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About the Book :
The book presents that form of women`s arts ³ Mehandi and Mandana ³ which are abstract, i.e. geometrical art forms drawn on the floor of kachcha homes and beautiful palms on auspicious occasions and festivals. Women`s is a traditional and essentially ritual art of great antiquity and full of meaning; a domestic art form directly expressive of the sacredness and fullness of living. These art forms throw light on the artistic life of the people, their customs, religious faith and history. They are very close to the tantric-cum-scientific diagrams in their purpose and meanings. The book presents, in nine chapters, besides an introduction, the physical features, archaeology and the people of Rajasthan; and the cultural history of folk-designs; the purpose and meaning of women`s arts; Mehandi and Mandana arts and their connection with science and tantra.

Contents :
Foreword
At Long Last
Scheme of Transliteration
1. Introduction
2. The Land And the People
3. Cultural History of Folk Designs
4. Purpose and Meaning
5. Mehndi
6. Mandana
7. The Science of Folk-Symbology
8. A Tantric Approach to Mandana Art
9. The Art of the Nomadic People
Appendices
1. The HIr` Ceremony
2. Sarvana : for Rakshabandhan
3. Holi : An Artistic Expression of Valour
4. Gangour : A Festival of Fun and Frolic
5. A Living Tradition
Illustrations with Explanations
Bibliography
Glossary of Terms
Index

About the Book :
Andhra Pradesh has a rich legacy of art and architectural creations, dating from the second century B.C. Indeed, Andhra Pradesh is a veritable museum of Buddhist art and architecture; with Amaravati providing one of the finest expressions of Indian art. The broad strands of this architectural and artistic development are recounted in this book. The major rock-cut temples of Buddhist and Brahmanical affiliation, the temple forms and the constituent elements, with particular reference to their incidence in Andhra Pradesh, together with the development of temple architecture and art within the various geographical regions of Andhra Pradesh, have been studied in detail.

About the Author :
B. Rajendra Prasad (b. 1942) is presently a lecturer in the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, Nagarjuna University. He has contributed many research papers to reputed art Journals.

Contents :
Preface
List of Figures & Plates
1. Beginnings
2. Age of the Satavahanas and Ikshvakus
3. Age of Visnukundins
4. Temple Forms
5. Early Stone Temples
6. Growth of Regional Styles
7. Medieval Temples
8. The Late Phase : The Vijayanagara Temples
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

About the Book :
The book seeks to correlate the art growth of the state with its socio-political history; to bring out the relevant impacts, movements and epicenters. Against the evolving art-matrix of the region, the book lays out the vista and mannerisms of temple arts, under five sections dealing with history, socio-cultural status, forms, canons and cults. The art developments from the early historic to the later medieval times are woven into a unified scheme, illustrated with charts, drawings and photographs, covering sculptural art, bronzes and murals as well as the basic manifestation of the structural architecture of the region.

About the Author :
K.V. Soundara Rajan (b. 17-2-1925) took his M.A. in Sanskrit (with Epigraphy) from the Allahabad University, studying under Dr. P.K. Acharya. He was drawn into the field cadre of the Archaeological Survey of India by Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1947) and was recruited later as an officer in the survey (1954) . Since then he has held several responsible positions in the zonal offices as well as in Pre-history and Temple Survey branches of the Survey. He is currently a Director at New Delhi. He specialise in Indian architecture and art. He participated in the Pan-Indian Pre-historic expedition under (Late) F.E. Zeuner of the London University (1949-50) and was the Secretary of the Pre-and Proto-history section of the Asian Seminar in Archaeology during the centenary year of Survey (1960-61). He was a visiting Associate Professor in the University of Chicago (1966) and the University of California, Los Angless (1971). He has widely travelled in U.K., U.S.A. Europe and Far East Studying museums and monuments. He has delivered special lectures at the Universities of Baroda, Madras and Dharwar. He is one of the Principal contributors to the Encyclopaedia of Indian Architecture Project of the American Studies. Varanasi Centre. More than two hundred research papers and five books stand to his credit, the more recent among which are "The Indian Temple Styles" and Temple Architecture in Kerala" (Whose companion volume on Kerala Temples murals is to be shortly brought out by the Kerala Govt.) He is a lover of art, classical music and the stage.

Contents :
Foreword
Preface
List of Figures
List of Plates
1. Background
2. Annals
3. Forms and norms
4. Canonical Art Stages
5. Models
Appendix
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

This book is a thoroughgoing, well-rounded study of the artists of Nathadwara town in Rajasthan, India, and of their various art productions and practices: a rigorous and innovative ethnography of living and deceased painters and painting in the Pushtimarg tradition of Vaisnavism. The book design is a delight, with its miniature drawings from Nathadwara art motifs placed on the pages and also at the end of each chapter, plus the beautifully printed color (and B&W) illustrations-a true feast for the eyes.
In her Introduction the author situates the art in relation to previous scholarship, then briefly surveys the history of Pushtimarg and how it became settled in Rajasthan, the role of the picchavai in this tradition, the question of whether it is art or folk art, and the scope of the study.
The next nine chapters intensively discuss the following topics: Mural paintings by Nathadwara artists; artists' workshops at turn-of-the-century; a glimpse of the temple in old Bombay based on an artist's sketchbook; artist families as frameworks for the evolution of style; an artist's eye to the future as exemplified in a sketchbook; the influence of British stylistics on an England-returned master artist; the women artists of Nathadwara; artists' histories and myths of caste and kin and location, and the genealogists who maintain and also invent them to please their patrons; and a conclusion that surveys issues of religion in relation to art and life in Nathadwara, artist views on aesthetic excellence, and younger artists' experimentation with other kinds of painting.
Throughout her in-depth examination of art and art making based on interviews, photographing art on location, studying rare artist sketchbooks, and extensive travels to important sites in and away from Nathadwara, the author reveals the many ways in which the artists of Nathadwara experience and fulfill their religious devotion in their works.
I highly recommend this beautiful as well as impressive book as a resource for Vaisnava studies as well as for historians of traditional arts on the Indian sub-continent.

This is a clear and terse book regarding ethnic arts and crafts on India and Ceylon. It is infomrative and interesting, and it is a must for anyone who is engaged in Indian studie

This is an excellent book, written by a very knowledgable and good teacher. I was lucky enough to take a class from him, and from what I have seen of his book, it is just as a fantastic survey of art in India as the class was.

A must for any serios student of Indain History. Helps remove a lot of doubts & proves the Aryan Invasion Theory of India being a big myth. Scientific research presented.

This book traces one of the origins of modern racism. Its analysis of the intellectual history of the 19th century and their innocent creation of a theory which gives the inspiration of modern racism is an excellent piece of scholarship. The profound knowldge of the author on Indology and Indo-European studies made his argument authorative. This book should be read by all history students, instead of only the students in South Asian studies.

I picked up this book on a whim and I read it for pleasure. Yes, dear reader, you heard me correctly . . . I read this for pleasure.
The title was what first caught my eye. I've recently started delving into Jewish studies, skirting the realms of both ancient history and theology, so I thought this book would fit in nicely so far as the Aryan Myth being co-opted by Europeans to subvert and displace Jewish origins. What I failed to realize, until I started the book, was that the study approached the subject matter from a textual standpoint rather than a historical one.
Like most of us who received our higher education in the late eighties and early nineties, I had all the requisite exposure to European history, but I also had some exposure to East Indian history as well, so the whole notion of the Aryan Myth being not solely a European phenomenon was not new to me.
However, this book is squarely aimed at scholars, and is not for the general reader. Furthermore, the author is a professor of literature, so a certain degree of knowledge in that field is greatly to be desired. My background is in history, so I had some initial difficulties digesting the onslaught of "isms" that Figueira marshalled in these pages. And certainly, as any academic can attest to, most "isms" have different meanings in different fields of study, ranging from philosophy to history to literary analysis.
Still, despite it all, I really felt I got something out of the book. Part One deals with European approaches to the Aryan myth, and many may react with shock and disgust at the manner in which our fine European scholars of centuries past manufactured absent text to suit their social and political agendas.
Part Two deals with Indian approaches to the Aryan Myth, and how it was used to promote social reform and various nationalist agendas. Certainly, some knowledge of Indian history and the British Raj would come in handy.
Though some readers may need to have a Webster's Collegiate Dictionary at the ready, Figueira states her arguments quite clearly and her language is polished. There is a cohesive nature to the way she has organized her thoughts, and she manages to tie up each chapter quite neatly while transitioning into her next line of thought. Her afterword binds it all together and ends with the rather disturbing, if not pithy, observation that the Aryan legacy haunts academia though the "Brahminization of theory."
We are left to ponder this in the wake of her thesis.