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Tuesday 24 February 2015

Me Hijra, Me Laxmi : Autobiography of Laxminarayan Tripathi, a hijra isbn 9780199458264

Laxmi (Author)
P.G. Joshi & R. Raj Rao (Tr.)
2015, Paperback, pp. 264, isbn 9780199458264
Price Rs. 445.00, US$ 8.24
Buy this book online at www.easternbookcorporation.com

About the book :
 He was born a boy, but never felt like one. What was he then?
He felt attracted to boys. What did this make him?
He loved to dance. But why did others make fun of him?

Battling such emotional turmoil from a very young age, Laxminarayan Tripathi, born in a high-caste Brahman household, felt confused, trapped, and lonely. Slowly, he began wearing women's clothes. Over time, he became bold and assertive about his real sexual identity. Finally, he found his true self—she was Laxmi, a hijra.

From numerous love affairs to finding solace by dancing in Mumbai's bars; from being taunted as a homo to being the first Indian hijra to attend the World AIDS Conference in Toronto; from mental and physical abuse to finding a life of grace, dignity, and fame, this autobiography is an extraordinary journey of a hijra who fought against tremendous odds for the recognition of hijras and their rights.
 

Friday 20 February 2015

Art, Icon and Architecture in South Asia


Essays in Honour of Dr. Devangana Desai (2 Vols.)
Anila Verghese & Anna L. Dallapiccola (Eds.)
2014, Hardcover, 31 cm., pp. 590, Illus. col. 54, b/w 274, 
Discounted Price : US$ 140.74 or Rs. 7600
To Buy this Book Online Click -  Indian Books Online

 About the Book :
These two volumes of papers by a galaxy of scholars are a tribute to the eminent art historian Dr. Devangana Desai, who has made an invaluable contribution in the field of Indian art, iconology and architecture. The thirty-seven thematic essays in Art, Icon and Architecture in South Asia include many by senior and very illustrious scholars as well as some by younger researchers who are now making their mark. 

Contents :
VOLUME I : Foreword — M.A. Dhaky, Preface and Acknowledgements, List of Illustrations Contributors; BUDDHIST MONUMENTS AND ICONS: 1. The Ashokan Stupa at Sopara — M.K. Dhavalikar, 2. Romancing the Silk Road: Gandharan Art from the Hirayama Collection, Japan — Pratapaditya Pal, 3. Kanganhalli (Sannati) and the Amaravati School: Some Observations — Elizabeth Rosen Stone, 4. Miracle of Shravasti Depicted in the Art of Kanheri and Kondivate — Suraj A. Pandit, ICONOGRAPHY, NARRATIVE SCULPTURE AND IMAGES : 5. Mathura’s ‘Personality’ and the Development of Narrative Art, — Doris Meth Srinivasan, 6. Varaheshvara from Bezeklik — Devendra Handa, 7. A Terracotta Vishnu from Rajghat in the Metropolitan Museum of Art — Amy G. Poster, 8. The Position of Matrika Varahi in Vaishnavism — Haripriya Rangarajan, 9. How Come Sarasvati is a Consort of Vishnu in Eastern India? — Gouriswar Bhattacharya, 10. Hitherto Unrecorded Dashavatara Stone Panels at Gaya and Related Sculptures from South Bihar — Gerd J.R. Mevissen, 11. The Woman and Dwarf Motif in Western Indian Sculpture — Gauri Parimoo Krishnan, 12. In the Gaze of the Guru: Shikshadana Scenes at Khajuraho, — Tamara I. Sears, 13. Challenging Cosmic Order: Ravana’s Encounters with Shiva at Belur and Halebidu, — Parul Pandya Dhar, 14. Gopika Vastrapaharana Sculptures of Kerala — Preeta Nayar, 15. Narratives in Stone: The Ramayana in Early Sculptures - Himanshu Prabha Ray, 16. Jaina Cave Temples: Patrons, Images and Legends, with Special Reference to Dharashiv and Ellora — A.P. Jamkhedkar, 17. Jaina Episodic Panels, with Special Reference to the Jabareshvara Temple at Phaltan — Kumud Kanitkar, 18. The Kali Yantra: The Changing Iconography of Goddess Dakshina Kali in Bengal — Madhu Khanna, 19. Astronomy, Iconography and Calligraphy: The Constellation Figures on Ziauddin Muhammad’s Celestial Globe of 1653-54 CE — Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma, 20. Temple Sculpture in Colonial Madurai: The Reconsecration of the Minakshi- Sundareshvara Temple in the 1870s — Crispin Branfoot, 21. Folk Bronzes of the Dang Region: An Ethnological Study — Shridhar Andhare; 

VOLUME II MONUMENTS (ARCHITECTURE): 22. The Mandasor Silk Weavers’ Inscription of 437 CE and Temples of the Aulikaras, — K.L. Mankodi, 23. Pipad (Pipar) and the Transmission of Architectural Knowledge — Michael W. Meister, 24. Ashapuri: Resurrecting a Medieval Temple Site — Adam Hardy, 25. Revelation in Rock: Thal — Nachiket Chanchani, 26. Kadwaha Temples — Arvind K. Singh, 27. Enigmatic Mathas (Monasteries) and Madha (Temple) Remains from Panna in Central India — Amrendra K. Singh, 28. Three Little Known Water Structures of Gujarat — Snehal Shah, 29. ‘Meru’ as Symbolised in the Vidyashankara Temple, Sringeri — Purnima Srikrishna, 30. Udumbara: The Threshold at the Entrance of a Temple—Origin, Meaning and the Aesthetics of a Liminal Space — Jutta Jain-Neubauer; PAINTING : 31. Rajaraja Worshipping at Chidambaram: The Earliest Identifiable Royal Portrait in Indian Painting — George Michell, 32. The Saptarishis, in the Eyes of a Painter — B.N. Goswamy, 33. Ramayana Murals in the Vasanta Mandapa at Kallalagar Temple, Alagar Koyil — Anna L. Dallapiccola, 34. King and Courtly Life as Depicted in the Murals in Ramalinga Vilasam, Ramanathapuram — Anila Verghese, GENERAL THEMES : 35. From Mriganayani to Gajagamini: A Celebration of Indian Womanhood — Harsha V. Dehejia, 36. Rasa as Reflected in Stone Sculptures — Kamal Giri, 37. Interpretation and the Leap from Iconography to Iconology — Ratan Parimoo 

Thursday 19 February 2015

Late Temple Architecture in India

 

Continuities, Revivals, Appropriations, and Innovations

by George Michell
2015, Hardcover, 25 cm., pp. 352, US$ 25.83 / Rs. 1395 (shipping extra)
 

About the Book :

From the fifteenth century on, after a period of widespread destruction and demolition, India witnessed a resumption of temple patronage and building activity. These 'late' temples, however, are usually overlooked by architectural and art historians, who tend to privilege the earlier phases of Indian architecture and art, the prevailing assumption being that India's 'late' temples are unworthy of serious attention. As illustrated in this volume, nothing could be further from the truth. Accompanied by maps, photographs, as well as a selection of building plans, this book is the first wide-ranging account of temple architecture in the 500-year period that coincides with the rule of the sultanates, the Mughals, and the British. Through a meticulous study of over 300 temples from 17 geographical zones, this book shows that, as far as temple architecture is concerned, these years were remarkably creative and vibrant. The temples built during this period display a startling diversity of forms, structural techniques, and aesthetic qualities. Rather than characterizing the appearance of domes, vaults, pointed arches, and other such 'borrowings' as inappropriately 'Christian' or 'Islamic', this volume attempts to understand how such attributes came to be integrated into a Hindu and Jain religious context.
 
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