India Books

This book of poems is destined to become a modern masterpiece. The book has two parts: the first deals with the author's memories of Kashmir; the second describes landscapes of the mind. Kak has been called India's finest poet and while this book does not reach the level of his Hindi collection Ek Taal, Ek Darpan, it is an excellent introduction of his poetry to the English reader. Highly recommended!

This is an important book of poems by India's foremost poet. The book remembers Kashmir and it describes other imagined worlds that make it possible for us to relate to reality. Should be read with Kak's Hindi book Ek Taal, Ek Darpan.

BEAUTIFUL BOOK AND IN GOOD CONDITION. THANK YOU.

This magical book of beguiling photos and writing seduced me with the beauty of the world its authors captured. These aren't just colorful shots of India, but shots and text so vivid that I felt as if I were partaking in this "masti," the Indian philosophy which Bloch describes at one point as not so much seizing the day as letting the day seize you. I've been to India, but with Bloch and Bijleveld as guides, I felt I could move beyond the "rich surfaces" of the place, as Bloch aptly calls them, to the treasure beneath. The very first picture takes us inside: we're looking through two doors, the first giving onto a courtyard where someone minds a child, the second into a room beyond where a squatting couple polish gem,stones in their primitive shop. Whether the pictures are of tea pickers at lunch, their babies in baskets by their sides, or a naked holy man or a stonecutter using the heels of his powdery feet to steady his saw, there's masti in every one. Bijleveld's colors, the warmth of his eye, the brazen light suffuse each scene with human feeling and fellowship, of the viewer and the viewed. Masti is in Bloch's stories of encounters with barbers and fishermen, hijra and Sufis. It's in his descriptions of a man's "driftwood" face, a sari enveloping a woman like "a pod," the "soothing growl" of the yoga master, the dance of old women who "brace their feet against their partner's, clasp each other's wrinkled hands, and lean back and start spinning, their gaunt arms fully extended." This isn't just a great holiday gift, it's a joyous holiday in itself.

IBEX has done the reading public a great service by reprinting this 1898 edition of a bilingual collection of Rumi's poems. The table of contents shows the wealth of material covered by this compact volume:

Preface
Introduction (includes biography of Rumi, Persian poetry, Sufism)
Addenda and Corrigenda
Selected Poems
Notes (over 100 pages)
Additional notes
Appendices
--I. Illustrative passages from the Divan with a list of the historical and autobiographical allusions
--II. Translations in verse
--III. Table showing where the Selected Poems occur in other editions of the Divan
--IV. Comparative table of passages quoted from the Masnavi
Indices
--I. Persian and Arabic
--II. English

The format with English translation facing Persian text is very helpful. The Persian text is partially vocalized, to a degree well suited to those who have an intermediate, but not advanced, knowledge of the language. Among other things, ezafes are shown, along with the vocalization of otherwise ambiguous forms such as "bovad" (a poetic form of 'to be') which has the same consonants as the much more common "bud" (simple past tense of 'to be'). Each poem begins with the name of the meter in Persian followed by a schematic representation of the meter using macrons and breves.

If you want to introduce yourself to some of the finest of Persian poetry in its original language, this is an excellent book to use.

Rumi's poetry, as brought to us by the brilliant and moving translations of Nicholson, represents one of the highest forms of mystical romantic outpourings. Like Fitzgerald/Khayyam, one is judging the poetic expression of Rumi through the translation of Nicholson. The end result is one of the most remarkable collection of poems, full of emotional impact, weighty with philosophical import. This book is not easy to find, so is a must-have for anyone interested in this subject.

A detailed and fascinating study of international trade and Safavid politics in the seventeenth century. I found it to be extremely well researched, drawing together evidence from Armenian and Persian documents, as well as European archival collections. The book chiefly focuses on the Armenian merchants who managed the export of silk from Iran to Europe, and the import of European silver back to Iran and India. It successfully demonstrates the crucial financial role these merchants played in the consolidation of the Safavid state in Iran, with comparisons to other outsiders financing the formation of absolutist states in Europe.

I found this book to be an excellent analysis of the a part of the Iranian economy during the Safavi period. Although it is slanted toward the Armenian minority and does not cover the whole economy, it provides a unique and preceptive view of a section of the economy that has been ignored. Aside from bringing to light the power of the Armenian minority in a hypothetically theocratic state, it will change the reader's preception of the economic, political and social sophistication of Iran and, in fact, the Middle East at the time of European expansion. The book is very well written and the analysis excellent. The absence of tables in the discussion of the volume of exports as given in different sources and and conversions of currency is sorely missed. Such tables would have made it considerably easier to compare the various references. However, this is minor in the general context of the book.

Lots of valuable suggestions on homemade remedies for all skin types plus a look into Shahnaz's herbal range of beauty products. A must read book.

This is not your typical skincare book. It is straightforward and uses old world remedies to solve your current problems. I have tried her products and her remedies and I have always received immediate results (plus wonderful comments from passerbys).
Review the book for yourself.

I recently read this book, to my amazement I was just glued into it because of few reasons. This book is simple, flowing smooth, truthfull and most importantly, it does not add the pepper and salt of mythical believes and myths about Buddha. This makes it a better ingredient for a very truthfull book on Buddha, I read it once and I will read many more times and I also gifted a copy of this book to a person I just met once....!, this is the very essence of Buddha's Dhamma.

Let us discuss about this book and why this book is in my recommendation list:

Lord Buddha, he is the only enlightened human who lived, preached and practiced nobel human service on this planet. Also, he was the only human who was made to god.

The rest of God's like Jesus chirst or Mohamad and other trillions of so called hindu gods are supposed or believed to be gods who came to this earth as humans and lived among humans as human to teach lessons to humans. If you believe in god, this is for someone who believes in god.

But for those who believe god or do not believe god, the truth is Buddha was neither god, nor he accepted God and he certainly did not expect to be worshiped as god.

Because of his highly enlightened status among humans and because of his incredbly powerful teachings and preachings to the well-being of the , people, society and all human kinds, they made him as god by adding all the mythical worshipping methods that are used in hinduism and in other traditions. This has mainly happened after Buddha's death and centuries of tradition after his death almost made the Human Buddha into a God, unbelievable.

For Book lovers, for knowledge seekers and for truth seekers and those who love to read books and for learners, a good and factual book can be a treasure. Along this line, if you want to learn and read about Lord Buddha, there are virtually millions of books available almost all over the world. Since Buddhism is the fastest growing beliefs even by westerners and europeans that is outside of the Buddha's own land of South East Asia and Asia, but books and activities about buddha are almost universally available at this present times.

But, there is a irony in picking up the right book on Buddha and Buddhism, almost 90% of the authors though write greatly about Buddha invariably incorporate mythical beliefs, re-birth, and other unscientific aspects about Buddha and Buddhism that Lord Buddha himself never taught or believed in it. Keeping this in view, finding that 10% of the books that talk about the greatest human ever lived on this eart, who gave us the most valueable tools like meditation, non-voilence, peace, love, harmony, justice, equality and what not can be daunting. Interstingly, this is one of such a truthfully written book about Buddha titled :Sakyamuni Buddha, a biography" by Nikkyo Niwano.

This Japanese author wrote several intersting and quality books on Buddha, he himself was a great Buddhist and a believer travelled widely in Asian countries including the Buddha's birth place in India.

Even this good Buddha writer Nikkyo adds up some pepper and salt of mythical beliefs in his writings about Buddha, but overall and to a greater extent this book is written in a very simple english language, with simple chapters flowing like a gracious and long lasting water falls that brings life to the flowing water, his writings bring a lively feeling to the reader as if you are hearing a story of a next door neigbour, this is actually the very essense of writing a book about great persons or great subjects and the author fullfilled that objectives, though Nikkyo died long time ago, his work's are greatly appreciated and admired by many.

Buddha, who's real name is Sakyamuni Goutama Buddha, the term "Buddha" was added later after his enlightenment. The truth is anyone who seeks and follows Buddha's teaching can become a Buddha, it does not mean that one must go to forest and waste once whole life in wandering meaninglessly, unless you dedicate to find out the truth by advanced meditation, but for the rest of us, simple practices and spreading Dhamma work can bring the Buddha from us to the world. Lord Buddha actually liked to be called as Thathagata, meaning one who attained the truth and came to spread it and came to deliver it and came to give it to the world.

How wonderful is Thathagata, the great and enlightened.

As you read his story, you will not ever feel like setting the book down for a minute, because it is so fascinating, so attractive and so kindling to your mind, he lived about 2500 years ago, at a time there was no science and certainly no brain science (neuroscience). However, Buddha, came out of his family supposed to be a Royal/king's family, he abandoned the kingdom his father build to live and understand the human life, especially a very ordinary "ascetic" (ascetics, are mostly lived alone without family, properties and people), they dedicated their lives in meditations and prayers. But, most of the ascetics had mythical believes unlike most of them and unlike his own teachers Buddha never believed in any myths and illogical things. So, he left the family to find out what is life, how one's mind work, imagine this was the time there was no science then how can one ask a question of life and mind?. Is in't this amazing, after several years of toil, chaning teachers, changing methodology of trying to learn and practice meditations, Buddha sharpened the meditation techniques available at that time and discovered his own techniques like Vipassana and other advanced meditation techniques that helps one to reach their mind to find out once sufferings and problems, kind of a stress reliever, you don't need to seek a medicine or a drug, except that a person is extremely ill and medicatio is the only cure or prevention. To the rest of us all, those who are having good health but sick mind due to so many stress and sufferings in life, Buddha found out ways to correct, improve and make a better living. This is just one of Lord Buddha's extensive service to the well being of humans, societies and the world.

To understand all those basic knowledge about Buddha one needs a simple book, this is not a scholarly book but for simple understanding of truth and background, a scholarly or philosophical book is not neccessary, but yet, this book can be quite useful to even scholars.

this book is not for advanced monks and well versed Buddhists because they might be reading the palicanon and the most authoritative Buddha's books in pali language, but nothing stop them to go through and see how much of the writings in this book reflects real Buddha....in any case, this is the book I advice for learners, newbies, those who do not know about Buddha, to students, to other religious people, to non god believers and to those who seek knowledge.

Do drop your comments, so that I can bring more Buddha's book to this column.

In Dhamma
Dr.Muni

One of the main problems Westerners have in beginning to understand Buddhism is lack of knowledge of the Buddha himself, Siddhartha Gotama. Most people don't realize that the Buddha had been raised as royalty, that he came from modern-day Nepal, and not from China or Japan, and that he nerver claimed to be a god, only "awake". This re-telling of the Buddha's life from the founder of the second-biggest Buddhist organization in Japan (www.rk-world.org), is both accessible and complete. Why do the Buddha's teaching still inspire and enlighten 2500 years after his death? This book will help anyone--Buddhist or otherwise--appreciate the power of the Buddha's message, and the compassionate nature of his personality. A great book for introducing the Buddha to friends and family, too.

This book is a refreshing change to a lot of others I have read because it doesnt rely on the gore and shock value of climbing tragedy`s in fact it exposes the true dry witt that that helps keep climbers sain . Although some reference is made to a few but these are totaly in keeping with the rythum of his writing .

It is factual, matter of fact and walks you through the true emotions, trials and tribulations of a close personal and proffesional relationship of these two very talented mountain authors .

The photographs are stunning .

In summary a great account of a low budget two man assalut on Changabang. Five stars from me .

Peter Boardman, (now dead from a subsequent mountaineering accident), in this book relates his successful 1976 two-man climb with Joe Tasker up the west wall of Changabang in the Garhwal Himalaya. The hardships of an Alpine-type assualt on this monster mountain are related, as are the doubts and fears he experiences, along with the disciplined mental state he cultivates to banish them.

The most curiously attractive thing about the book is the young author's thinking: clear, intelligent, and able to remain focused on each task at hand under the most extraordinary circumstances. The reader follows PB through each portion of the ascent and descent as he and Joe Tasker face and eliminate seemingly impossible obstacles one by one. The rhythm of the tale told feels right. It moves forward at a careful and deliberate pace, never puffed up or pedantic.

An emotional epilogue by climber Chris Bonington underscores Boardman's achievements both on the mountain, as a climber, and off, as a gentle human being.

One of the sacred books of Hinduism, "The Shiva Samhita" was composed more than five centuries ago and is considered a fundamental text of Hatha Yoga. Recording beautiful spiritual teachings found nowhere else, "The Shiva Samhita" is translated from the original Sanskrit by James Mallinson providing western readers with a new, accurate, modern translation of this ancient religious text. Featuring photographs of the asanas and mudras described by the text, "The Shiva Samhita" is a strongly recommended, core addition to personal, academic, and community library Hinduism Studies, Yoga Studies, and World Religion Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists. Also very highly recommended from (...) are two other Hindu Studies titles: James Mallinson's translation of "Gheranda Samhita" and Lars Martin Fosse's translation of "The Bhagavad Gita".

With this work newly translated into English, the people at YogaVidya have completed the publication of three of the most historically important but seldom published works of yoga. The other two are Akers, Brian Dana, trans., Hatha Yoga Pradipika; and Mallinson, James, trans., The Gheranda Samhita. Mallinson, who also did the translation here, is to be commended for the clear, contemporary feel of the book and for a worthy introduction that points to the many problems facing the translator of this frankly strange and certainly corrupt work from the 14th or 15th century of the current era.

Some years ago I read a text with the standard translation by Chandra Vasu from 1914, but put it aside as something strangely jumbled and confused. The problem with the Shiva Samhita (and to a lesser extent with the Gheranda Samhita) is a bastardization of two of the traditional yogas, raja/hatha yoga and tantric yoga. (The other three traditional yogas are bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, and karma yoga.) Tantric yoga is the yoga of the left-handed path in which the practitioner attempts to find liberation from the pair of opposites and enter into samadhi by embracing desire or pleasure. This method is in most respects diametrically opposed to the "yoga of discipline" which is the raja/hatha yoga path associated with the sutras from Patanjali from two thousand years ago and mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita.

As he explains in the introduction, Mallinson addressed numerous "variant readings" in an attempt to make as coherent as possible the incongruities of the Shiva Samhita. He writes, "Now it may simply be that we are hearing separate instructions for the two traditional types of Tantric aspirant, namely bubhukshus, those desirous of siddhis, and mumukshus, those desirous of liberation, but the unqualified juxtaposition is jarring, particularly in light of the last verses of the text, wherein the householder is said to be able to obtain siddhis and become liberated by means of the techniques of Yoga--and still have fun!" (p. xiii)

"Siddhas," by the way, are psychic powers, such as levitation and being invisible, etc., which brings us to what may be a problem in Mallinson's translation for the general reader. One of the recurring problems for those who would translate yoga texts from the Sanskrit into modern English is that of deciding which terms to find English (more or less) equivalents for and which to leave untranslated. If you read some of the earliest translations of yogic works into English from say a hundred years ago or so, even the very word "yoga" was rendered by some as "discipline." With such words as "nadis," which are subtle channels in the human body, similar to neurons, but clearly not really neurological in a scientific sense, there is no attempt to find English synonyms because frankly there are none. "Prana" is another word that can be troublesome. It can be translated as "breath" and sometimes this is entirely correct. Most often it is best to just use the term "prana." It appears that Mallinson sometimes translates prana as "wind" as winds in the body. I find this unusual and, not being able to read Sanskrit, am at a loss as to how felicitous his usage might be. (Incidentally, as in the other books published by YogaVidya, the Sanskrit verse appears on the same page along with the English translation.)

On the other hand, Mallinson leaves many Sanskrit words untranslated, and this may also present a problem to the general reader. What do words like "linga," "bhoga," "Maya," "samsara," "nada," etc., mean? In some cases, even though I am relatively familiar with yogic terms, I had to consult a dictionary to get the meaning, and in some cases found none.

The real problem confronting most readers are the contradictions and the exaggerations (!). It is claimed again and again that this practice or that practice cures all disease and even better leads the aspirant to eternal life and power over all and sundry and--in the most ludicrous hyperbole--allows the practitioner to be alive even at the dissolution of the cosmos! Also annoying are the incessant "commercials" for the guru system. Again and again we are told that we have to worship the guru, tend to his lotus feet and treat him as a god on earth (and whatever you do, do NOT sleep with the guru's wife!--that is, unless you have also performed the correct mudra or asana or entered into a sufficient meditation, in which case you are absolved of your sins, all of them).

I think it can be seen by the discerning reader that the Shiva Samhita, for all its historical and literary value, is something close to a parody of the scope and intent of yoga. The gurus for whom it was written clearly were, for the most part, not the spiritually advanced men we would hope for, but profane aspirants themselves, looking for ways to further their individual enterprise as gurus and to establish a kind of shaman-like persona. I might add that some of the practices are dangerous (there is a warning to this effect on the copyright page) and some are well nigh impossible, such as drawing up a woman's reproductive fluids with your linga!

Nonetheless I recommend this fine translation and introduction by Mallinson. The book is splendidly presented and carefully edited and proofread. There is an index and some photos of a graceful and lissome woman named Shipra demonstrating some of the asanas and mudras. What is sorely needed is a glossary.

A book that subtly hints at girls' empowerment is always a good thing in my mind. Combine that with tales set in India, and it gets better.

Shower of Gold features Krishnaswami again showcasing her wonderful storytelling talent. Like her earlier book, Broken Tusk, this one too picks up a niche topic and tells stories about it. All of the stories in Shower of Gold are about courageous women or devis (goddesses) who have to overcome terrible odds to emerge triumphant. The stories also serve as a wonderful study in Indian culture. The dire conditions of some of these women though, may be startling to some little ones. Stories such as Rani of Jhansi are borrowed from history texts, while others such as the story of Savitri or Sita are from mythology.

Adults will especially appreciate the notes at the end of each story that often includes pointers to more exhaustive readings on the subject.

The larger question of course, looms here. "Some people wonder why, when goddesses in Hindu mythology play such magical and powerful roles, Hindu society has not given women more power." The author does hint at reasons but a more potent explanation is not really within the scope of this book. To her credit, Krishnaswami sticks to her agenda and delivers.

Shower of Gold is a fresh look at the clichéd phrase, "girl power". For here are some bold strong girls and women who have effectively shown what it all means.

Our four-year-old daughter has been delighted with these stories since getting this book for Christmas. In our mixed Indian/Texan household, good children's books on Indian cultural topics are hard to come by and prized this book neither requires the extensive knowledge of Indian mythology that many books published in India presume, nor does it distance itself from India as the exotic "other" the way some western books do. The vocabulary is challenging for my four-year old but the stories hold her interest anyway, and the length of each tale is just right for bedtime reading. This is one we'll read and re-read.

The bloody Siege of Krishnapur in 1857 is the pivot around which the action revolves in this Booker Award-winning novel by J. G. Farrell, but Farrell's focus is less on Krishnapur and the siege than it is on the attitudes and beliefs of the English colonizers who made that siege an inevitability. He puts these empire-builders under the microscope, then skewers their arrogant and superior attitudes with the rapier of his wit, subjecting them to satire and juxtaposing them and their narrowly focused lives against the realities of the world around them.

Remarkably, he does this with enough subtlety that we can recognize his characters as individuals, rather than total stereotypes, at the same time that we see their absurdity and recognize the damage they have done in their zeal to spread their "superior" culture.

From the opening pages, Farrell builds suspense as the English colony ignores reports of unrest in Barrackpur, Berhampur, and Meerut. The flirtations of the single women, the amorous attentions of the young men, the boorish and insensitive behavior of the officials, the gossipy whispering of their wives, and the unrelenting efforts to maintain the same society they enjoyed at home--with tea parties, poetry readings, and dances--all attest to their degree of isolation from the world around them.

When violence breaks out in Krishnapur and all the inhabitants take refuge in the colonial Residence, Farrell turns it into a microcosm which illuminates their misplaced values and goals as they interact with each other and face dangers from without--and from within. The siege continues for more than three months, with bloodshed, disease, starvation, lack of water and medicine, and the summer weather taking their toll.

Farrell's dark humor is unparalleled. Using irony, understatement, and a sense of the absurd, he conveys his disapproval of colonialism without resorting to the harshness of polemics. By concentrating exclusively on the English in the Residence and not on India's local population (ironically reflecting the approach of the colonizers themselves), he makes their behavior appear ridiculous in its own right, rather than ridiculous in comparison to other cultures. Mr. Rayne, the Opium Agent, calls the sale of opium, "progress." The Padre cannot understand why the Bible was originally written in an obscure language like Hebrew, rather than English, which is "spoken in every corner of every continent." A dying man offering up his last, heartfelt prayer is told by the Magistrate, "Yes, yes, to be sure, don't worry about it." The heads from a collection of small sculptures of the "great minds of Europe" are used as deadly explosives when shot becomes scarce.

Through his precise imagery, his acute eye for memorable and revealing details, his unerring ear for dialogue, his ability to maintain pace and suspense, and his humor, Farrell creates a historical novel with the enduring qualities which make it as relevant today as it was when published thirty years ago. Mary Whipple

I had never heard of J.G. Farrell or The Siege of Krishnapur until one day I was scanning a list of winner of England's Booker Prize and I noticed that Siege was out-of-print in America. I was so intrigued I sent off to England for it, but it is now also available in the U.S.

The novel narrates the story of the British community at Krishnapur during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, when the entire community holed up in the Residency (like a governor's palace) for months under siege. Farrell's style is highly cinematic, reminiscent of great movie epics about that era, such as "The Man Who Would Be King," - lots of scope, majesty, explosions, and bright-red uniforms, added to the day-to-day domestic squabbles of the community. Farrell's take is not a shallow war novel though; he is witty, ironic, inspired, and sad in turn.

The book features remarkable turns of fortune and engaging details on every page, all of which were dramatically motivated and apt. (Examples: When the besieged run out of ammunition, they create canister shot by stuffing ladies' stockings with silverware. There's a sudden infestation of flying bugs that will make you jump right out of your chair. Two doctors have an argument about the cause of cholera with dramatic consequences. A lucky shot by a Lieutenant....well I won't spoil it for you.)

The main character, the Collector, seems to stand in for all of Britain as he is transformed by his Indian experience: first arrogance and a passion for bringing British `civilization' to the uncivilized, then bravado as he stands up to the initial assaults, then despair as he watches the failure of mere ingenuity to overcome the natives. In a wonderful little coda at the end of the book you can see how he has been utterly transformed by the experience.

A wonderful find, a 'must read'! I'm off to read the rest of Farrell's novels!