and how
these three different genres fit in and give rise to an entire new form of amalgamated product of audio-visual
and textuality.