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Lost Shangri La

Glimpses of Ancient Kashmir by: S. Sapru

The book unravels the glorious past of Kashmir, discussing its importance as the centre of Sanskrit learning in the bygone eras. It highlights the region’s achievements in music, dance, drama, sculpture, language and literature, and philosophy — marked by the artistic and literary contributions of Jayaditta, Bhatta, Jayadhara, Pingala and Abhinavagupta, and many others.

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ISBN: 9788186921173
Year Of Publication: 2001
Edition: 1st
Pages : x, 174
Bibliographic Details : Bibliography, Index
Language : English
Binding : Paperback
Publisher: Decent Books
Size: 22 cm.
Weight: 300

Overview

The Land of Kashmir, celebrated as paradise on earth for its scenic beauty, has an equally enchanting historical and cultural past: this is the place symbolising India’s cultural unity, where different cultures have prospered at different times, where scholars from all over India and the distant lands of Mesopotamia, Persia and China converged to imbibe learning in ancient times. The author, S. Sapru here unravels the glorious past of Kashmir; he discusses its importance as the centre of Sanskrit learning in the bygone eras; its achievements in music, dance, drama, sculpture, language and literature, and philosophy — marked by the artistic and literary contributions of eminent men like Jayaditta, Bhatta, Jayadhara, Pingala and Abhinavagupta. Referring to various historical works and combining facts with legend, folklore and impressions from oral traditions, he presents a graphic picture of life and times in the valley in the past that deals with a range of themes like the land’s mythology, statecraft, trade links, urban centres, tax system, system of crime and punishment and an ancient tourist’s impressions of the valley. Through a smooth?flowing narrative that makes the book extremely readable, the author points out that there is more to Kashmir than the present?day spate of violence; the land and its people have an essential ‘Indianness’ common to other people of India and Kashmir’s links with the rest of India cannot be severed.

Contents

Foreword
Preface
1. The Killing Fields of Kashmir
2. Beauty and Violence
3. Looking Closely at the Head
4. A Seat of Ancient Learning
5. Where did the Kashmiris Come From ?
6. A Symbol of India’s Cultural Unity
7. Centres of Excellence
8. Their Literary and Artistic Achievements
9. Aesthetics — The Fragrance of Life
10. Folklore is the Spice of Life
11. Manmadhan’s Arrows don’t Spare Even Kings
12. Will Manmadhan Fail ?
13. Fine Arts Need no Frontiers
14. If Music be the Food of Love, Then Play on
15. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
16. Etched in Stone, they sing silently
17. The Arrow that Boomeranged
18. A Wedding at Mount Kailash
19. Narada — Scribe Extraordinary
20. Rationalising the Rituals
21. The Thread that Joins us Together
22. Celebrating What, When and Why?
23. Valley and the Empire
24. Is Civilisation Only Urban?
25. An Anciet Tourist’s Impressions
26. Enter the Dragon
27. Trust in God, She will Provide
28. The Nuts and Bolts of Statecraft
29. Timeless Wonders, our Villages
30. Manning the Ramparts
31. The Curse of Taxes
32. Whose Money is it Anyway?
33. Trade Links Across the World
34. Crime, Justice and Punishment
35. The Generation Gap (Indian Style)
36. Kashmir Shaivism and the Southern Link
37. Spreading the Buddha’s Gospel : The India-China Link
Bibliography
Index

Meet the Author
avatar-author
1940
The author, S. Sapru is a senior journalist who has been associated with the leading newspapers - The India Express, The Pioneer and The Deccan Herald. Presently, Consulting Editor for the Reference Encyclopedia India 2001 and Consultant to Enbee Technologies, he is the winner of prestigious awards including the Press Foundation of Asia - Mitsubishi, Journalist of the year Award 1987. He is the author of many books based on his varied experiences as a journalist: among them are The News Merchants [A National Agency’s Partnership with an International Agency (1982)], The Pioneer Saga (1989) and the Sky Hawks.
Books of S. Sapru