This companion is the first comprehensive study of courier poetry—in which someone, usually a lonely lover, sends an unlikely messenger (a cloud, a bee, a goose, a bat, a language, the wind, a poem, and so on) to the beloved or to a close friend or patron. The volume explores works in a variety of languages, including Sanskrit, Malayalam, Tamil, Old Javanese, Hindi, Telugu, Sinhala, Marathi, Tibetan, Prakrit, and Apabhramsa. The chapters follow the historical evolution of this massive corpus, from Kalidasa's classic text to modernity. They also offer culture-specific maps, not only of South Asia but of the world beyond, from the shores of Java and Bali to the Mississippi.
A unique contribution, this volume will be indispensable for students, academicians, and researchers in literature, comparative literature, literary theory, poetry studies, and Asian studies.