Best of
India

2001

Five Past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster


Dominique Lapierre - 2001
    In the ancient city of Bhopal, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from an American pesticide plant, killing and injuring thousands of people.

The Best of Satyajit Ray


Satyajit Ray - 2001
    This collection features four new stories, translated specially for this volume. It also contains all eight stories that Satyajit Ray translated himself into English.

The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies


Thomas McEvilley - 2001
    This groundbreaking reference will stir relentless debate among philosophers, art historians, and students.

Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi


Katherine Frank - 2001
    She died as she had lived, surrounded by men, yet isolated. It was a violent end to a life of epic drama. Here is the first popular biography of one of the world's most influential leaders, India's third prime minister. Brought up during an era that saw the rise of Indian nationalism, Indira was raised to be what her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, called "a child of revolution" - destined to play a political role in the creation and governing of an independent India. Despite her early reluctance to embrace this role, Indira eventually presided over a huge, complex, religiously riven, and male-dominated country. She was born to a wealthy, westernized family, but she had a gift for connecting with the poor of the countryside and the urban slums, the illiterate, the dispossessed - so much so that "Indira is India" became a familiar slogan. Throughout childhood, love, marriage, imprisonment, motherhood, and a sequence of personal and family tragedies, her personal hopes and desires were continually subsumed by the historical and political imperatives of her country. In this beautifully written book, the acclaimed biographer Katherine Frank draws on unpublished sources and more than a hundred interviews to create a rich, balanced portrait. INDIRA captures in full color the personal and political fate of the leader of the world's largest democracy - the woman who played a dominant role in the history of the twentieth century and who, when it ended, was voted Woman of the Millennium by the BBC.

Decolonizing The Hindu Mind: Ideological Development Of Hindu Revivalism


Koenraad Elst - 2001
    The ideological dimension of the Hindu revivalism has been mostly misrepresented or rather neglected in the ongoing debates on the subject.Thoroughly analysing the ideological statements of it's advocates and their critiques of the existing secular order Dr.Koenraad Elst provides an overview of the ideas animating the movement.A period of rapid political changes that witnessed the rise of the BJP with only 21 Lok Sabha seats in 1984 to have 179 seats that enabled it to form a coalition government at the Centre in 1998 is the focus of the study.Amidst the umpteen number of works available on Hindu revivalism,this work stands out with it's clear focus and clarity of thought.

The World of Premchand: Selected Short Stories


Munshi Premchand - 2001
    The selection reveals the wide range of Premchand's genius and the scope of his appeal. While most of the stories are woven against a rural backdrop, some also demonstrate an urban sensibility.

Lifting the Veil: Selected Writings of Ismat Chughtai


Ismat Chughtai - 2001
    She wrote about the world that she knew, bringing the idiom of the middle class to Urdu prose, and totally transformed the complexion of Urdu fiction. Lifting the Veil brings together Ismat Chughtai's fiction and non-fiction writing. The twenty-one pieces in this selection are Chughtai at her best, marked by her brilliant turn of phrase, scintillating dialogue and wry humor, her characteristic irreverence, wit and eye for detail.

The Algebra of Infinite Justice


Arundhati Roy - 2001
    And I write to mourn its passing." The essay, as have all its successors, attracted worldwide attention, debate and acclaim. In the years since, the essays she has published in magazines and newspapers worldwide have reinforced an impression of a writer in the modern world prepared to use her fame and gifts in the cause of the voiceless and the overlooked. Those essays are gathered together here. Carefully revealed and closely argued, they demand to be read and discussed; they dispute, they challenge, they provoke and they uplift.

Why I Killed the Mahatma- Uncovering Godse's Defence


Koenraad Elst - 2001
    Lesser known is assassin Nathuram Godse’s motive. Until now, no publication has dealt with this question, except for the naked text of Godse’s own defence speech during his trial. It didn’t save him from the hangman, but still contains substantive arguments against the facile glorification of the Mahatma.Dr Koenraad Elst compares Godse’s case against Gandhi with criticisms voiced in wider circles, and with historical data known at the time or brought to light since. While the Mahatma was extolled by the Hindu masses, political leaders of divergent persuasions who had had dealings with him were less enthusiastic. Their sobering views would have become the received wisdom about the Mahatma if he hadn’t been martyred. Yet, the author also presents some new considerations in Gandhi’s defence from unexpected quarters.

Sacred Waters: A Pilgrimage up the Ganges River to the Source of Hindu Culture


Stephen Alter - 2001
    The destination is the source of the Ganges, the holy and most famous of Indian rivers. It is a physical journey, involving train rides across the vast plains and passages on foot far into snow-covered valleys and mountains. It is also a spiritual journey, taking a man deep into the heart and soul of the ancient religious culture of India.Stephen Alter, who was born in the Himalayan foothills, crosses many miles, and several millennia, to search for the source of Indian religion. Along the way, as he reaches one holy spot after another, meeting grounds for pilgrims, remote towns, and forgotten temples, he delves into the myths and traditions of an antique land. He explores the tales of heroic derring-do, evil and good, and recounts the great stories of death, warfare, passions, and sacred wisdom that animate the vibrant history and religious traditions of India. As every pilgrim learns, a spiritual search involves travel but ultimately returns to the inner self. Sacred Waters is a richly told narrative of a beautiful land and of a man's interior journey, and is for readers everywhere who seek to plumb their own spiritual sources.

The Sikhs


Patwant Singh - 2001
    The Sikhs defied the caste system; rejected the authority of Hindu priests; forbade magic and idolatry; and promoted the equality of men and women -- beliefs that incurred the wrath of both Hindus and Muslims. In the centuries that followed, three of Nanak's nine successors met violent ends, and his people continued to battle hostile regimes. The conflict has raged into our own time: in 1984 the Golden Temple of Amritsar -- the holy shrine of the Sikhs--was destroyed by the Indian Army. In retaliation, Sikh bodyguards assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.Now, Patwant Singh gives us the compelling story of the Sikhs -- their origins, traditions and beliefs, and more recent history. He shows how a movement based on tenets of compassion and humaneness transformed itself, of necessity, into a community that values bravery and military prowess as well as spirituality. We learn how Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Guru, welded the Sikhs into a brotherhood, with each man bearing the surname Singh, or "Lion," and abiding by a distinctive code of dress and conduct. He tells of Banda the Brave's daring conquests, which sowed the seeds of a Sikh state, and how the enlightened ruler Ranjit Singh fulfilled this promise by founding a Sikh empire.The author examines how, through the centuries, the Sikh soldier became an exemplar of discipline and courage and explains how Sikhs -- now numbering nearly 20 million worldwide -- have come to be known for their commitment to education, their business acumen, and their enterprising spirit. Finally, Singh concludes that it would be a grave error to alienate an energetic and vital community like the Sikhs if modern India is to realize its full potential. He urges India's leaders to learn from the past and to "honour the social contract with Indians of every background and persuasion."From the Hardcover edition.

Secular Common Sense


Mukul Kesavan - 2001
    Passionate, accessible and opinionated, these reflections from some of India's best minds will help to make better sense of the public debate on these issues while, hopefully, provoking us to respond to the challenges they present. In this essay, Mukul Kesavan argues that secularism is and always has been the political common sense of the Republic. The other titles in the series are: Roots of Terrorism by Kanti Bajpai (Publishing Date: October 2002) Language as an Ethic by Vijay Nambisan (Publishing Date: August 2003) The Burden of Democracy by Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Publishing Date: August 2003)

Symbolism Of Hindu Gods & Rituals


A. Parthasarathy - 2001
    

The Essence Of Yoga


Osho - 2001
    A blend of ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge, questions and answers on nature of life, useful guide to Hinduism and spiritualism.

Kali the Mother


Sister Nivedita - 2001
    Noble was an Irish woman who was converted to Hinduism by the noted Indian Guru Vivekananda during the Victorian era. Under the name Sister Nivedita she devoted her life to selflessly serving the poor of India, particularly women, in Calcutta, providing education and medical care. This is a short book of essays which she wrote dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali. Also at this site by Sister Nivedita are Studies from an Eastern Home, and The Web of Indian Life." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)Table of Contents: Publisher's Preface; Concerning Symbols; The vision Of Siva; Two Saints Of Kali; The Voice Of The Mother; A visit To Dukineshwar; An Intercession; The Story Of Kali; Kali The MotherAbout the Publisher: Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.orgForgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.

Ji Mantriji


Aloka Tomara - 2001
    Kaul, Suryaprakash's Private Secretary. Based on the television series Ji Mantriji, an adaptation of the immensely popular 'Yes Minister' books, this is a sharply perceptive glimpse into the farcical world of Indian politics, and the bureaucratic red tape that appears to hold it together.

Supreme But Not Infallible: Essays In Honour Of The Supreme Court Of India


B.N. Kirpal - 2001
    It includes essays by eminent jurists, legal academics, and journalists who evaluate the workings of this highly esteemed institution.

Writerly Life


R.K. Narayan - 2001
    K. Narayan is at his poignant best in The Writerly Life. Unlike his other books, this is not a fiction but a kind of memoir about his journey through the USA. The book is essentially a collection of essays and adaptations from his diary, which has also been published as My Dateless Diary. The Writerly Life opens a window into the real world of R. K. Narayan describing his meetings with famous people and his experiences while writing The Guide. It is rare that we get a chance to actually look into the life of a writer and his thoughts about writing in such a clear and engaging manner.

Floyd's India


Keith Floyd - 2001
    In the series, Keith Floyd turns his attention to the remarkable continent of India, traveling throughout the country, comparing and contrasting the different food styles. The book depicts his journey from the green hill stations in the north of the country, through the bustling markets of Delhi, Calcutta and Madras, to the lush rice fields of the south. He cools off in the sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean and takes tiffin with sari-clad memsahibs. He uses the local specialities - the spices, mustard greens, dals, ghee, lotus seeds, almonds, and paneer - to create pasandas, kormas, koftas, bhajiyas, and all manner of spicy curries. Throughout his travels, Floyd meets the local people, shops in local markets and cooks according to local customs.

Remembering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India


Gyanendra Pandey - 2001
    In the process, the author provides a critique of history-writing and nationalist myth-making. He also investigates how local forms of community are established by the way in which violent events are remembered and written about. The book will be of interest to historians of South Asia, to sociologists and to anyone concerned with the Indian subaltern story.

The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier that Divided a People


Roy Moxham - 2001
    There Roy Moxham buys the memoir of a nineteenth-century British colonial administrative officer, who makes a passing reference to a giant hedge planted by the British across the Indian subcontinent. That hedge—which for fifty years had been manned and cared for by 12,000 men and had run a length of 2,500 miles—becomes what Moxham calls his "ridiculous obsession." Recounting a journey that takes him to exotic isolated villages deep in the interior of India, Moxham chronicles his efforts to confirm the existence of the extraordinary, impenetrable green wall that had virtually disappeared from two nations' memories. Not only does he discover the shameful role the hedge played in the exploitative Raj and the famines of the late nineteenth century, but he also uncovers what remains of this British grand folly and restores to history what must be counted one of the world's wonders—and a monument to one of the great injustices of Victorian imperialism. "Grandly entertaining ... close to being a perfect story of a fanciful quest."—Boston Globe

Sari Caste


Catherine Kirby - 2001
     Manasa is abandoned by the man she should marry. He marries her sister instead. Meanwhile Manasa finds herself pregnant with his child. She flees her Bengali village wondering where to go. Eventually, she finds herself wandering the streets of Calcutta. Without money or food, life is a daily struggle. Finally, she is taken on by a brothel. She is desperately unhappy until she meets a different sort of man. This man she marries in secret and together they plan her escape from the brothel. Murder, corruption, and intrigue threaten to swallow up the new life they attempt to establish in the beautiful hill country of Darjeeling.

Gandhi


Demi - 2001
    An adamant idealist and a courageous thinker, Gandhi identified himself with the struggles of the common people. He became the sole voice of the downtrodden and the exploited and believed fervently in the notion that "hatred can only be overcome by love." He vowed to instigate social and political change through nonviolent means and succeeded in changing India's prejudicial caste system and winning India's independence from British rule.Gandhi's teachings inspired Martin Luther King's nonviolent civil rights movement in the United States and Nelson Mandela's anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Gandhi's philosophies of nonviolence and peaceful protest continue to inspire people around the world.In beautiful language and exquisite illustrations inspired by Gandhi's own belief in the simplicity and truth of life, Demi captures the spirit that was Mahatma Gandhi and pays homage to this great man.

My people uprooted


Tathagata Roy - 2001
    Gives An Overview Of Bengal Society And Hindu-Muslim Relations In Bengal From The First Partition Of The Province In 1905 - Traces The Events Leading To The Partition Of The Province In 1947 - Describes The Persecution And The Exodus Of The Hindus From East Bengal In Different Phases - Analyses The Course Of Events Why Hindus Could Not Resist - Why There Was No Recipocal Movement As In Punjab - Why Bengali Hindus Swallowed The Insult And Ignonminy And Why Interested Quarters Sought To Obliterate This Sad Chapter Of History .

The Rtusamhara of Kalidasa


Kālidāsa - 2001
    The joy in the rainy season is described by the dance of the peacocks, clouds, blossoming flowers, pain of seperation, etc.

Who Is A Hindu?: Hindu Revivalist Views Of Animism, Buddhism, Sikhism, And Other Offshoots Of Hinduism


Koenraad Elst - 2001
    thesis, updated and adapted for general publication. It can best be read in conjunction with the main part of the thesis, now in print under the title *Decolonizing the Hindu Mind*.The author thanks Mrs. Yamini Liu, Mr. Gopi Maliwal, Mr. Krishan Bhatnagar, Mr. Pradeep Goel, Mr. Satinder Trehan, Dr. Tushar Ravuri and Mr. Vishal Agarwal, as well as the late Prof. Kedar Nath Mishra. Corrections and other feedback are welcomed.

Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal


Rachel Fell McDermott - 2001
    These poems--many of which are presented here for the first time in English translation--were written from the early eighteenth century up to the contemporary period. They representthe unique Bengali tradition of goddess worship (Saktism) as it developed over this period. Included are forty poems by the most famous of all Sakta poets, Ramprasad Sen (c.1718-1775) and ten lyrics by the renowned 20th-century poet Kaji Najrul Islam. McDermott's lucid introduction places theseworks in their historical context and shows how images of the goddesses evolved over the centuries. Her lively translations of these poetic lyrics evoke the passion and devotion of the followers of Kali and Uma and shed light on the history and practice of goddess worship.

Myself Mona Ahmed


Dayanita Singh - 2001
    I felt very happy to meet them and very comfortable for the first time in my life. They were singing and dancing very well. After one week they invited me to stay in their house with them." "Myself Mona Ahmed" is the first book by New Delhi-based photographer Dayanita Singh. It is the story of eunuch Mona Ahmed whom Singh met and began photographing more than ten years ago. Mona Ahmed is a member of a secret community that normally does not permit access to outsiders. We follow the daily life and the rituals of the eunuchs, are invited to their parties and ceremonies, and learn about prejudice and the reality of a eunuch's life. We witness the story of Mona's castration and the loss of her adopted child. Mona is a member of the real third gender. She is a very sensitive person, as her moving e-mails to the publisher of Scalo show. To preserve Mona's own voice, and to give her the power of expressing herself, these emails are published in their original form, with as little editing as possible. 120 duotones. 7 x 8 in.

An Ideal Boy: Charts from India


Sirish Rao - 2001
    Covering every imaginable subject these charts are found throughout India. Intended primarily as educational material, they also act as guides to morality and correct social behaviour and offer marvellous cautionary tales. Wonderfully unclassifiable, echoing naive art and kitsch, Ideal Boy presents an hilariously random carnival of information.

The Trial of Bhagat Singh: Politics of Justice


Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani - 2001
    This was the culmination of the Lahore Conspiracy Case, one of the most controversial, not to say notorious, trials to take place in India under the Raj. In this book A.G.Noorani argues that Singh and his comrades were the victims of a travesty of justice that amounted to nothing short of judicial murder. With a lawyer's insight, Noorani chronicles the miscarriages of justice by which Bhagat Singh was brought to the gallows.

Queering India: Same-Sex Love and Eroticism in Indian Culture and Society


Ruth Vanita - 2001
    The essays focus on pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial gay and lesbian life in India to provide a comprehensive look at a much neglected topic. The topics are wide-ranging, considering film, literature, popular culture, historical and religious texts, law and other aspects of life in India. Specifically, the essays cover such issues as Deepa Mehta's recent and controversial film, Fire, which focused on lesbian relationships in India; the Indian penal code which outlaws homosexual acts; a case of same-sex love and murder in colonial India; homophobic fiction and homoerotic advertising in current day India; and lesbian subtext in Hindu scripture. All of the essays are original to the collection. Queering India promises to change the way we understand India as well as gay and lesbian life and sexuality around the world.

The Jamaat Tableegh and the Deobandis: A Critical Analysis of their Beliefs, Books and Dawah


Sajid Abdul-Kayum - 2001
    This book highlights the errors of the Jamaat Tableegh and the Deobandis based purely upon quotations from their books, especially those referred to, by the common readers like, the Fazaail-e-Aamaal.

The Vintage Book of Modern Indian Literature


Amit Chaudhuri - 2001
    Now this extravagant and wonderfully discerning anthology unfurls the full diversity of Indian literature from the 1850s to the present, presenting today’s brightest talents in the company of their distinguished forbearers and likely heirs. The thirty-eight authors collected by novelist Amit Chaudhuri write not only in English but also in Hindi, Bengali, and Urdu. They include Rabindranath Tagore, arguably the first international literary celebrity, chronicling the wistful relationship between a village postal inspector and a servant girl, and Bibhuti Bhushan Banerjee, represented by an excerpt from his classic novel about an impoverished Bengali childhood, Pather Panchali. Here, too, are selections from Nirad C. Chaudhuri’s Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, R. K. Narayan’s The English Teacher, and Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children alongside a high-spirited nonsense tale, a drily funny account of a pre-Partition Muslim girlhood, and a Bombay policier as gripping as anything by Ed McBain. Never before has so much of the subcontinent’s writing been made available in a single volume.

Buddha and his dhamma: two lectures on Buddhism


Bhikkhu Bodhi - 2001
    

My Friend, My Enemy


Ismat Chughtai - 2001
    This selection from her prose writing comprises autobiographical essays, literary criticism and pen portraits of her well-known contemporaries. The collection aims to make an important contribution to the social fabric of her life and times. Section One includes essays like "Communal Violence and Literature"; "Where Should We Go?"; "A Word"; "Heroine"; and "From Bombay to Bhopal". Section Two contains excerpts from "The Lihaaf Trial", where Chughtai had to answer to charges of obscenity; "From Here to There", which is an account of her journey from India to Pakistan after Partition; "The Caravan's Dust"; and other pieces. Her lively personality sketches of writers like Patras Bokhari, Manto and Krishan Chander, and of her brother, Azim Beg Chughtai who was her first teacher and mentor, form part of Section Three.

Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation: Community, Religion, and Cultural Nationalism


Tanika Sarkar - 2001
    She explores the proto-nationalist novels of Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya as well as scandal literature, rumors, women's memoirs, and the popular press of colonial times for the "subaltern" ideas that have shaped contemporary India. Sarkar also examines the way earlier Indian religious traditions of saintliness, sacrifice, heroism, and warfare are being subverted or transformed by militant and fundamentalist forms of Hinduism.

Treasury of the World: Jeweled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals


Manuel Keene - 2001
    The pieces range from rings, necklaces, and other body ornaments to astonishingly detailed jeweled work on objects as diverse as boxes, flasks, bowls, and daggers. They are presented and analyzed here in themes ranging from creative variations in stone settings, precious-metal inlay in hardstones, and minutely detailed relief decoration in hammered metals to engraved gold-backed jewels, enameling, gold-embellished steel, relief-carved ornament, and inscribed royal gemstones. The result is a visual feast of almost unbelievable richness, gathered together in this book for the first time.

The Rig Veda And The History Of India: Rig Veda Bharata Itihasa


David Frawley - 2001
    

Protracted Contest: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century


John W. Garver - 2001
    Garver offers a scrupulous examination of the two countries' actions and policy decisions over the past fifty years. He has interviewed many of the key figures who have shaped their diplomatic history and has combed through the public and private statements made by officials, as well as the extensive record of government documents and media reports. He presents a thorough and compelling account of the rivalry between these powerful neighbors and its influence on the region and the larger world.

Middle India: Selected Short Stories


Bhisham Sahni - 2001
    In these tightly told tales, he explores with precision of thought and expression the humanity of individuals and their places in society. The collection includes some of Sahni's best known stories: 'Dinner for the Boss', a tragi-comic tale of a man trying to please his employer and a mother's attempt to please her son; 'Paali', the drama of a young boy shared between a Muslim and a Hindu family during Partition; and 'Sparrow', a story of love and loss in a marriage. Among the other stories in this anthology are popular favourites like 'Veero', 'The Witch', 'Before Dying', 'Radha-Anuradha' and 'Salma Aapa'. The author, Bhisham Sahni, is a well known novelist and was recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Tamas in 1976. He lives in New Delhi.

Beast and Man in India A Popular Sketch of Indian Animals in their Relations with the People


John Lockwood Kipling - 2001
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

History of Hindu Mathematics


Bibhutibhushan Datta - 2001
    I: I. Numeral notation: 1. A glimpse of ancient India. 2. Hindus and mathematics. 3. Scope and development of Hindu mathematics. 4. Numeral terminology. 5. The development of numerical symbolism. 6. Kharosthi numerals. 7. Brahmi numerals. 8. The decimal place-value system. 9. Persistence of the old system. 10. World numerals. 11. Alphabetic notations. 12. The zero symbol. 13. The place-value notation in Hindu literature. 14. Date of invention of the place-value notation. 15. Hindu numerals in Arabia. 16. Hindu numerals in Europe. 17. Miscellaneous references to the Hindu numerals. 18. Tables. II. Arithmetic: 1. General survey. 2. Addition. 3. Subtraction. 4. Multiplication. 5. Division. 6. Square. 7. Cube. 8. Square-root. 9. Cube-root. 10. Checks on operations. 11. Fractions. 12. The rule of three. 13. Commercial problems. 14. Miscellaneous problems. 15. The mathematics of zero. Bibliography. Index.Vol. II: III. Algebra: 1. General features. 2. Technical terms. 3. Symbols. 4. Laws and signs. 5. Fundamental operations. 6. Equations. 7. Linear equations in one unknown. 8. Linear equations with two unknowns. 9. Linear equations with several unknowns. 10. Quadratic equations. 11. Equations of higher degrees. 12. Simultaneous quadratic equations. 13. Indeterminate equations of the first degree. 14. One linear equation in more than two unknowns. 15. Simultaneous indeterminate equations of the first degree. 16. Solution of Nx+1=y. 17. Cyclic method. 18. Solution of Nxc=y. 19. General indeterminate equations of the second degree: single equations. 20. Rational triangles. 21. Rational quadrilaterals. 22. Single indeterminate equations of higher degrees. 23. Linear functions made squares or cubes. 24. Double equations of the first degree. 25. Double equations of the second degree. 26. Double equations of higher degrees. 27. Multiple equations. 28. Solutions of axy=bx+cy+d. Index. "This book at present to historians of mathematics regarding achievements of the early Hindu mathematicians and our indebtedness to them. Our object in writing the present book has been to make up for this deficiency by giving a comprehensive account of the growth and development of the science of mathematics in India from the earliest known times down to the seventeenth century of the Christian era. It has been decided to publish the book in two vols. The first vol. deals with the history of the numeral notations and of arithmetic. The second vol. is devoted to algebra, a science in which the ancient Hindus made remarkable progress.

Rethinking the Mahabharata: A Reader's Guide to the Education of the Dharma King


Alf Hiltebeitel - 2001
    Its intricacies have waylaid generations of scholars and ignited dozens of unresolved debates. In Rethinking the Mahabharata, Alf Hiltebeitel offers a unique model for understanding the great epic. Employing a wide range of literary and narrative theory, Hiltebeitel draws on historical and comparative research in an attempt to discern the spirit and techniques behind the epic's composition. He focuses on the education of Yudhisthira, also known as the Dharma King, and shows how the relationship of this figure to others-especially his author-grandfather Vyasa and his wife Draupadi-provides a thread through the bewildering array of frames and stories embedded within stories. Hiltebeitel also offers a revisionist theory regarding the dating and production of the original text and its relation to the Veda. No ordinary reader's guide, this volume will illuminate many mysteries of this enigmatic masterpiece.This work is the fourth volume in Hiltebeitel's study of the Draupadi cult. Other volumes include Mythologies: From Gingee to Kuruksetra (Volume One), On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess (Volume Two), and Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics (Volume Three).

The Escapist


Manoj Das - 2001
    

The Wisdom Of Gandhi


Trudy Settel - 2001
    These books deserve a place on every home bookshelf and in every student's basic library.

Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra


Cynthia Talbot - 2001
    This study challenges older interpretations, arguing that medieval India was actually a time of dynamic change and fluid social identities. Using records of religious endowments from Andhra Pradesh, author Cynthia Talbot reconstructs a regional society of the precolonial past as it existed in practice.

Essays on Islam and Indian History


Richard M. Eaton - 2001
    The former deals with how historians structure and answer the questions they choose to ask of the past, the latter covers case studies of particular historical communities in India.

Lineages of the Present: Ideology and Politics in Contemporary South Asia


Aijaz Ahmad - 2001
    Having announced it possessed the requisite credentials for membership in the nuclear club in 1974, India quickly disavowed any desire to join, pledging not to develop its capability further.. As the Pokhran explosions revealed, that promise would not be kept for ever, and the principal beneficiary of its breaking was now to be a right-wing government seeking to shore up its shaky political base by demonstrating its commitment to the ‘Hindu bomb’.While most in the West were taken unawares by this sudden bellicosity in the land of Ghandi, more scrupulous observers on the South-Asian scene insisted it had a clear history. In this, his first book since the hotly debated In Theory, Aijaz Ahmad untangles many of the intertwined threads of historical and political traditions in a still-too-poorly-understood region of the world.

Curry: Fire and Spice: Over 50 Great Curries from India and Asia


Mridula Baljekar - 2001
    A comprehensive cookery guide that examines the history of curries in India and around the world.

Embroidery from India and Pakistan


Sheila Paine - 2001
    Illustrated in full and in detail, these richly decorated items--costumes and household textiles--will provide designers at all levels with inspiration for new and unexpected ways of using color and pattern in their own work.In her fascinating introduction the author brings the pieces to life by setting them within their social and cultural context, including information ont he protective and talismanic roles of embroidery and the tribal variations in stitch, pattern, and color. In addition, brief commentaries highlight the design features and a technical glossary supports the main text so you can rely on the book for eye-catching patterns as well as refer to it for specific information.

The Coins of the Indian Sultanates: Covering the Area of Present-Day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh


Stan Goron - 2001
    The right of sikka, i.e., the right to strike coins, was one of the two jurdically recognised expressions of the right of the ruler to sovereignty, and it was a right that was jealously guarded.