Be the change

Tara Books in Chennai have a new book out, on Yoga. Their take on it- and a delightful one at that- is that many yoga asanas are evocative of animate and inanimate objects- the plough, the cobra, the crane.... and so on.

Metamorphosis: An Artist Envisions the Asanas of Yoga is a collaboration by artist Emanuele Scanziani and Jennifer Abel who wrote the brief text that accompanies the clever drawings. "Scanziani plays brilliantly with this connection, turning the human form into a lion, snake, scorpion and stone bridge, and bringing to life the transformative spirit at the heart of yoga.

Each page acts as instructive art: accompanying the images are brief descriptions of both the physical pose and the imaginative, meditative essence of the asana and thumbnail index image associates the physical poses with the artwork they inspire. .... Metamorphosis provides an absolutely fresh perspective on the bond between body and mind, form and imagination.

The book is a fitting subject for our last post this year- welcoming 2009, the year of change that the entire world wants.... In our General books section, Rs 395. Hardcover, 48 pages, ISBN: 9788186211489

Bonding... Chemically

How does one attract students to a career in science? A question that has begun to occupy many people at all levels, from the hapless lecturers in colleges who see their classes dwindle each year as the entry percentages fall lower and lower, to the science mandarins who advise the cabinet and beyond, who can see other countries in the neighbourhood make great advances, and who can also see that unless things change, we will not be anywhere in the knowledge creation business. At least not the knowledge that other people care about...

The science academies of India- and there are three, based in New Delhi, Bangalore and Allahabad- do try to do something about it, as well they should. Each of these academies has a group of something like a thousand scientists. Which is not a lot, considering that we are a country of a billion, and that there are around 10 disciplines represented- mathematics, physics, chemistry, and so on...

So what can be done? There is so much to do, almost anything will work- and one of the things that does is providing material that is accessible to the young student. One person who has thought about these things- and has done something about it- is C N R Rao. Apart from the other books an monographs he has written, there is Understanding Chemistry published by Universities press, that addresses this issue.

"This supplementary book for senior school and first year B.Sc. students is intended to bring out the excitement of chemistry and encourage more students to pursue this subject further. It explains the Hows and Whys of chemistry to whet the appetite of a good student."

Early in the day we realized the absolute paucity of original books in the physical sciences (with our slowest growing lists!) in the country. Compared to the social sciences, for instance.

Well, this makes some difference. In our Chemistry section. Rs 225.

Where's the beef?

Navayana's next is a reissue of D N Jha's The Myth of the Holy Cow.

"In this book, historian Dwijendra Narayan Jha argues that the ‘holiness’ of the cow is a myth and its flesh played an important part in the cuisine of ancient India. Citing Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina religious scriptures, he underlines the fact that beef-eating was not Islam’s ‘baneful bequeathal’ to India. Nor can abstention from it be a mark of ‘Hindu’ identity, notwithstanding the averments of Hindutva forces who have tried to foster the false consciousness of the ‘otherness’ on the followers of Islam.

This new Navayana edition features an excerpt from Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s 1948 work on the connections between untouchability and beef-eating. Ambedkar marshals evidence to argue that in the Vedic period, ‘for the Brahmin every day was a beef-steak day."

The book has been widely praised for any number of reasons. While cow veneration and vegetarianism may be the hallmarks of Hinduism today, Jha compiles copious evidence that this has hardly always been the case says the New York Times. Jha draws on an amazingly wide range of material … an enlightening endeavour, demonstrating a critical understanding of a popular misconception- Journal of Asian Studies. The TLS says Jha traces the history of the doctrine forbidding the eating of cows… soundly and thoroughly covering both the classic texts and cutting-edge scholarship, Indian and European, while the Socialist Review calls this a little gem of a book [that] provides a wealth of evidence exposing myth creation and the way symbols are used politically to divide people.

Soon to be in our Religion and Dalit Studies sections. Paperback, 207 pages, Rs 200. ISBN 9788189059163

Kabhi kabhi Aditi....

Suniti Namjoshi has published a number of titles with Tulika, Chennai, the Aditi Adventures. Charming, informative, educational, and fun, by now there are 8 titles ranging from Aditi and the one-eyed monkey to Aditi and her friends help the Budapest changeling... Talk about the global Aditi!

And now, Aditi leaps off the page and onto the screen, in an animated series. Apart from indulging in new adventures that Tulika will be publishing next year. Tulika has been doing a lot in the world of childrens publishing: "... developing content for children from a thought-provoking and sensitive contemporary series of books that matches the best in the genre anywhere".

We do list some titles from Tulika, Chennai. Write in for the Aditi books, although they are popular and easy to find. Once you have found a bookstore, that is...

Dear Diary

'Tis the season... to get a diary for the coming year. These feature in our Occasional Listings and this year there are two to talk about.

Kriti a nongovernmental organisation based in New Delhi is a group of people who examine development research, praxis and communication. They serve as a knowledge and skill building support group on development and human rights issues by bringing out books, making and showing documentaries, and also by promoting organic food and body products, eco-friendly bags and wallets, greeting cards and handmade paper stationery and so on.

Each year they bring out a Diary that highlights people’s movements and human rights issues.This year's offering are "herstories of struggle, .... , a time to rise together for freedom and change! Celebrate 10 years of documenting people's movements for rights." Their Diary 2009 includes updates from several movements and comes with a detachable wall planner for the year.

Zubaan's 2009 Diary is titled Fellowship of the Ring and focuses on unusual women and an unusual sport. The women come from different backgrounds – rural, urban, middle class, lower middle class – and the sport they have chosen to pursue is boxing, forming a unique 'fellowship of the ring'. Storming a male bastion – and particularly this bastion – isn't easy, and for many of the women featured in this year's diary, as well as for many others who aren't here, the battle lines are very clearly drawn. Despite this, women boxers have fought their way to the very top, although they've received little recognition.

Writer Nisha Susan and photographer Uzma Mohsin, travelled to many places for the weekly newsmagazine Tehelka, to track down the stories of these women. They point out that since 2001, when it was introduced in India, women's boxing has given India three world champions (beating 190 women from 32 countries) and every year, Indian women boxers win armfuls of gold, silver and bronze medals at international events. What's more, in many instances their parents go out of their way to turn their daughters' dreams into reality.

Comics for the Hard Headed

Although we take the title of this post from a Sarai publication this year, this is really about a number of Indian graphic novels prompted by a story that appeared in today's Brunch...

The graphic novel is far from having come of age in India, but still, we think that the genre is cool... and we should have more experimentation along these lines.

Orijit Sen of People Tree wrote/drew/composed River of Stories in 1994. Although it is no longer available, this novel was "Loosely based on the Narmada River Valley Projects controversy, and woven around the creation myths of the Apatani and Bhilala peoples, this is a story of a river, its people, and schemes to tame them under an alien notion of ‘development’. It is a composite of comic book and text format."

More recently, writer/artist Sarnath Banerjee and Anindya Roy set up Phantomville, a publishing house that provides a platform for Indian writers and artists to produce mature graphic novels. Sarnath has two novels out in this format, Corridor that was produced as part of his Sarai Independent Fellowship in 2002 and The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers, both from Penguin.

Phantomville has produced Kashmir Pending written by Srinagar-based Naseer Ahmed which tells the story of several characters in Kashmir and deals with strife in the region, and The Believers by Abdul Sultan with illustrations by Partha Sengupta.

With its Dick Tracy-esque graphics and a salute to the Moore and Gibbons storytelling style (or is that just my hyperactive imagination??) Tejas Modak's Private Eye Anonymous already looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship... while the dark and sensuously illustrated Kari by Amruta Patil is "livened by wry commentaries on life and love".

The Brotherhood of Dissent

Quite apart from the fact that our physical location is in Katwaria Sarai, we do feel kinship with Sarai, the intensely vital program at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). The fellowship that they offer artists and mediapersons is highly coveted, and when one sees what it enables, one can understand why....

Their manifesto explicitly includes "a commitment to critical and dissenting thought and a focus on critically expanding the horizons of the discourse on development, particularly with reference to South Asia. [They are] a coalition of researchers and practitioners with a commitment towards developing a model of research-practice that is public and creative, in which multiple voices express and render themselves in a variety of forms."

The Annual Sarai Readers do give a flavour of what is possible in the Sarai environment with this level of dissenting thought. A summary of the work that their fellows have carried out is available in their recent publications. Working Questions: Independent Research and Interdisciplinary Practice summarises what happened at Sarai from 2002-2007. Its easiest to use the text from one of the introductory articles, by Vivek Narayanan, on how to use the book, which gives "an indication of the range and variety of the projects, as well as showcase some of the projects that we have grown fond of. ... we do expect that, as with a book of poems, many lay readers will not read this section from start to finish, but dip in here and there. All the same, as with a book of poems, we have arranged and ordered the pieces for the reader who, in fact, may well desire to read the book from beginning to end, as a kind of fragmentary novel of our times. What we have done in the catalogue is to try to produce a set of narrative arcs, a rough argument in the ordering. Quite certainly, this is, in many ways, an imposed narrative. Other equally valid viral or rhizomatic leaps between entries in different sections of this book can and should be made by active readers. Narratives are always multiple, and connections are endless, they constantly emerge. We have put together the book in one way just so that different projects might spark more connections and, moreover, show each other off. Readers who are interested in a more conventional classification of the texts by discipline, approach, practice, etc., should consult the thematic index given at the back of the book. Readers who would like to go straight into fascinating and in-depth representative accounts of individual research could do no better than to read the excerpts from the interviews and to follow these up with their complete texts online."

I'm not quite sure what rhizomatic means here, but all the same the book is wonderful dipping material for the lay reader, which most definitely is what I am.

In fact 312 pages of good stuff in paperback. In our Media Section, Rs. 250, US$ 20, Euro 15. ISBN 9788190585385

Arachnophilia!

Spiders of India, edited by P A Sebastian and K V Peter is a welcome addition to our Natural History section. Given the average person's aversion to creepy-crawlies, arachnophobia is way more common than a love of spiders, but thats whats needed to carry out this detailed a study.

"The first part of the book looks at the morphology and anatomy of spiders, as well as systematics and evolution. The second part provides detailed descriptions of selected species. The book also contains, importantly, a decisive and updated checklist of the 1,520 spiders which have been described from India. It is richly illustrated with line drawings and diagrams, and more than 150 colour photographs, many documented for the first time. "

Universities Press, Hyderabad, plays an important role in academic publishing. We have, in earlier posts, bemoaned the lack of a strong publishing programme within the Indian university system. As publishers, Universities Press are both proactive and generous. And independent, while being commercial. These are difficult balls to juggle, but they do well, and bring valuable and affordable books to the reading public.

In Hardcover, 734 pages, Rs 795. ISBN: 9788173716146

Not the meek....

Who shall inherit the earth? Apparently, if you are an Adivasi woman, its not a simple matter.

A new book that is co-published by Social Sciences Press and Orient Blackswan, GOOD WOMEN DO NOT INHERIT LAND: Politics of Land and Gender in India by Nitya Rao addresses this issue.

"'Good women should not claim a share in the inheritance, even if they have no brothers….' Notions such as this have, in their own way and over time, given the women in the Santal Parganas the resolve to wrest what is rightfully theirs. This is a powerful book in the way in which it unfolds the lives and anxieties of Santal women in two villages of Dumka district, Jharkhand. From the very inception, adivasi women come alive through separate life histories. They span different situations and social patterns but all of them relate to rights in landed property, and their own troubled identities in the backdrop of harsh living conditions, social discrimination and lack of state support.

Land for the Santal women is not a mere economic resource. It stands for security, social position and identity, and in this men have a distinct advantage. Soon after, writing in a personal vein, the author unfolds how these anxieties of the Santal women resonate her own. The author traces the relationship between Santals and their land from historic times to the modern era when they have access to both the modern legal system and their own customary laws. She also examines the role of external agencies in this struggle – government administrative bodies, non-governmental organizations and political leaders. As modern influences crowd out traditional mores the author asserts that development is not always a benign process of social advancement but a highly political struggle for re-negotiating power relations between men and women, and among social groups. The use of a 'community' identity as adivasis has also been responsible for denying women rights to land in the context of the movement for political autonomy of Jharkhand.

Based on rich ethnographic material, this sensitive book lays bare the reality of being an adivasi and an adivasi woman, in all its nuances, in the modern globalized world."

In our Sociology and in our Gender Section, Rs 795, 368 pages, ISBN 9788187358244

Xobdo

A project after our own hearts is the online dictionary for the languages of India's Northeast. Housed at www.xobdo.org, this is a cooperative effort to build a dictionary of the several languages spoken in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya.

"Xobdo (means sound or word in Assamese) is a non-profit organization formed with a group of volunteers located in various parts of the globe with the common interest of promoting Assamese language in the cyber world. Members of Xobdo are voluntarily collaborating to construct and maintain this website. "

And they are an inclusive bunch: "If you speak any of the languages listed on the Xobdo homepage, you can help us by contributing words of your language. Registering yourself at Xobdo is free and easy. Once you are registered you can start adding words from your language. Moreover, if you speak any of the North-Eastern languages not listed at Xobdo and still you want to build an online dictionary, you can contact us and we will be happy to help you."

More power to them is what we say. So far the languages listed on their page are Karbi, Tai, Khasi, Dimasa, Bodo, Mising, Bishnupriya, Nagamese, Garo, Apatani, Ao, Mizo (Lushai), Monpa, Meitei-lon, Chakma... Many more are needed. Please pass the word on: Xobdo.

Relentlessly Inventive

The description, by Aveek Sen in yesterday's Telegraph of the book Maqbool Fida Husain by K Bikram Singh and published by Rahul & Art in New Delhi made one sit up for more than one reason. One being the price. Rs 9999 plus shipping makes this the most expensive book we have considered listing the Scholars site. The other being the fact of Husain himself. Prolific and controversial, he is one modern Indian artist who has managed to cock a snook at every establishment, including the politically very correct. Bringing together reproductions of his important works makes the book valuable, if expensive.

In his review, Sen says "This massive tome by K. Bikram Singh, — a civil servant, lecturer in history and film-maker — brings together many reproductions of Husain’s art (most of them of excellent quality) from every phase of the artist’s enormously prolific career. These pictures illustrate 12 chapters of informative, jargon-free and often insightful commentary. But the book could have done with some ruthless editing, curbing Singh’s copiousness, making the volume less difficult to hold in one’s hand and read.

Singh’s method is a fairly readable combination of biography, historical context and a form of interpretation that often abandons chronology to provide a sort of motif-index to Husain’s vast and varied corpus. The elements of Husain’s visual lexicon are identified, their evolution mapped through relevant illustrations, and their ‘meanings’ pieced together by teasing out connections with biography and history. Singh quotes rather more regularly from academic critics than he need have. He has his own, semi-formal way of writing about art and artists, and their contexts, which is substantial enough for the intelligent, lay reader whose interest in art is not rigorously academic. Besides, Singh’s love for Husain’s art gives him a personal access to, and familiarity with, the work that have their own value, even if one finds oneself expecting more concision and sharpness in this kind of a documentary and critical endeavour.

... This book is a testimony to Husain’s relentless inventiveness. It reproduces some 350 works out of a growing corpus of more than 10,000 paintings, apart from murals, toys, films and designs for jewellery and nursery furniture, and the cinema hoardings that were his initiation to painting. Husain’s sumptuous palette is amply represented in Singh’s book, the scandalous price of which does manage to stand good taste on its head — a feat that is not beyond its subject’s skills."

Tyger! Tyger!

Valmik Thapar is one of the most visible- and tireless- campaigners for the preservation of tigers and their habitats. And being a gifted writer as well, his several books on tigers have done more to sensitise the reading public than have other campaigns.

Two books by him that were reviewed in today's Hindu are RANTHAMBHORE — 10 Days in the Tiger Fortress, and a new edition of THE SECRET LIFE OF TIGERS, both from OUP, and both in our Natural History section at SwB.

"The tiger has always evoked awe, fear, and fascination. Ranthambhore: 10 Days in the Tiger Fortress creates an engrossing, unforgettable portrait of this magnificent creature, featuring many images of tigers in the wild never before captured on film. The book is as much about the rich and vibrant habitat that makes Ranthambhore one of the finest places to watch wild tigers up close, as about a man who over the years has developed a special intimacy with the tiger.

Valmik Thapar, after thirty-three years of tiger-watching, finds himself in Ranthambhore once again where he confesses spending his finest ten-day stretch ever. An authentic record of what Ranthambhore has to offer to the keen observer, the more than 200 colour photographs help showcase every incident that took place as the author tracked six tigers in the course of ten days. Tigers reigning over lakes, forts, ruins, chhatris, and Ranthambhore’s famous 600-700-year-old banyan tree—the arresting photographs, captured moment to moment, meld into one another to create a visual continuity perhaps experienced only in motion pictures. A must-read for tiger enthusiasts and all animal lovers."

Secret Life of Tigers is ".... a wonderfully written account of Thapar’s observations of the life of three tigresses and their cubs through all the stages of their development, from birth to adulthood. Revealing extraordinary facts about the process of their growth and maturing. Thapar describes how fathers are much more involved in the upbringing of their cubs than was previously thought.

With a new Preface and twenty outstanding colour photographs, the second edition of this classic work provides a fascinating insight into the family life of tigers and argues passionately for the greater involvement of the government and the general public to save tigers from extinction."

A Gift from God

The literal translation of Khuda Bakhsh is a gift from God, and when one sees the collection of the library and museum in Patna, Bihar, one is left in no doubt about providence.

The manuscript collection that the Khuda Bakhsh Library houses has an unusual history. Maulvi Mohammad Bakhsh, a man of letters and law, and with a great passion for books left his collection of manuscripts and rare books to his son with the injunction that he open a library for the public whenever he should find himself in a position to do so. Khuda Bakhsh inherited his father's love for books and made all possible efforts to acquire rare books and manuscripts. In 1888 at the cost of Rs. 80,000 he built a library and housed the books. The Oriental Public Library was opened for the people of Patna on 29th October, 1891 with 4,000 rare manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, apart from the printed books in Arabic, Persian and English. Today, it is known as the Khuda Bakhsh Library.

The generosity with which the collection was started has paid rich dividends. There are gems in the library that make it a most valuable source for scholars. And they have a publications program, with a modest number of titles in English, but with a wealth of material in Arabic, Persian and Urdu, much of which cannot be obtained elsewhere... Here is a sampling

• Contribution of Islam to Indian Culture / Nanalal C. Mehta, 1998
• Cultural History of India as depicted in foreign accounts (8th-12th Century AD) / Dr. Badar Ara, 2004
• Early Urdu Historiography / Dr. Javed Ali Khan, 2005
• India in the Early 19th Century - An Iranian's Travel Account: Translation of Miratul Ahwal-i-Jahan Numa / Ahmad Behbahani tr. by Prof. A.F.Haider, 1996,
  
• Khuda Bakhsh: A Biography of the founder of the Khuda Bakhsh Library, second impression / Salahuddin Khuda Bakhsh & Sir Jadunath Sarkar, 1991,
• Religion & Society in the India of the 10th Century as described by the Arab Scholar - Al-Masudi / tr. by Dr. Mahmoodul Hasan, 2004

A similar collection is in the Raza Library in Rampur, recently documented in the book of the same name. But more on that later this month...