Classical Indian Dan...
Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts
by: Kapila VatsyayanThe book vividly presents, analyses and critiques the varied facets of Indian aesthetics, especially the theory and technique of classical Indian dance, while doing a penetrating study of interrelationship that dancing has with literature, sculpture and music. In doing so, the book surveys and analyses the contribution of all great Sanskrit authors, theoreticians, playwrights of ancient and classical India along with the works many Bhāṣā scholars of arts, aesthetics and literature.
Original price was: ₹3,600.00.₹3,240.00Current price is: ₹3,240.00.
ISBN: 9788124611449
Year Of Publication: 2022
Edition: 3rd
Pages : xlii, 534
Bibliographic Details : Bibliography, Index
Language : English
Binding : Hardcover
Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
Foreword By : Rai Krishnadasa
Size: 25
Weight: 1430
This volume is the result of many years of painstaking research in a field, which had been neglected by art historians, and thus presenting an idealistic view of the whole tradition of Indian art and aesthetics. This definitive work on the inherent interrelationship of the Indian arts is a path-breaking endeavour, treading into a domain which no one had explored. For that to happen, the author has delved deep into enormous mass of literature on the subject and has also surveyed the portrayal of dance figures in ancient temples. With Dr Kapila Vatsyayan’s profound knowledge of various dance forms as a performing artist of her own standing and having studied the sculptures and artefacts minutely, the book emerges so scholarly emanating the wisdom and know-how of a persona, endowed with the unique combination of a researcher, an art historian and an aesthetician par excellence.
The book vividly presents, analyses and critiques the varied facets of Indian aesthetics, especially the theory and technique of classical Indian dance, while doing a penetrating study of interrelationship that dancing has with literature, sculpture and music. In doing so, it surveys and analyses the contribution of great Sanskrit authors, theoreticians, playwrights of ancient and classical India such as Bharata, Bhāsa, Kālidāsa, Śūdraka, Bhavabhūti, Abhinavagupta, Jayadeva and many more along with numerous Bhāṣā scholars of arts, aesthetics and literature, covering each and every nook and corner of the Indian subcontinent.
This highly scholarly work should invoke keen enthusiasm among Sanskritists, art historians, dancers and students of varied art forms alike, and should pave the way for ongoing researches on all the topics covered within its scope.
Prologue
Foreword
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Acknowledgements
List of Plates
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Indian Aesthetics
2. Theory and Technique of Classical Indian Dance
3. Literature and Dancing
4. Sculpture and Dancing
5. Music and Dancing
Plates
Select Bibliography
Index
“Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts”
- Sale!Akbar, The Aesthete Original price was: ₹4,800.00.₹4,320.00Current price is: ₹4,320.00.
Mughal miniatures are a vivid account of the cultural, sociopolitical scenario of the Mughal era. Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar, the most powerful Mughal emperor, was a great aesthete and promoter of arts. Eminent Persian and Indian artists thronged his Royal Studio and were encouraged to paint numerous emotive miniatures of style and substance, communicating highly complex narratives. These miniatures are a beautiful manifestation of human expressions, vividly encapsulating moments of history for posterity.
This book combines the sources and methodology of history and art history of the Mughal era, and is an analysis of a select group of paintings of Akbar’s reign. The miniature paintings incorporate a wide variety of rich, vibrant and varied themes, ranging from durbar scenes, depicting Akbar in different moods and forms, the princes and nobles in their finery, hunting and battle scenes, elaborate scenes of royal births, construction scenes, ascetics, common man, and countryside scenes, to the flora and fauna. Individual analyses of these miniatures, shows the manner of their composition and the inherent value of their sociocultural content in a lively manner. These paintings became a passion and a diversion for Akbar, who had an innate aesthetic sense.
However, there are hardly any true-to-life paintings of women of the royal seraglio. This book thus attempts to cover some images of femininity, whether it is of Queen Alanquwa, Akbar’s mother, or of Madonna as sacred mothers, and women, per se, in different roles. These miniatures make one wonder how much these women contributed to the life of Mughal India.
This unique volume, having given transliteration and translation of the original Persian text of the miniatures, provides an insight into Akbar as an aesthete, and will help academics and laymen alike in appreciating the beauty and history of Akbar’s period. - Sale!Artisans and Craftsmen of Northern India Original price was: ₹1,100.00.₹990.00Current price is: ₹990.00.
The basic aim of the book is to expose the major contributions of artisans and craftsmen in portraying the society in different perspectives. These artisans and craftsmen, were drawn mostly from the shudras, lower caste of the community, suppressed and have-nots section of the society, but were highly talented. The work is also designed to create interest among the reader and scholars alike, to understand the society of the period under reference through the immortal art of these creative people. The artisans such as potters, weavers, carpenters, architects, sculptors, brick-makers, metallurgy and metal workers, leather workers, painters, and the workers engaged in the profession of ivory, glass and mirror, perfume and cosmetic, musical instrument, oil, salt and liquor makers, etc. were the heroes of that time, who not only met the day-to-day requirement of the then society, but also portrayed different aspects of their life, in its true color, through their workmanship. It was the architect who designed and constructed houses to live in, as well as water tank, well and channel, royal building, stupa, temple and fort, bridge, pillar and rock-edict etc., which met the need of the society.
Today, we feel proud of the rich heritage of old Indian art and architecture, credit for which solely goes to the then artisan who crafted immortal creations. However, the invaluable contribution made by the historians in immortalizing their creations, by putting them in black and white, is no less important. It is the historian, whose mighty pen has immortalized not only Ashoka the great, as a king but also the creators of the stupas of his times on equal footings. It is with this aim in view that the present book has been presented to the posterity, in order to pay rich tributes to the creators of our rich cultural heritage.
Unluckly there was no proper institutionalized provision for the education of artisans and craftsmen, so generally the former adopted the occupation of their parents and hereditary skill was enhances as it was transferred from father to son, and generation to generation. Contemporary sources reveal that the social stautus of artisan class was based on the nature and economic conditions of a particular profession. - Sale!Ardhanarisvara in Art and Literature Original price was: ₹1,800.00.₹1,620.00Current price is: ₹1,620.00.
The scholarly work throws light on the artistic, aesthetic, literary and philosophical aspects of the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva the form which is a divine expression of the amalgamation of the male and the female and is said to contain the whole world in it. Providing a conceptual and historical back-ground of the doctrines relating to Shiva and Shakti worship it involves an iconographical study of the Ardhanarishvara image, with the focus on its dress, ornaments, coiffure, posture and other features. With many visuals of the Ardhanarishvara images even the unpublished ones, it describes the images found in different parts of India and discusses the emergence of the deity relying on literary sources and theories. Explaining how the idea and actual representation of the unity of Shiva and Shakti came to acquire supreme importance with the growth of sects each worshipping the deity in its own form, Dr. Yadav points out that the Ardhanarishvara aspect is basically the output of the Tantra philosophy. Providing maps and line-drawings and a list of the places that have yielded Ardhanarishvara images, she makes an interesting and indepth analysis, based on extensive field-work, to come up with some brilliant and new explanations of the meaning and implications of the Ardhanarishvara.
- Sale!Love Songs of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Original price was: ₹795.00.₹716.00Current price is: ₹716.00.
This impressively illustrated volume brings forth the evergreen spirit of a Muslim ruler of Awadh, Nawab Wajid Ali Shaw (1822-87), in composing love poetry taking a cue from the amorous Krishna leela and assimilating and practising the same in personal life. A trained Kathak dancer himself and a dedicated patron of poetry, painting and performing arts, Wajid Ali Shah immersed in the rasa of dance, music and drama, and got deeply indulged in the many an expression of shringar, while administering the political affairs of his state.
Recalling the different facets of Nawab Wajid Ali’s life, the book explores the state and fame of Lucknow, of his times, where the Nawab lived a life of refinement and pomp, and attracted the best talents in arts and crafts. It also portrays how were dance and music enjoying pride of place during his reign.
While presenting a penetrating account of Ali Shah’s poetry, the book revisits his musical scholarship, history of his times and presents his poems with English translation. It as well showcases the best paintings centring around his personal and cultural life, and guides one go through the religious and cultural harmony prevailed in Awadh where a lot of factors were at play effecting acculturation between the Hindus and the Muslims, popularly known as the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb. - Sale!Amarushataka Original price was: ₹3,500.00.₹3,150.00Current price is: ₹3,150.00.
Amarushataka is considered to be one of the finest poetic creations in Sanskrit in ancient India and is a watershed development in the genre of Shringara Rasa. We do not know who the poet Amaru was, but a number of legends abound and it is believed that he lived in the seventh century. In Amarus poetic gems love is not measured but experienced, it is not evaluated socially but felt in the deepest recesses of the mind and heart. He paints the varied moods and nuances of love with words that evoke vivid colours and rhythms that are sonorous with music. Amarushataka basks in a sunlit space, fragrant with the aroma of love, brilliant with the hues of a throbbing heart and within the minute compass of the few lines of a verse we are privy to a whole universe of romance. Amarus lovers inhabit a non-descript space, so that our attention is entirely on them and not on the surroundings. Amarus lovers are driven by desire, devoid of guilt, finding their fulfilment in a passionate embrace or a loving gaze. Using traditional Prakrit romantic idioms Amaru prepares us for the feast both for the eyes and the ears that is to follow, for the muktakas of Amaru create an emotionally charged world, where every nuance of romantic love is explored, where the pangs and pleasures, pathos and poignancy, of amorous dalliances are sensitively portrayed, where neither the restraint of dharma nor the restriction of samsara is allowed to interfere with a glorious celebration of love. Whatever its origins, for 1,300 years this work has retained its reputation in India as one of the foundational collections of poetry. Poets and critics still use its verses as a template against which to consider other poems. Such was the impact of Amarushataka, especially in Malwa of the seventeenth century, that it was transformed into miniature paintings in the evocative Malwa style. The one room chamber with strong monochromatic colours and robust figures marks the painting. The book also traces the history of Malwa painting. An interesting side light of the book is an attempt to demonstrate that the verses of Amaru were also perhaps responsible for amorous sculptures in Khajuraho and other temples. The book is richly illustrated, has the verses of Amaru in Sanskrit and English and is a source book of Shringara Rasa for scholars and students alike.
There are no reviews yet.