Saudade

]osé Pereira, Professor Emeritus of Theology of Fordham University where he lectured on History of Religions is an authority on Goan andKonkani culture, language, literature and music. With Michael Martins (1914-1999) Goa’s outstanding composer of classical music and António da Costa, priest, psychotherapist, and musician, Pereira has brought out Song of Goa: Crown of Mandos that is copublished by Goa 1556 and Broadway Publishing House.

The book contains the score and lyrics of a number of traditional Goan mandos, together with an overview explaining the context (history, politics, etc) of Goa. There are lists of various forms of Goan song. It is a must-read for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of Goa, Goan song and the forces that shaped both.

Being released in Goa this Friday, 30 July.

Bala

Among the many qualifications that Douglas Knight brings to his biography of Balasaraswati is the fact that he is her son-in-law. He is also a musician and scholar who has been awarded the Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships. And although the book in question is not published in India, it is on an Indian of great cultural significance and hence this post...

Balasaraswati: Her Art and Life is published by the Wesleyan University Press. "This is the first complete biography of T. Balasaraswati (1918–1984), a dancer and musician from southern India who became recognized worldwide as one of the great performing artists of the twentieth century. In India she was a legend in her own time, acclaimed before she was thirty years old as the great dancer of traditional bharata natyam. Balasaraswati was a passionate revolutionary, an entirely modern artist whose impact was proclaimed by some of the most prominent figures in contemporary dance in India and the West. Her art and life defined the heart of a tradition. Her life story offers an extraordinary view of the enigmatic matrilineal devadasi community and traditional artistic practice from which modern South Indian dance styles have emerged. This deeply engaging biography draws together Balasaraswati’s personal account of her life and her reflections on the process of making dance and music. It includes the commentary of family members and dozens of contemporaries from throughout her fifty-year career, revealing hereditary artistic values and conventions that have virtually disappeared in modern India. The book is generously illustrated with rare historical photos and a duotone gallery of distinguished photographers’ images of Balasaraswati’s dancing."

The book has been widely praised. “Imagine a fascinating book written with knowledge, understanding, and talent celebrating the 20th century's greatest bharat natyam performer, the incomparable Balasaraswati. Well, here it is” says Charles Reinhart, director of the American Dance Festival. Kapila Vatsayan, scholar and founder of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts calls it “A gripping account of the hereditary system of transmissions in the performing arts through the biography of one of India’s greatest dancers, T. Balasaraswati. Douglas Knight, Jr., unfolds many layers of the personal, social, artistic, national, and international aspects of T. Balasaraswati’s life.”

More details on the Wesleyan University Press site, here.

Holy Mackerel!

The Indian publishing industry can sometimes seem like many separate streams that largely move in their own channels. And yet, the stated purpose is the same, so it is like many rivers that move to an ocean, with little merging, very little mixing.

Even within academic publishing, there are many streams. The multinationals, OUP, CUP, and their tributaries, the many UPs that are partnered by a few independent publishers. And the parallel stream, of local publishers who offer a platform for authors without the ancillary benefits, like visibility, editorial support, or editorial intervention.

A case in point is a new book from Daya Publishers, Fishes Around Indian Ocean by K P Biswas. Even without having seen the book, one can realize that (a) the topic is important, at least for us, (b) the author, with a plethora of degrees, both Indian and foreign and a lifetime of experience) brings considerable expertise to the subject, and (c) that some copy editing would have greatly improved the readability and value of the book. Why not Fishes of the Indian Ocean as a better title? The blurb reads no better, but like we said, there is value in the book. Here is an edited excerpt:

The Indian Ocean harbours about 4000 fish species. Except for identifying the characteristics and the taxonomic status of the species, it is practically impossible to describe the biology of each of these since studies have not been made for all, and reliable information is not available for many species of poor economic value.

In a dynamic ocean with so many regional micro-climatic and hydrological variations, many commercially important fish species fluctuate in their seasonal inshore migration. This results in huge shoals forming a good fishery in some years, while there is a failure in other years due to the disappearance of shoals.

Besides describing and identifying the characteristics of the major groups of fish, details of pelagic commercially important oceanic tuna, the biological characteristics of some economically significant species of each of major fish groups, with special reference to the seas around the Indian subcontinent are discussed in the book. The occurrence and capture of species that constitute commercial fishery from seventeen fishing grounds along the Indian coasts have been outlined, and significant details in respect of more than four hundred fish species of economic importance are given.

In our Natural History section, in hardcover, 540 pages, Rs 1600. ISBN: 9788170356202

Everything you wanted to know...

But didn't know whom to ask... about the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP, can now be found in a 10 volume set of books, BHARATIYA JANTA PARTY (1980-2005) COMPLETE DOCUMENTS. Each of the volumes costs Rs 500, and the contents are described below:

Vol. 1 : Election Manifestoes
Vol. 2: Presidential Speeches: Part-I
Vol. 3: Presidential Speeches: Part-II
Vol. 4: Policy Document
Vol. 5: Political Resolutions
Vol. 6: Economic Resolutions
Vol. 7: Other Resolutions
Vol. 8: Cultural Nationalism
Vol. 9: Achievements & Looking Ahead
Vol. 10: Evolution of BJP

The hindi version comes in 7 volumes, also at Rs 500 per volume.

Going back a bit more, the history of the Jan Sangh, more properly the BHARATIYA JANA SANGH (1952-1980) is available in a 6 volume set priced at Rs. 2350, and contains

Vol. 1 : Policies and Manifestoes

Vol. 2 : Economic Resolutions

Vol. 3 : Defence and External Affairs

Vol. 4: Internal Affairs

Vol. 5 : Education and Party Affairs

Vol. 6 : History of Jana Sangh

The Hindi version is for Rs.1850.

Of course, if you really want it all, for Rs 4000 there is the PICTORIAL HISTORY OF BJP in English and Hindi.

Deconstructing Tilak

Parimala V. Rao, Assistant Professor at the Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies at JNU has written extensively on the nationalist discourse on gender, caste and peasantry. Her new book, published by Orient Blackswan, is on Tilak.

Foundations of Tilak’s Nationalism: Discrimination, Education and Hindutva shows how, as opposed to being simply a struggle of the colonised against the coloniser’s oppression, the anti-colonial struggle in India was much more nuanced and complicated. In this process, it examines the role of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and draws attention to issues concerning education, gender, caste, peasantry and communalism, how these were interlinked and had a decisive influence on his anti-colonial nationalism. The study also deconstructs the categories of the moderate and the extremist, the reformer and the orthodox and questions the validity of calling reformers like M. G. Ranade, G. K. Gokhale, N. G. Chandavarkar and G. G. Agarkar as moderates, collaborators and compradors of colonial rule.

This book critically analyses Tilak’s stance against a single Indian nationality free from caste and religious prejudices and gender inequalities, of how he advocated the hegemonic control of the landed elites over society contrary to that of the Reformers and inquires into the debates concerning the Nationalist agenda of preventing women and non-Brahmins from gaining access to education. Tilak’s was a patriarchal and orthodox position, that ideated that teaching Hindu women to read and write would ruin their traditional virtues making them immoral and subordinate. Criticism of the caste system and allowing education to women and non-Brahmins, were according to Tilak, ‘un-national tendencies’ and ‘against the Hindu nation’.

The author also addresses the origin of the concept of ‘Hindutva’ and locates it not in the conflict of interest between the Hindus and Muslims, or the Hindus and the British, but in the discarding of religious neutrality and the enforcement of caste restrictions. In this context, the author presents the ideology of Hindutva as one further away from the concept of Hinduism, a rigorous representation of the ‘Muslim other’ and traces in it the consequent rise of communalism.

In refuting the value premises of viewing an individual independent of caste identity, this book also sheds light on Tilak’s constant ridicule of the Reformers’ emphasis on the Bhakti tradition as a source of spiritual guidance. It introduces the reader to the vehement Nationalist critique of Vedic revivalism, i.e., the advocation of the Vedic religion and a Vedic way of life, which included Vedic rituals, relaxation of rigid caste restrictions and improvement in the condition of women by adopting post-puberty marriage, widow marriage and the education of girls that attempted to incorporate the lower caste groups into its fold—shattering the social and economic hegemony of the Brahmins.

This meticulous piece of scholarship is a crucial insight into Tilak’s role in India’s struggle for independence and questions the basis of his status as an uncompromising champion of the freedom movement and his being projected as the greatest Maharashtrian.

In our History and Politics sections, in hardcover, 372 pages, Rs 795. ISBN: 9788125039198

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

What can one say ... the subtitle of a new book out from Sage, Political Economy of Communications in India is the title of this post. Quite by coincidence- since it happens I am in Australia this week- the author, Pradip Ninan Thomas, is at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

This book is a critical study of the political economy of communications in India. It explores the ways in which contexts, structures, policies and processes at national and international levels shape media structures and explores how a political economy-inspired approach can be used to understand both media dominance and resistance. It deals with a variety of issues that are key to understanding the political economy of communication—from intellectual property to audio-visual trade and media ownership, liberalisation, privatisation, and media politics.

In our Economics and Media sections, Rs 650, in hardcover, 296 pages. ISBN 9788132104490

Zohr...aah!

Irrepressible... a word that come to mind when talking about Zohra Segal. And ubiquitous, as in her presence in so many hindi movies in recent years. Among the many honours and awards that have been conferred on her are the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1963); the Norman Beaton Award for “significant contribution to the development of multicultural film and television drama in the United Kingdom” (1996); the Padma Shri (1998); the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement (2004); and the Padma Vibhushan (2010). Women Unlimited will shortly bring out her autobiography, Close-Up: Memoirs of a Life on Stage & Screen.

Zohra Segal’s no-holds-barred memoir is feisty, irreverent and candid — a ringside view of nearly a hundred years of her life on stage and screen, in India and England. In 1930 Zohra Segal struck out and went to Germany to study modern dance at Mary Wigman’s Dance School in Dresden. It was a most unusual decision — and a most unusual choice of career for an aristocratic young Indian woman. But then, Zohra was nothing if not unusual. In 1933 she returned to India, and in 1935 joined Uday Shankar’s famed dance academy in Almora, together with Simkie and fellow dancer, Kameshwar, whom she married in 1942. On to Lahore and the Zoresh Dance Institute — and then her big move into acting: Prithvi Theatres, the Old Vic, the British Drama League, BBC television, The Jewel in the Crown, Toba Tek Singh, Bhaji on the Beach…

Along the way she recounts her encounters with the greats of British theatre in the 1960s and ’70s — Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Fiona Walker, Priscilla Morgan and James Kerry among others — as well as her early forays into British television with Waris Hosain.

In this unputdownable memoir, Zohra Segal recreates her life as one of India’s greatest and best-loved stage and screen actresses with the same verve and spirit that she brings to all her performances. As she says, “Whatever I do, is for an audience!”


In our Biography section, in paperback, 292 pages, Rs. 375. ISBN: 9788188965618

Alarming and Uncompromising

Marie-Monique Robin, an award-winning French journalist and filmmaker who received the 1995 Albert-Londres Prize undertook a dangerous task, to figure out what Monsanto was up to... And she then wrote about it, in The World According to Monsanto. Le Monde termed it "An alarming and uncompromising investigation." Télérama called it "A vast investigation of Monsanto—the first of this scope to dismantle the practices of the St. Louis–based agrochemical firm, world leader of GMOs.", La Marseillaise a "Truly noble journalistic work . . . Robin informs, enlightens, unveils, and begins the work of alerting the public."

The book, winner of the Rachel Carson prize, has been translated from the French by George Holoch and Tulika Books, New Delhi have just brought out the Indian edition. It is an explosive exposé of the disturbing practices of the world’s most influential multinational agricultural corporation.

The result of a remarkable three-year-long investigation that took award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin across four continents (North and South America, Europe, and Asia), The World According to Monsanto tells the little-known yet shocking story of this agribusiness giant—the world’s leading producer of GMOs (genetically modified organisms)—and how its new “green” face is no less malign than its PCB- and Agent Orange–soaked past.

Robin reports that, following its long history of manufacturing hazardous chemicals and lethal herbicides, Monsanto is now marketing itself as a “life sciences” company, seemingly convinced about the virtues of sustainable development. However, Monsanto now controls the majority of the yield of the world’s genetically modified corn and soy—ingredients found in more than 95 percent of American households—and its alarming legal and political tactics to maintain this monopoly are the subject of worldwide concern.

Released to great acclaim and controversy in France, throughout Europe, and in Latin America alongside the documentary film of the same name, The World According to Monsanto is sure to change the way we think about food safety and the corporate control of our food supply.

In our Ecology and Environment section, also in Agriculture, 384 pages, Rs. 675. ISBN: 9788189487683