Religious Traffic

A new book by Vakulabharanam Lalitha, WOMEN, RELIGION AND TRADITION: The Cult of Jogins, Matangis and Basvis from Rawat Publications, Jaipur addresses an issue that plagues some regions in the country. This is perhaps the first-ever comprehensive study of this pernicious practice of women’s exploitation in the name of religion and tradition.

Religion is a complex phenomenon which pervades a vast range of human activities. In India, religion influences society in diverse ways. This book explores the religious practice of temple dancing which formed an integral part of the ritual service to the Gods and Goddesses in various South Indian states. The culture of dedicating girls to temples is a common phenomenon in this country. These girls are referred to by different names in different parts of India, such as Devadasis, Jogins, Matangis, Basvis, Vaghyamurlis, Bhavins, Mariammas, etc., which literally means “female servant of the deity”.

The present book, which is an empirical study undertaken by the author for more than two decades, from 1985 to 2006, traces the origin and spread of the Devadasi culture in India, particularly the Deccan region, and evaluate the impact of reformative and rehabilitative measures taken by the governmental and non-governmental organizations.

In our Gender Studies, Womens Studies and Religion sections, Rs 795, 312 pages in hardcover. ISBN: 9788131603956. Or link directly from the QR Code on the right.

Heavenly Murals

Prakriti Foundation, Chennai's The Mucukunda Murals in the Tyāgarājasvāmi Temple, Tiruvarur by V. K. Rajamani and David Shulman is the result of serendipity, love, and sheer good fortune. The combination of grit, scholarship, talent, determination, and persistence... Reading about it in the last week's The Hindu made one realize just how much of our heritage is surely seeping away, decaying...

On the ceiling of the Devasiraya Mandapam in the third prakara of the Tyagarajasvami Temple in Tiruvarur, an unfinished set of around 50 painted panels depicts the story of the monkey-faced Chola king Mucukunda, who is said to have brought the god Tyagaraja from heaven down to Tiruvarur. The story is well documented in medieval Tamil texts such as Kantapuranam of Kacciyappa civacariyar and Campantamunivar's Tiruvarurppuranam.The paintings, although in a shockingly dilapidated condition, are among the best surviving examples of late-Nayaka or early Maratha-period murals. Along with offering a distinctive version of the Mucukunda story (together with inscriptions that accompany each panel and embody directions to the painters), these murals express a distinctive cultural and philosophical vision—one in which we can observe the new subjectivity of the seventeenth century, with its spatial and pictorial correlates, and a particular understanding of the possibilities open to human beings in relation to the depths of their own consciousness, on the one hand, and the divine realm, on the other.

Prakriti Foundation has been undertaking the restoration of these panels for the last 3 years and since the work is near completion, they conducted a conference seminar at the Devasriya Mandapam on 26th January 2011. Concurrently they released a book detailing the Mucukunda Murals and their inscriptions by David Shulman as a joint venture of conservation. The book also contains a detailed description by Madhu Rani who led the INTACH team, of the entire process of conservation of the paintings.

Shulman, an Indologist is regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the languages of India. His research embraces many fields, including the history of religion in South India, Indian poetics, Tamil Islam, Dravidian linguistics, and Carnatic music. Rajamani is a noted photographer

Scholars is very pleased to enable online purchase of The Mucukunda Murals which is listed in our Art and Architecture section, in hardcover, 146 pages. Rs 2500. ISBN: 9788190444323

The Sri Lankan Writer

Volume 10 Number 2 of the University of Leeds journal Moving Worlds (you can subscribe to it through SwB) is on the writings of the Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje: Critical Perspectives

This issue examines Michael Ondaatje's fiction, poetry and films from fresh and interesting angles. The critical essays that make up the issue put us in touch with a powerful subtle and humane imagination that translates itself in versatile ways into the themes, characters and poetics of Ondaatje's work.

The several articles examine a number of themes in Ondaatje's work and discuss several of his novels, The English Patient, Anil's Ghost, Elimination Dance, In the Skin of a Lion... his poetry. Much to enjoy!

Moving Worlds is specially priced for students, and is reasonably priced in any case. Check out its listing in the SwB Journals ministore!

For the Birds

Satish Pande and Anvita Abbi have, over the years, been carrying out a detailed study, each in their own area of interest and expertise-Orinthology and Linguistics- in the Andamans.

They combine these skills in their very special new book that has been published by Oxford, the Bombay Natural History Society, and Pune's Ela Foundation, Birds of the Great Andamanese: Names, Classification and Culture.

Call it an Ethnolinguistic perspective, Ethno-orinthology, what you will... The book is unique, and it gives the names of the birds of the islands in the nearly extinct Great Andamenese Language. As Pande and Abbi say in a recent paper, Present Great Andamanese (PGA) is a moribund language and is on the verge of extinction. The current study is an outcome of the first- hand collected data in the interdisciplinary research in Linguistics and Ornithology. We present all the 14 avian Orders, 35 Families and 100 Species recognized by the Great Andamanese people including the current conservation status, threats and distribution of avianspecies, endemic to the region. Indigenous names in PGA language were analyzed linguistically and discernible categories were classified empirically. Since the identifiable categories include avian names with single, double and triple attributes the semiotic analysis of the names of birds exposes the world view of the Great Andamanese people. What emerges is a typology of attributes where each attribute signifies a distinct avian related morphological, ornithological and semiotic behaviour. The present study, which is first of its kind, is of immense historical nature and can be used in future to establish any relationship with other languages and tribes of the Andaman Islands.

In our Natural History and Linguistics sections, in paperback, Rs 950. ISBN: 9780198072621

Freedom's Long Shadow

Ayesha Kidwai, my colleague in the School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies at JNU is a distinguished linguist, and one with diverse interests. She has recently translated her grandmother Anis Kidwai's Azadi Ki Chhaon Mein into English, and this book (from Penguin) will be released at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on 24 February.

In Freedom's Shade is a memoir of the national movement and of partition written in 1949 but only published (in the original Urdu) in 1974. Anis Kidwai was born in 1906 in Barabanki, Awadh, into an impoverished but cultured zamindari family. The murder of her husband, Shafi, in Mussoorie in October 1947 catapulted Anis into an activist’s role. That very month, she came to Delhi and offered her life to Gandhi; she wanted to live out the rest of her years in service to the nation. In just a few months, working alongside Subhadra Joshi, Anis became closely involved with the efforts for peace in Delhi’s neighbourhoods and surrounding rural areas; and with Mridula Sarabhai she helped in the recovery of abducted women.

In Freedom’s Shade is both a personal memoir of the first two years of nascent India as well as an activist’s record that reveals both the architecture of the violence during Partition as well as the efforts of ordinary citizens to bring the cycle of reprisal and retribution to a close.

Beginning from the murder of her husband in October 1947, with a rare frankness, sympathy and depth of insight, Anis Kidwai tells the stories of the thousands who were driven away from their homelands in Delhi and its neighbouring areas by eviction or abduction or the threat of forced religious conversion. Of historical importance for its account of the activities of the Shanti Dal, the recovery of abducted women and the history of Delhi, In Freedom’s Shade also has an equal contemporary relevance.

In part a delineation of the roots of the afflictions that beset Indian society and in part prophetic about the plagues that were to come, Anis Kidwai’s testament is an enduring reminder that memory without truth is futile; only when it serves the objective of reconciliation, does it achieve meaning and significance.

In our Biography and History sections, 408 pages with 44 photographs, Rs 699. ISBN: 9780143416098

The IIC release- by Subhashini Ali- promises to be interesting. Ayesha Kidwai, the translator, and in a sense her grandmother's biographer as well will speak, as will the Urdu scholar C M Naim. The translation has been supported by the New India Foundation. Ram Guha says Begum Anis Kidwai's memoir captures the social anguish of Partition and its aftermath far better than any novel or academic study... This landmark should be read by every thinking Indian.

Astronomical Architecture

Anisha Shekhar Mukherji is an architect with an appreciation of history. Her recent book is on the Jantar Mantar: Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh’s Observatory in Delhi.

The huge and arresting forms of the Jantar Mantar, despite looming large on Delhi’s historical and architectural horizon for almost 300 years, still evade consensus on when they were built, why and how they were made and used, and what exactly is their cultural and historical value today.

This Friday evening (18 February, 2011) she will talk at the India International Centre, New Delhi on The Enigma of The Delhi Jantar Mantar. The lecture addresses one of the world’s most unusual and intriguing works of architecture, Jantar Mantar with its little known facets, context, form and function as well as the appropriate ways in which it should be conserved. Arising out of her association with the ‘Jantar Mantar Project’, and extensive research for her recently published book Jantar Mantar, the talk aims to bring authentic information into the public domain about this historic Observatory. In addition to clarifying the context, form and function of the Jantar Mantar, and its transformation into ‘an archaeological monument’, the talk will also address the appropriate ways in which the Delhi Jantar Mantar should beconserved to ensure its continued existence in the physical and cultural landscape of India and the world.

Anisha Mukherji, a trained architect with a specialisation in conservation, has a particular interest in the research, teaching and application of history. Her earlier published works include The Red Fort of Shahjahanabad (Oxford University Press 2003). The book is widely recognized as one of the most authoritative pieces of research and analysis of the Red Fort and has been an important reference for the case of its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. She is the conservation consultant associated with the formulation and implementation of a conservation strategy for the ‘Jantar Mantar Project’―a partnership venture between the Archaeological Survey of India, the National Culture Fund and The Park Hotels.

Jantar Mantar is in our Architecture section, 222 pages in softcover, Rs 680. ISBN: 9788190359115

A Master of Style

For a book that is simply so well written, it is surprising that Yateendra Joshi's Communicating in Style is not as well known as it deserves to be. Few authors from India can claim an endorsement as genuine as that from John le Carré: A gem. Courteous, unfrightening and essential. A perfect companion to Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage for today's communicators.

Part of the problem, is of course, the unexpected publisher- TERI is known more for their books on environmental issues and energy- but that is where Joshi worked in 2003 when this book was first published.

If you are a researcher, an academic, a journalist, or a manager -- long on technical expertise but short on time -- you will find style manuals daunting and tedious. Yet, you may want to give your message that well-groomed look 'Communicating in style' shows you how you can do that yourself.

The handbook is a handy reference whenever you find yourself looking for answers to questions such as those listed below, which arise routinely in communicating technical information formally.

What should a list such as this use to mark off items: bullet points, numbers, or letters? Where do you cite the source of unpublished data: within the document or at the end, under references? Which font makes it easier to tell apart such similar-looking pairs of characters as a zero (0) and the letter 'o', the numeral one (1) and the letter 'ell' ('l')? When should you distribute handouts, before the presentation or after? How are web pages cited when they are referred to in a document?

The contents of the book have been shaped by -recommendations from the most recent editions of established style guides -comprehensive searches of the World Wide Web -extensive field-testing of earlier drafts -more than a decade's experience in technical publishing.

The main text consisting of explanations, suggestions, and descriptions is amply supported by 90 examples and nearly 150 quotes (from both printed sources and web pages) as well as references, figures, and useful resources (websites, software, and templates). Separate chapters are devoted to different forms of text such as headings, lists of bullet points, abbreviations, tables, illustrations, references, presentations, posters, and punctuation. Useful annexes cover such matters as observing and using fonts, format for postal addresses and telephone numbers, and alternative spellings.

At Rs 300, this 250 page book is a bargain. And it will save you from stylistic disasters. Again and again... ISBN: 9788179930168

LLD

In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.... but with the approach of autumn the fancy grows graver, but still thinks along these lines.

D P Chattopadhyaya, Padma Vibhushan, who is founder-Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research and who was Chairman of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla has a title out from Pearson, Love, Life and Death. Quite appropriate for Valentine's Day!

The mysteries of love, life and death claim the perennial fascination of the human mind. Religious and secular thinkers throughout history have grappled with shifting notions about these human experiences. But since our modes of enquiry, the language we employ and our conventions of reasoning keep us bound to specific patterns of thought, we continue to be alienated from each other—individually, communally and civilizationally. 



In this book eminent philosopher and scholar D P Chattopadhyaya asks anew the fundamental question: What is it to live, love and die? Exploring the lives, writings and actions of some of the world’s most influential poets, philosophers and scientists—from Copernicus to Keats and from Sankara to Aurobindo—he wades through the stream of human consciousness and encounters traces of cultural universals.

In our Philosophy section, in paperback, 220 pages, Rs 450. ISBN: 
9788131726693

Oral Art History

Yashodhara Dalmia has built a formidable reputation as curator and art historian. And in her latest book, from Oxford University Press, Journeys, she tells of the evolution of Four Generations of Indian Artists in their own words. This magnificent 588 page, two volume offering give a unique perspective into the development of modern Indian art, told, as it were, by the artists themselves.

Through conversations with 30 artists from four generations, Yashodhara Dalmia maps the social, cultural and historical matrix of art and art creation in Indian spread over the last 60 years. Spanning four generations of diverse art practices, the two volumes chronicle the journey of Indian art -- from the initial years of art creation as it took root in a newly independent country, through the struggle of modern Indian art to establish itself in the face of conservative Indian sensibilities, to the digitalization of art in recent times. Accompanied by more than 200 illustrations of art works, in these freewheeling interactions -- spread over the last two decades -- the artists talk about their ideas and experiences, work processes, and their relationships with each other and with society at large. As the artists dwell on critical issues to do with the social perception of art, influences in Indian art, traditional versus modern sensibilities and dislocations and convergences, they open windows to the historic perambulations of the layered journey of modern and contemporary Indian art. Affording rare glimpses into the creative worlds of artists who changed the course of modern and contemporary Indian art, this two-volume set will be a collector’s delight.

In our Art History section, Rs 5950 in hardcover, ISBN: 9780198073192

Report Regained

... a rarely found document," said the Indian Express in 2000, of The Report of the Shah Commission of Inquiry, which, as Katherine Frank, Indira Gandhi's biographer said "Despite its serious shortcomings, the Shah Commission Report survives as a treasure trove of evidence for Sanjay Gandhi's illicit power in the period leading up to and during the Emergency...It is not surprising that Indira Gandhi had all the copies of the Report withdrawn as soon as she regained power in 1980."

Well, that changes now. Aazhi, a publisher (mainly in Tamil) based in Chennai, has brought out the full transcript of the Shah Commission Report, edited and compiled by former Parliamentarian Era Sezhiyan.

To investigate the widespread misuse and abuse of power during the imposition of double emergencies, external and internal, in 1975-77, the Janata Government headed by Morarji Desai appointed in May 1978 the Commission of Inquiry under Justice of Supreme Court.

Justice Shah investigated enormous number of cases and voluminous evidences from the former Ministers and Officials and submitted by August 1978 his Report. Due to internecine quarrel and split in the Party, the Morarji government fell in August 1978. On her return to power in 1980, Indira Gandhi is reported, by her own sympathetic biographers, to have arranged to seize all copies of the Shah Commission Report and destroyed them, to the extent that prominent web-sites, journalists and scholars have come to conclude that 'not a single copy of Shah Commission Report exists in India'.

A precious historical and political document cannot die and should not be allowed to be 'buried' and hidden, from the public, particularly of India.

Era Sezhiyan, as a Member Parliament during the three Emergencies from 1962 to 1977, came forward to compile and edit to present the full text of the Shah Commission Report with an introduction analysing the Constitutional Provisions and Judicial views relating to the proclamation of Emergency and the working of the then Government in violation of several democratic norms and rule of law.

In our Politics and Law sections, 640 pages, Rs 950. ISBN: 9789380244075

My brother... Nikhil

Yoda Press publishes the screenplay of the unusual Indian movie, My Brother Nikhil by Onir Anirban.

Set between 1989 and 1994, the film traces the life of Nikhil Kapoor: the state all-round swimming champion. A committed sportsman, Nikhil’s life changes radically when he finds out that he is HIV-positive. Even as he faces harassment from authorities and heartbreaking rejection from his parents, the only two people who stand by him in his fight for justice, life, love and dignity are his sister Anamika and his boyfriend Nigel. Published for the first time, the screenplay of this powerful yet poignant film, brings Nikhil’s story back for its fans with the same intensity as the motion picture. The text of the film is supported by behind-the-scenes visuals and stills from the film, as well as testimonials from the cast and crew about how this film changed them in small but critical ways.

In our Film and Gender sections, in paperback, 136 pages, Rs 350. ISBN: 9789380403014

Archaeologists in Space

Readers of this blog might recall a post we did some years ago on David Kennedy, the aerial archaeologist who works in the Jordan. David's book Ancient Jordan from the Air is on the SwB website.

And today's Hindustan Times carried a small news item, Massive archaeological trove found via Google Earth on David. This is excerpted from a longer article that appeared in the New Scientist magazine (who have, incidentally and regrettably, stopped publishing their Indian edition) by Wendy Zukerman.

David has basically taken his expertise to an even higher plane. Instead of flying around the countryside looking like a latter-day Indiana Jones, he has been scanning Google Earth... More sedate, but it allows him to go where few archaeologists have gone before. For instance, the Rub' al Khali, which he can explore in the air-conditioned comfort of his office in Perth, Australia. Speaking to Zuckerman, he said he scanned about 1240 square kilometres in Saudi Arabia using Google Earth. From their birds-eye view he found 1,977 potential archaeological sites, including 1,082 "pendants" -- ancient tear-drop shaped tombs made of stone.

If one can discern so much in so empty a spot as the Saudi desert, there should be a quite a bit for the picking if one were to carefully scan India from up there...

Persistence Resistance Mark IV

The 4th edition of Persistence Resistance, the wonderful documentary event organised by the Magic Lantern Foundation in various cities (of India and the world) is titled Edge of Visual Narrative. The festival, which aims to create a cinema space that celebrates the diverse nature of films today will screen more than 80 films, many of which are distributed by Under Construction Films in a multitude of viewing spaces.

Next week, from 7 to 10 February 2011 at the India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, the festival is Free and open to all. Check out their website http://persistenceresistance.in

The festival will be inaugurated on 8 February, 10 am with the release of Shohini Ghosh's book 'Fire.' Apart from Retrospectives of: Rahul Roy, Kim Longinotto and Arun Khopkar, there is a huge variety on offer at PRIV. One film that we are particularly looking forward to is (the premiere of) Paromita Vohra's Partners in Crime.

There is a Facebook event page and a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/persistenceresistance

Do make it to the festival!