Student Spotlight: Alia Jeraj

Alia Jeraj is a second-year MAAS candidate at UH Mānoa. She spent nine weeks this summer in Lucknow, India, studying Urdu at the American Institute of Indian Studies. She received partial funding to pursue these studies through the J. Watumull Scholarship. The course included eight weeks of intensive class in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as excursions to important historical and cultural sites around the city. In addition to learning the language, Alia got to learn about Lucknawi culture and history. While there, Alia had the opportunity to study sozkhwani, a genre of sung poetry with Askari Naqvi. This gave her a creative outlet and deeper insight into a genre that she’s currently writing about in her MA thesis.

Alia presented some of her research and learning at the Center for South Asian Studies’ 2023 Fall Gathering, and will continue to write about her research in her thesis.