India Books

About the Book :
This book presents a rapid survey of the results of the excavations and explorations in Tamil Nadu carried out both in the pre-and post-Independence days. Besides providing a topographical background of the area concerned, the book deals with the Stone Ages.

About the Author :
Kattalai S. Ramachandran (b. 1926) graduated from the University of Madras in History and Economics in 1947. Soon after, he joined the Archaeological Survey of India associating himself with the explorations and excavations aspects of the Survey.
For more than a quarter of a century Ramachandran has participated in almost all the major excavations conducted by the Survey viz. Sisupalgarh, Sanur, Ujjain, Lothal, Kalibangan, Purana Qila, etc. and has specialized in the Iron Age, particularly of Tamil Nadu. He has also developed a lasting interest in art and iconography.
Ramachandran has contributed more than four - score research papers of lasting interest to various journals, besides editing more than half a dozen books. His other books are : A Bibliography on Indian Megaliths : Radiocarbon Dates of Archaeological sites in India : A Bibliography of Harappan cultures of India (Jointly) and The Neolithic Cultures - an annotated bibliography (in press).

Contents :
Preface
List of Maps and Figures
List of Plates
1. The Locale
2. Stone Ages
3. Iron Age
4. Tamils Develop a Script
5. Early Historical Period
6. In Retrospect
Appendices
Bibliography
Index
Maps and Figures
Plates

About the Book :
The six centuries from 300 B.C-300 A.D. covered in this book presents a vast vista of the life of the people of central and western India and the Deccan up to the southeast coast from the Mauryan times through the Sunga, Kushana, Kshatrapa and Satavahana ruling dynasties. An attempt has been made to reconstruct the material culture of the times on the basis of this vast mass of published archaeological data in the excavation reports. The book has been divided into 12 chapters, beginning with a prologue and ending with an epilogue. Its various chapters deal with the general history of the period with the geographical and archaeological setting as a backdrop; town planning, cities and villages and the concomitant types of architecture, civil, military and religious; the variety of building materials and other contrivances; toilet, dress and ornaments; the games and toys, tools of artisans and agricultural and household implements and various other offensive and defensive weapons; the remains of fauna and flora as obtained from excavations; among other matters.

About the Author :
Chedarambattu Margabandhu (b. 1936) an alumni of the Madras Christian College, Tambaram took his M.A. degree in History in 1959 from the Madras University. He was awarded the Northwick and N.N. Airavatham prozes of the Madras Christian College for the best performance in B.A. (Hons.) and obtaining first rank in the University. He was awarded the Post-Graduate Diploma of the School of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India in 1962. The Nagpur University awarded Ph.D. degree in 1973 for his thesis "Material culture of Central and Western India and the Deccan from c. 300 B.C. - 300 A.D."
In 1962, he joined the Archaeological Survey of India and over since for the past twenty-two years, he has participated in several excavations such as at Kalibangan, Paiyampalli, Pauni, Surkotda, Bakraur (Sujata-kuti), Mathura, Karvan, Anhilvad Patan, Fatehabad, etc., besides several field explorations.
His special field of study consists of interpretation of archaeological artefacts and other excavated data belonging to the Early historic period with a bearing on the material culture of the times. He has contributed more than fort papers of intrinsic value to the various Journals and Seminars on archaeology, art, architecture and aspects of material culture and technology.
Presently he is the Superintending Archaeologist in the Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Circle, with head quarters at New Delhi.

Contents :
Preface
List of Figures
Lit of Plates
Abbreviations
Map
1. Prologue
2. Geographical and Archaeological Setting
3. Architecture
4. Trade, Transport and Exchange
5. Art and Religion
6. Domestic Equipment
7. Toilet, Dress and Ornaments
8. Games and Toys
9. Tools, Implements and Weapons
10. Technology
11. Fauna and Flora
12. Epilogue
Appendices
Bibliography
Index
Figures
Plates

This scholarly work covers a long neglected area in the art world. Southern India and the contribution of Islamic art to this region has had insufficient attention over the years. Here we have renowned experts surveying the area with great skill. A book that will give great joy and value to scholars and the general reader alike.

About the Book :
The history of Indian culture has its epicentre in the north of the country. It is here, in the Ganges plain and neighbouring areas, that the great spiritual movements that gave life to the complex Hindu universe and alternative beliefs of Buddhism and Jainism were developed. It was in northern India that the first sultanates and the great Moslem empire of the Moguls arose and here that the Sikh congregation was created. History has left its mark everywhere in Indian art and this tangible evidence of a cultural past is the most immediate and stimulating way for a people to feel a sense of communal identity. A comparison, therefore, of a Hindu temple to a Moslem mosque dramatically reveals the enormous difference that exists between the Hindu and Islamic worlds although this distinction tends to be softened in the architecture of their great palaces. The aim of this guide is to offer the widest possible perspective on northern India`s various artistic phenomena through the use of text,

About the Author :
Marilia Albanese graduated with honours in Sanskrit and Indology at the department of Classical Literature at the Catholic University in Milan in June 1976 and, during the same period, studied a diploma in Hindi and Indian Culture. She is a teacher of Indian Culture at the Civic School of Oriental Cultures and Languages in Milan and Director of the Lombardy section of the Is.I.A.O. Since the end of the 1970`s she has been in charge of teaching Indian culture at a number of training schools for yoga teachers, a subject on which she has published several books. She has made many study trips to India, sometimes at the invitation of the Indian government, and has participated in various work projects, the last of which was a documentary series for Swiss television on the condition of women in India. Her studies of Indian civilization and its diffusion have also taken her to Sri Lanka and Indochina. As a freelance journalist, she is heavily involved in conferences and writes for several specialized weekly publications. She is the author of articles, essays and books and, for White Star Publications, has contributed to Splendours of the lost civilizations (1998), The great treasures: the goldsmith`s art from ancient Egypt to the 20th century (1998), The world`s greatest royal palaces (1999) and Northern India, guide to the archaeological sites (1999).

About the Book :
The history of Indian culture has its epicentre in the north of the country. It is here, in the Ganges plain and neighbouring areas, that the great spiritual movements that gave life to the complex Hindu universe and alternative beliefs of Buddhism and Jainism were developed. It was in northern India that the first sultanates and the great Moslem empire of the Moguls arose and here that the Sikh congregation was created. History has left its mark everywhere in Indian art and this tangible evidence of a cultural past is the most immediate and stimulating way for a people to feel a sense of communal identity. A comparison, therefore, of a Hindu temple to a Moslem mosque dramatically reveals the enormous difference that exists between the Hindu and Islamic worlds although this distinction tends to be softened in the architecture of their great palaces. The aim of this guide is to offer the widest possible perspective on northern India`s various artistic phenomena through the use of text,

About the Author :
Marilia Albanese graduated with honours in Sanskrit and Indology at the department of Classical Literature at the Catholic University in Milan in June 1976 and, during the same period, studied a diploma in Hindi and Indian Culture. She is a teacher of Indian Culture at the Civic School of Oriental Cultures and Languages in Milan and Director of the Lombardy section of the Is.I.A.O. Since the end of the 1970`s she has been in charge of teaching Indian culture at a number of training schools for yoga teachers, a subject on which she has published several books. She has made many study trips to India, sometimes at the invitation of the Indian government, and has participated in various work projects, the last of which was a documentary series for Swiss television on the condition of women in India. Her studies of Indian civilization and its diffusion have also taken her to Sri Lanka and Indochina. As a freelance journalist, she is heavily involved in conferences and writes for several specialized weekly publications. She is the author of articles, essays and books and, for White Star Publications, has contributed to Splendours of the lost civilizations (1998), The great treasures: the goldsmith`s art from ancient Egypt to the 20th century (1998), The world`s greatest royal palaces (1999) and Northern India, guide to the archaeological sites (1999).

Arise arjuna is an extremely well written book.I use the phrase well written not just because of the accuracy of the facts,but also for the in-depth understanding the author shows about the economic and political factors prevalent in India. I have read many books on various religion and a number of books on Hinduism.Arise arjuna impressed me because it looks at religion taking into consideration the social,economic and political equations.As a resident of India and a practicing Hindu,the book did not hold any surprises for me,but i would recommend it to any person who wants to learn more about India and Hinduism,along with the current scenario of Hinduism in the modern world.

I read these works for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.
Poetry appeals to human passions and emotions. Powerful beautiful language and metaphor really appeal to emotion. This idea really disturbed Plato, who takes on Homer in the Republic. Plato thought that early Greek poetry portrays a dark world; humans are checked by negative limits like death. Tragedy has in it a character of high status brought down through no fault of his own. Plato says this is unjust. Republic is about ethical life and justice. It starts with the premises that might makes right and then moves onto the idea much like modern religions that justice comes in the afterlife. Plato hates the idea that in tragedy bad things can happen to good people. He wanted to ban tragedy because he found it demoralizing.

Aristotle's Poetics is a defense against Plato's appeal to ban tragedy. Tragedy was very popular in Greek world so Aristotle asks can it be wrong to ban it? Yes, it is wrong thus he decides to study it. Plato says Poetry is not a technç because the poets are divinely inspired. Aristotle disagrees Poetics is a handbook for playwrights. Mimçsis= "representation or imitation." Plato uses it in speaking of painting, thus art is imitation. Another meaning is to mimic, like actors mimicking another person. Plato and Aristotle use it to mean psychological identification like how we get absorbed in a movie as if the action were real, eliciting emotions from us. We suspend reality for a while. Aristotle says this is natural in humans; we do this as children, we mimic. If imitation is important for humans then tragic poetry is worthwhile for Aristotle to study.

Definition of tragedy- "Through pity and fear it achieves purification from such feelings. This is a famous controversial line. Katharsis= "pity and fear" thus the purpose of tragedy is to purge katharsis. Katharsis can also mean purification or clean. There is a debate if it means clarification, through which we can come to understand katharsis. Aristotle thinks tragedy teaches us something about life. Tragedy is an elaboration on Aristotle's idea that good or virtuous people sometimes get unlucky and in the end, they get screwed. Tragedy shows this so we can learn to get by when life screws us. The whole point of tragedy is action over character. Action is the full story of the poem like the Iliad. Character is only part of the action.
Aristotle distinguishes between poetry and history. Poetry is concerned with universals, history is concerned with particulars.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy. Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.

This is one of a few rare books that provides and excellent introduction to the edged weapons and armor of India, from Early and Medieval History to the last century. It is richly illustrated with both beautiful and detailed photographs of weapons and armor of the ages as well as line drawings and sketches of typical forms. Both these and the text are useful to collectors for identification purposes. Historical tales are woven through the discussion to provide context for the items discussed. I'm very pleased with this book as a collector and would also recommend it to anyone interested in museum quality photographs of the historical arms of India.

This movie is based on Tarashankar Bandopadyay's immortal novel, Arogya niketan (The clinic). It is a story of the clash between an old vaidya and a modern doctor. This review cannot do justice to the movie.

He was an idealist and a deeply spiritual man who lived his life with honor, and held his work as service to God. He sent his son to study modern medicine. However, he quits medical college and marries without telling his parents anything. Unfortunately, he dies untimely, leaving his wife and a son behind, without disclosing anything about his wife and child to his parents. Years later, the grandson becomes a doctor and comes to practise medicine in their ancestral village. The real story starts here. The grandson is a decent but very proud person. He has very poor opinion of old time medicine. Therefore, at every opportunity, he insults his grandfather, calling him a quack. At the end, the they come together as a family.

This woman has lived a fascinating life beginning in Barrow, Alaska and on to India during world war two. She now lives in Solvang, California and continues to write of her life.