Showing 51–60 of 68 results
It looks into specific cultural formation of Teyyam. It re-frames and interprets various myths of mother-goddesses and hero-deities by situating them in the historical conditions in which they originated and explores from a sociological perspective how the ritual functions as ideology.
Teyyam, the spectacular ritual dance widely performed in north Kerala, has its distinct forms of visual and verbal expression. However, what was once expressed through the distinctly indigenous forms of this religious other no longer remains the same, as the specificities of meaning and messages as encoded in the whole structure of its ritual performance were levelled out and superceded by the ideological laundering of caste Hinduism. RITUAL AS IDEOLOGY looks into the specific cultural formation of teyyam it re-frames and interprets various myths of the mother-goddesses and hero-deities by situating them in the historical conditions in which they originated. Based on a study of the myths at a micro-structural level, the book explores from a sociological perspective how the ritual functions as ideology, apart from its cultic or religious significance. The study also unfolds and explains the gender disparity between the archetypal Female Devourer and her Male Victims, the recurrent motifs in the myths related to various manifestations of the Terrible Mother in teyyam. The study thus acquires contemporary significance in the face of cultural authoritarianism that in its design of appropriation attributes the village pantheon of every little tradition to canonical Hinduism, a process that has been so rife in todays cultural politics.
The book is an attempt to present the Vithi and the Vithyangas in Sanskrit covering all aspects of theory and practice. Based on an in-depth study of source material the work examines several theories of rasa realization besides presenting a detailed treatment of hasya rasa.
Prahasana and the Vithi are two of the major playforms in Sanskrit Drama. Though studies on some individual prahasanas and vithis have appeared from time to time in research journals, there is no comprehensive study of the two playforms on comparative basis, undertaken so far. The present book is an attempt to cover all aspects of prahasana and vithi, in theory and practice. It is based on an in-depth study of manuscripts, microfilms and transcripts collected from various sources.
Beginning with the important aspects of Sanskrit drama, the book briefly examines the theories of rasa realization and presents a detailed account of the hasya rasa besides undertaking a study of the theoretical aspects of the prahasana first and the vithi in a later chapter, as sanctioned in the works on dramaturgy. It also presents an account of the suddha prahasanas that provide a contrasting picture in comparison with the samkirna variety. The work also analyses a few important vithi specimens. The chapter on the Vithyangas is a special feature of the work. Illustrations from well-known dramas serve to explain the textual matter with a rare clarity of thought and expressions.
This volume will interest scholars and students of Indology who are focused on the study of Sanskrit drama and dramaturgy, in particular, and literature, in general. It will also benefit readers interested in ancient Indian theatre.
This book was written by an unusual royal court poet of Bhavanagar (Gujarat) between 1885 and 1900. It benefits those readers, music lovers and singers who are interested in having knowledge of our ancient musicology. This book tries to project the style and suras prevalent from ancient to the modern times, and is a very useful guide for the music critics.
This book was written by an unusual royal court poet of Bhavanagar (Gujarat) between 1885 and 1900. It benefits those readers, music lovers and singers who are interested in having knowledge of our ancient musicology. This book tries to project the style and suras prevalent from ancient to the modern times, and is a very useful guide for the music critics.
The book conveys the basic principles and allied information on sitar and its music, and vividly deals with gharana, especially its contribution to the existing and traditional Indian classical music, conveying the instrumental aspect of Indian music in relation to sitar playing along with other main musical aspects such as ragas, tals and Senia gharana.
Sitar and Its Music is a revised and enlarged edition of a much sought-after reference book on instrumental music, appeared as Sitar and Its Techniques, in 1981. It is a serious attempt to convey the basic principles and allied information on sitar and its music, keeping in mind its absolute usefulness for the students who want to learn sitar and our great tradition.
The book vividly deals with gharana, especially its contribution to the existing and traditional Indian classical music. It conveys the instrumental aspect of Indian music in relation to sitar playing, largely benefitting the students of music, especially that of sitar. It also brilliantly covers other main aspects of music such as ragas, tals and gharana. The book is a blend of theory and practice, and an attraction to those who are about to step into the magnificent world of sitar. Its text is easy to read, language is simple, and explanation is elegant.
This book will be a great asset for every student of Indian music and those who plan to learn and know about sitar and classical music, explaining its theoretical and practical aspects.
The book presents a fresh, critical appraisal of the key concepts surfacing from the Natyasastra of Bharata Muni and some of the other landmark treatises, like Abhinayadarpana, Sangitaratnakara, and Nartana-nirnaya to show how these time-honoured writings have contributed to the evolution of classical dancing in India.
Indian classical dance is a high art. In ancient India, it was even venerated as a sacred act. Ever since Bharata wrote his seminal Natyashastra (c. 200 ce), it has been one of the central elements of scholarly discourse, generating a whole host of learned treatises. Mandakranta Bose here takes a close look at this vast Sanskritic textual corpus attempting not only to reconstruct India’s two-millennia-long dance tradition, but also to dispel the historical and aesthetic misconceptions woven around it. With a fresh, critical appraisal of the key concepts surfacing from the Natyashastra of Bharata Muni and some of the other landmark treatises, like Abhinayadarpana, Sangitaratnakara, and Nartananirnaya, the book tries to highlight how these time-honoured writings have contributed to the evolution of classical dancing in India. And, yet more significantly perhaps, the author ventures into a comparatively uncharted terrain seeking to explore the status of performing arts (including dance) in early Jaina tradition. Focussing on the position of dancing in the contemporary cultural life of India, Mandakranta Bose shows how classical dance in India today has achieved a creative blend of tradition and modernity, leading to a vigorous revival of a great heritage, a part of the larger effort towards nationalist rediscovery. Supporting the text with visual material to correlate the theory and practice of dancing in India, the book offers perceptions that will appeal to everyone involved with performing arts.
Surasundaris on the walls of Rani-ki-Vav remind us that sensuality is the doorway to spirituality, that growth and fertility are as important as piety and devotion. The stepwell in Patan is perhaps the most admired structure of its kind and is a testament to the imagination and skill of the sthapati.
Surasundaris on the walls of Rani-ki-Vav remind us that sensuality is the doorway to spirituality, that growth and fertility are as important as piety and devotion, that even before we undertake dhyana of the deity in the sanctum or in different parts of the vav we must saturate our mind with the beautiful so that we can attain the state of serenity and purnatva.
Sensually evocative, beautiful from tresses to the toes, with eyes downcast, surasundaris are an expression of unsurpassed grace. They are a reminder that a woman is the most adorned expression of prakriti, that to indulge in it is to affirm our senses and enrich our mind, but the aesthetic journey does not stop there. The contemplative viewer will see the surasundari as a poem and a song, where every limb and every gesture are the lyrics, the texture of the stone is the rhythm, where metaphor is the key that will unlock the many meanings and suggestions.
The stepwell in Patan is perhaps the most admired structure of its kind and is a testament to the imagination and skill of the sthapati and as we walk through its many-tiered pavilion we almost hear the hushed voices of the queen and her retinue that stayed there away from menacing eyes and sweltering heat. Come, tread softly, as you are entering a hallowed space of beauty.
This book explores the roots of kathaka dance forms to reveal its sublime and divine dimension. It discusses the concept of Tantra and Sound and their manifestation in kathaka. It also analyses the distinct yantra formations both in the dance as well as the dance floor.
The Indian perspective has always been holistic and all-inclusive: thought and activity in different fields, at different levels, have been interlinked to produce what has been timeless. Indian arts is a classic example of such amalgamation: it interlinks aspects of art, philosophy, mythology, religion, and mysticism. This book is an attempt to unravel such links with specific reference to the Kathaka dance form. Dr. Ranjana Srivastava explores the roots of Kathaka dance form to reveal its sublime, philosophic, esoteric and divine dimensions. Focussing on inter-relationships, she unfolds how dance embraces other disciplines of Yoga Tantra, Mantra and Yantra. She discusses the concept of Tantra and its approximation and application to the dance form the way Kathaka absorbed the sacred knowledge within its form. She deals with the importance and aspects of sound in the Hindu religious scheme and its manifestation in Kathaka. Explaining the significance of the yantra as a diagrammatic/geometric representation and the way it functions, she analyses the techniques of Kathaka which create distinct yantra formations both in the physical movements of the dancer in the surrounding space as well as on the dancing floor. The study abounds in extensive notes to explain numerous terms and concepts and has references to noted works and authors on the subject. The book will be useful to experts and students of Indian art and, in particular, dance and will interest general people keen to know more about Indias art traditions.
In this volume the first English-language publication on the subject the author describes the various indigenous musical instruments which support rituals and performances within and outside the temples of Kerala. Illustrations of each instrument, accompany the text, with information on its dimensions, construction, playing techniques, methods of training and music.
The performing arts of Kerala Kathakali, Kutiyattam, Mohiniattam, and other forms of dance and drama occupy a vital space in Indias creative imagination. All these performances move to a music that is supported by Keralas indigenous musical instruments a variety of drums and clappers, as well as a smaller number of pipes and strings.
Quite a few of these instruments are also found associated with rituals and festivities in the temples of Kerala: the Itakka, Chenta, Timila, Milavu, Suddha Maddalam all membranophones; the aerophones Kurum Kulal and Kompu Vadyam; and Ilattalam, an idiophone. Notes on these instruments by a devoted student of the performing arts of Kerala are put together in this small volume the first English-language publication on the subject. Illustrations of each instrument accompany the texts.
The author brings to his task the benefit of an intimate knowledge of each instrument, acquired through years of fieldwork, as well as an erudition born of his immersion in literary classics in Tamil, Malayalam and Sanskrit. The pieces here are a source too of the folklore associated with Keralas musical instruments. The chief strength of the book, however, lies in the precise information it provides on each instrument its dimensions, materials, construction, playing techniques, methods of training, and, not least, its music.
Apart from musicians and musicologists, this book would interest students of Keralas folklore and anthropology, as well as general readers with a special interest in the arts and culture of Kerala.
This coffee table book on contemporary art unravels the artistic journey of a talented artist in Naina Dalal, covering a span of fifty-nine years, mainly in the printmaking activities. It showcases her flight as a painter in thinking, perceiving, imagining, creatively objectifying and expressing her artistic acumen through the medium of printmaking processes, her lifetime quest. The book traces the stages through which this versatile artist matured traversing the different realms as a painter, lithographer, etcher and a calligraphy artist.
Further, this monograph is an embodiment of her several decades of artistic wisdom, maturity and thematic range. The images herein deliberate on many a political, social and ethical challenge that infects the society. Along with some shade of feminism, one also comes across her passion in reflecting the true conditions of humanity. These paintings should stir the consciousness of artists, connoisseurs and critics alike.r
This book is a journey into that charmed and beautiful mind from which has arisen concepts and ideas, forms and textures, words and music, movement and stillness, philosophy and worship. myths and their celebrations.
It is through the Indian aesthetic mind and its concepts of the beautiful that the Indian civilization can be best understood, for in that mind are pages of history and voices of the past, in it will be heard the sounds of our dancers and in it will be seen the colours of our fabrics, it is a mind which treasures the aroma of the earth for in it we shall find terracotta figures that will whisper stories of times gone by. In that ancient mind silent stones will speak of sthapatis who not only built temples but also havelis, in that very mind rivers will whisper of saints who meditated on its banks and also of mountains which will beckon us to caves where truth was discovered, in that pristine mind stars will talk to us of astronomers who counted them, in that radiant mind we will meet scribes who created beautiful manuscripts and painters who immortalised our gathas and kathas through their kalam.
This book is a journey into that charmed and beautiful mind from which has arisen concepts and ideas, forms and textures, words and music, movement and stillness, philosophy and worship. myths and their celebrations.
The book is lavishly illustrated and is a visual delight.
