Cultural Studies (134)

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    The book, a Festschrift volume in honour of Prof. Trichur S. Rukmani, focuses on diverse themes: Patanjali’s Yogasutras, Advaita Vedanta, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Shaivism, grammar and epic literature. It also addresses issues of contemporary relevance relating broadly to non-violence, environment, gender and syncretism.

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    Classical and Contemporary Issues in Indian Studies by: P. Pratap Kumar, Jonathan Duquette, 1,350.00

    This book is a Festschrift volume in honour of Prof. Trichur S. Rukmani that reflects the plethora of issues which she studied in her scholastic life. It includes twenty-four essays by distinguished scholars on various classical and contemporary issues pertaining to Indian studies. While the volume discusses current research in the field of Yoga — Prof. Rukmani’s primary research field — it also invites further reflection on other areas of Indian thought which have attracted her attention in the course of her long and fruitful academic career.
    The volume is divided thematically into six sections. The first two sections deal with the interpretation of the Yoga, Vedanta and Gaudiya-Vaishnava traditions, exploring issues of hermeneutics, methodology and philosophical analysis. The third section addresses issues of continuity within the Indian tradition and includes essays on tantric Shaivism, Mimamsa and the Bhagavad-Gita. The next two sections feature essays on the Sanskrit philosophical discourse, grammar, epic literature and renunciation in the Indian tradition. The last section of the volume takes up issues of contemporary relevance such as the insights from the Hindu tradition towards environmental ethics, the Svadhyaya movement and its dharmic ecology, non-violence, gender, cultural identity as well as syncretism.
    The volume, including essays as diverse as Prof. Trichur S. Rukmani’s own scholarly interests, will certainly benefit all scholars and students of Indology, especially those concerned with the religious and philosophical traditions of India.

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    Two centuries of British rule gave English educated Indians a peculiar mindset that tended to undervalue their native ethos and moorings, and make English culture more attractive. This tendency is called “colonial syndrome”. This book attempts to define and elucidate this syndrome and its ill effects, and suggests means to contain and overcome it.

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    Colonial Syndrome by: K. Ramakrishna Rao 900.00

    Two centuries of British rule crystallized in the minds of English educated Indians a peculiar mindset that tended to undervalue their native ethos and moorings, and make English culture more attractive. This tendency is called the “colonial syndrome”. This syndrome has infected the modern Indian elite, who abandon their cultural roots and imitating the Western ways. This situation has drained them off their intrinsic creative capabilities and rendered them less likely to make any significant original contributions to nation building.
    This book, an outcome of Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao’s work as a National Fellow of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), attempts to define and elucidate this syndrome and its ill effects on the modern Indian mindset, and suggests means to contain and overcome it. It alerts people and the leadership about the negative and cascading effects of colonial syndrome, and pleads for Indianization of education, philosophy and psychology, among others in the country. Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of svadeœÁ is the driving force here. It has no negative attributes, only positive self-assertion for common good.
    Colonial Syndrome goes on to analyses Gandhi’s concept of svadeœÁ, and attempts to make clear the difference between education in India and Indian education, Indian philosophy and philosophy in India, and psychology in India and Indian psychology and emphasizes that India had its own unique standing on education, philosophy and psychology which needs to be revived and nurtured for fast social and economic development.

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    The book surveys the Vedic literature, epics, Puranas, classical Sanskrit poetry and prose and the vast Sastras to throw light on diverse facets — from politics, religion and philosophy to agriculture, botany and architecture — of ancient Indian culture.

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    Cultural Glory of Ancient India by: Sures Chandra Banerji 630.00

    India is a land of communities, and Kashmiri Pandits are one of them. Though they are the original inhabitants of the Kashmir valley famous the world over for its beauty and learning, they are living in their own country as refugees since 1989 due to religious persecution, ethnic cleansing and terrorism — their only fault lay in their religion, Hinduism. This book describes basically the life and times of the half-a-million people of this community living in peace and harmony with nature. It also delves into the march of the people from medieval times into the modern age and the impact of transport and communication technologies that opened a window for information flow into the valley cocooned for so long due to the high mountains all around. Customs and traditions are described in a changing scenario brought about by the introduction of the English language in the late 19th century.

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    The book throws light on the socio-economic and cultural life of the people of Kinnaur in the trans-Himalayan region including a study of their customs and architectural heritage. It also deals with the universe under the various indigenous deities of cults like those of Vishnu, Shaiva and Shakti based on the Shu Republic in 15 deshang (villages) of Kinnaur.

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    Cultural Heritage of the Trans-Himalaya (Kinnaur) by: P.S. Negi 2,880.00

    The work is a study of the cultural heritage of the trans-Himalayan area of Himachal Pradesh, especially Kinnaur, that involves documentation of traditional institutions like temples, monasteries, Bon chos, artefacts, forts and old dialects of various ethnic groups.
    Relying on field studies, the volume throws light on the socio-economic and cultural life of the people of the region of Kinnaur including a study of their customs and architectural heritage. It discusses the indigenous deities (“Shu” on rathang or Shu Republic) that rule and run the administration of the ethnic communities alongside the development administration and democratic set-up from the Panchayats upwards. It deals with the universe under the various indigenous deities of cults like those of Vishnu, Shaiva and Shakti based on an actual field study of the public proceedings of the Shu Republic in 15 deshang or villages of Kinnaur and the U-Khyang and Dhang-U-Khyang, i.e. the festival of flowers and the festival of the Dakhrain, in some deshang. With reference to the deshang, it provides more than a glimpse into their administrative set-up and customary laws and traditions, and describes various architectural designs of the native residential buildings. The book emphasizes the need for necessary conservation measures for the preservation of the cultural heritage of Kinnaur. It would be useful to scholars and students concerned with the study of cultural heritage of India.

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    This book gives a comprehensive account of the various aspects of the cultural history of the various tribes and races — and the significant historical incidents that have taken place in their lives — in the central Himalayan region, particularly in Uttrakhand.

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    Cultural History of Uttarakhand by: D.D. Sharma 1,350.00

    Cultural History of Uttarakhand is an out-come of many years of keen observation of the linguistic and cultural phenomena of the whole Himalayan region, right from Ladakh in the west to Bhutan in the east and an intensive study of ancient Indian literature and of the historical incidents that have taken place in these Central Himalayan regions, particularly in the land termed as Uttarakhand. Though there are some works, both in Hindi and English, on the history and culture of this land, they pertain either to a specific region or to some particular aspect of it. This is for the first time that exhaustive chronological accounts of the history and culture of the inhabitants of Uttarakhand, including various ancient and modern tribes and races, right from Tons and Yamuna in the west to Mahakali/Sarada in the east, and from Bhotantic Himalayan regions in the north to Tarai-Bhabar area in the south, considered to be a `Cultural Area’ of Uttarakhand, have been taken into account for this study, in which an effort has been made to unfold various layers of the history of this land in a comprehensive way.
    As such, this volume on the Cultural History of Uttarakhand is supposed to provide a rare opportunity to students, as well as to readers in general, to have an intimate knowledge of various aspects of the cultural history of various tribes and races inhabiting Uttarakhand from pre-historic periods to modern times.

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    This collection of scholarly papers focuses on the centrality of the Indian contribution in defining the Asian cultural matrix and brings under one rubric the views of Indian as well as Eurasian experts on the subject.

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    Cultural Interface of India with Asia by: Anupa Pande, Parul Pandya Dhar, 3,150.00

    The reality of the Indian presence in Asian cultures is undeniable. Recent scholarship in the field of Asian cultural studies has laid much stress on the essential oneness of the substratum that defines what may be termed as an Asian identity. Buddhism and Hinduism, having originated in India, travelled beyond the frontiers of the land of their origin, and in many ways, moulded the beliefs and faith of the people of Asia. Trade, political ambitions, and religious pursuits led to a dissemination of Indian ‘ideas’ and ‘forms’ across Asia. In each area of Indian influence, the assimilation of Indian traditions with indigenous practices led to the development of a new idiom of expression with a distinctive localized identity. This collection of scholarly papers focuses on the centrality of the Indian contribution to Asian cultures and brings under one rubric, the views of experts from India, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, Belgium, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom. Such an international representation, the consequence of a Seminar held in the National Museum Institute in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi, is unique not only in providing the Indian point of view but also in revealing Eurasian perspectives on the subject of India’s pivotal role in defining the Asian cultural matrix.

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    The book explores various facets of Indian social and cultural thought and life that make the country an attractive tourist site: its people, history, arts, food and drink, customs and lifestyle. It includes a variety of discussions and data on tourism: tourism-related organisations and conventions, eco-tourism and India’s wildlife scenario, for instance.

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    Cultural Tourism in India by: S.P. Gupta, Krishna Lal, Mahua Bhattacharyya, 801.001,215.00

    The book is a detailed exploration of various facets of Indian thought and life that make it a popular cultural tourist site for visitors from all over the world. It presents an account of India’s people, history, national flag and national anthem, dance, drama, music, painting, textile, pottery, food and drink, and customs and lifestyle that comprise the multifaceted components of India’s culture. It describes all the major places of pilgrimage and festivals and scenic beauty in India, and lists state-wise a number of historical cities and sites that stud the length and breadth of the country, its attractive monuments steeped in history and its museums laden with treasures from the past. It brings out the special attractions in India for the western tourist who is primarily interested in those aspects of Indian culture that give a deeper meaning to life at physical, spiritual, mental and moral levels. The work offers, for students of tourism, data on various aspects to cover their syllabus: national and international tourist flow, tourism-related organisations and conventions, eco-tourism, India’s natural heritage as, for instance, its wildlife. It also gives an account of historical evolution of tourism in the world context. For professionals in tourism, there is information on organisation of package tours, tour circuits, tour planning, training of guides and marketing of tourism. Appendices discuss institutions where tourism is taught, tourist information centres in India and abroad, and tourism related periodicals.

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    The authors share their concerns for peace, situating their sensuous / intellectual / spiritual experiences in a culture of peace. They show how education, individual responsibility, philosophy, Gandhian non-violence, Buddhist compassion, etc. can reinforce the culture of peace.

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    Culture of Peace by: Baidyanath Saraswati 540.00

    Over the rolling centuries, ‘peace’ has been a major concern: in religions and, more often, within socio-political contexts. Yet, perhaps ironically, the world history is a long, uninterrupted story of wars and violence. Not long ago — in the aftermath of Hitler’s defeat, the inception of the United Nations held out hopes of a new, free-from-war world order, which the hostile scenario today belies! Is peace then a dream? A Utopian abstraction in a dehumanized, fragmented world, stock-piling all-devastating war machines? And can we possibly uphold the culture of peace amidst the growing cult of violence and blind consumerism, or in a climate of distrust, acrimony and intolerance? Addressed in this collection of essays are these and other related questions by some of the best minds from different countries of Asia. Cutting across narrow compartmentalizations of disciplines, the authors try to share, with wider audiences, their concerns for peace, situating their sensuous/intellectual/spiritual experiences in a culture of peace. Also identifying specificities — in terms of peace-threat-ening issues, situations, geographical zones, the volume attempts to show how education, individual responsibility, philosophy, ethics, artistic creativity, collective spirituality, Gandhian non-violence, Sufis’ universal love, and the Buddhist message of compassion and equanimity can reinforce the culture of peace — even in the face of despair. This volume — 6th in the Culture and Development series — is essentially the assemblage of essays presented at the Asian Conference on “The Culture of Peace: the Experiences and the Experiments”, held on 25-29 November 1996 in New Delhi.

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    This book talks about the vision of our cultural thought-leaders like Ananda Coomaraswamy, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, John Woodroffe, Syamaprasad Mookerjee and K.M. Munshi in making India a culturally strong nation. They remind us of our unique past and time-tested virtues and values, and the criticality of sustaining them while being “modern” in many ways

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    Debating Culture by: Anirban Ganguly 225.00360.00

    Barring the political agenda, the vital forces associated with India’s nationalist movement were moral, literary and artistic. Many cultural protagonists were vocal in saying that the regeneration of our society could happen through the revival of our arts and culture, not by politics and economics alone. This impulse was quite visible in cultural thought-leaders like Ananda Coomaraswamy, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, John Woodroffe, Syamaprasad Mookerjee, K.M. Munshi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Rabindranath Tagore made a strong case for developing a complete and moving orb of Indian culture.
    This book delves deep into the vision of these thought-leaders in making India a culturally strong nation, and warns us in different ways against becoming insularly modern. These personalities remind us of our unique past and time-tested virtues and values, and the criticality of sustaining them while being “modern” in many ways. They exult in our past and call upon us to be the torch-bearers of this legacy.
    This volume, while doing an in-depth study of these Indian cultural activists, laments on the lackadaisical attitude of the leaders of Independent India in maintaining and promoting our art forms and long-revered culture. A renewed effort in rejuvenating our culture is the need of the hour, especially when its moorings seem to be loosening and its symbols diluting. It is an irony to call for the recognition of Indian culture in India!

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    Indian academic self-understanding of the day is highly influenced and mediated by the Western culture and its understanding of Indian civilization. The political agenda of the colonizer has overshadowed the legitimacy of India’s history and culture. This development poses numerous doubts about its authenticity and credibility. This volume addresses this and many a related issue.

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    Decolonizing Indian Studies by: Arvind Sharma 765.00

    The present Indian academic self-understanding of its history and culture is largely Western in origin. This Western intellectual enterprise, however, went hand in hand with a Western political enterprise, i.e. the colonization of India. This raises the question: To what extent, if any, did the two developments influence each other? It also raises another question: To what extent did West’s cultural presuppositions influence its understanding of Indian civilization?
    The central epistemological issue which these questions raise is the following: What significance does the fact that the self-understanding of a culture is mediated by that of another culture, over which it was culturally and politically dominant, possess for the votaries of the culture whose self-understanding has thus been mediated in this fashion?
    This question is not merely of historical but also of contemporary interest, for in an increasingly globalizing world, in which power is unevenly distributed at various levels, the self-understanding of all cultures is likely to be influenced by how they are being presented by other cultures. Furthermore, in such a world, shifting political alliances may generate new intellectual configurations, whose legitimacy may require constant examination. The essays in this book address these and similar issues.

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