Indian Books

01/04/2015

Art, icon and architecture in South Asia essays in honour of Dr. Devangana Desai edited by Anila Verghese, Anna L. Dallapiccola New Delhi A***n Books International, 2015

ISBN 9788173055331

DK-244943

http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK8263321716228836696803113771/details.html

Meant to felicitate an art historian of international repute: Dr Devangana Desai, this 2-volume festschrift carries latest research papers, covering some of the broad areas, which have figured among her lifelong research concerns. Written by eminent scholars from Germany, India, Singapore, UK, and USA, the 37 essays here been grouped in five thematically organized sections: Buddhist Monuments and Icons – Iconography, Narrative Sculpture and Images – Monuments (Architecture) – Painting – General Themes. Among other specific themes, the essays focus on the Ashokan Stupa at Sopara, Gandhara Art from the Hirayama Collection in Japan, Mathura ‘Personality vis-à-vis the Development of Narrative Art, the Woman and Dwarf Motive in Western Indian Sculpture, Temple Sculpture in Colonial Madurai, Revelations in Rock, Kachwaha Temples, Enigmatic Buddhist Monasteries and Temples in Central India, and Water Structures of Gujarat; besides studies of narratives in stone, yantras, iconography, calligraphy, terracottas, Khajuraho sculptures, Jaina cave temples, and paintings. The papers are lavishly illustrated with exquisite photographs.

Born in 1937 in Bombay, Dr Devangana Desai is an indefatigable researcher and prolific writer – the author of several critically acclaimed books, like Erotic Sculptures of India, and Khajuraho: Monumental Legacy. Exclusively dedicated to research and writing, she never took up a job. Widely quoted, highly respected art historian, Dr Desai has given scholarly talks at various national and international academic forums. And was invited to Festivals of India in UK and USA. She is associated with many prestigious institutions, besides being the Vice-President of Asiatic Society of Bombay. All this besides, Dr Desai is a wonderful human being -- kind, generous, soft-spoken, warm-hearted, and ever willing to share her wealth of knowledge and experience.

Dr Anita Verghese: formerly Principal, Sophia College, Mumbai, has, since 1985, been engaged in research work on the Vijayanagara City and Empire. Dr Anna L. Dallapiccola: a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, has been Professor of Indian Art at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University from 1971 to 1995.

20/03/2015

Voices from the mountain the Śailendra inscriptions discovered in Central Java and on the Malay Peninsula translations and commentaries by Mark E. Long. New Delhi International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 2014.

ISBN 9788177421415
DK-244155
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK735233217136429661335554371/details.html

19/03/2015

Theory and practice of temple architecture in medieval India Bhoja's Samaranganasutradhara and the Bhojpur line drawings

ISBN 9789381406410
DK-244661

Concerned with architectural theory in India, or vastuvidya, with specific regard to the building of temples and the role of drawing as a tool linking the two, the volume focuses on two works attributed to the legendary king of Paramara dynasty, Bhoja (eleventh century): the ambitious but unfinished temple at Bhojpur which has a unique set of drawings engraved on the rocks surrounding it and his compendium of architectural knowledge called the Samaranganasutradhara. With numerous photographs of details of the temples and drawings as well as site plans showing locations of engraved drawings, it documents here, with details, insights into construction processes and glimpses of some little known temple forms and throws light on the intended design of the temple at Bhojpur, once completed. It provides examples of temple types known among surviving monuments

18/03/2015

Himalayan style Thomas L. Kelly, Claire Burkert New Delhi, India Lustre Press Roli Books, 2014

ISBN 9788174368881
DK-244156

http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DKB351716276321754617674885556371/details.html

The volume is concerned with ancient Himalayan architecture, detailing projects in restoration and new approaches on building and crafts, in an attempt to showcase the vitality, range and richness of Himalayan architectural forms and designs. The book presents a journey through photographs, from the personal collection of Himalayan photography of Thomas Kelly, to survey architecture and interiors of monasteries, temples, estates and village dwellings and the unique accommodation set up for tourists and travellers in the region—the hotels and restaurants, presenting exquisite examples of vernacular architecture, sacred spaces and interiors found in the Himalayan region of subcontinental India.

14/03/2015

The Buddhist cosmopolis Lokesh Chandra New Delhi International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 2014

ISBN 9788177421392
DK-244619
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK9163217162761201187395747441/details.html

13/03/2015

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aspects-medieval-indian-architecture-a-mittal

Aspects of medieval Indian architecture a historical & archaeological study in Punjab Dr. Chand Singh. Delhi Agam Kala Prakashan, 2015ISBN 9788173201554DK-244367http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DKD56162763217313711377273096909331371/details.htmlPunjab was an important place in th…

10/03/2015

Recent researches on Indus civilization & maritime archaeology in India essays dedicated to Late Dr. S.R. Rao, the father of maritime archaeology in India proceedings of the Eighth Indian Conference on Maritime Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries, 1-2 July, 2013 editors, A.S. Gaur, Sundaresh Delhi Agam Kala Prakashan, 2015

ISBN 9788173201455
DK-242385
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK91632171627633851010055084981/details.html

09/03/2015

Phool waalon ki sair Usha Dayal Kumar New Delhi Abhinav Publications 2014

ISBN 8170175534
DK-242843

Phool Waalon ki Sair, the festival of flower sellers, is a part of the cultural tradition of Delhi that began in 1812 during the rule of Mughal king, Akbar Shah II. It is a living tradition in the city. This book introduces the readers to the festival and presents many interesting aspects of it.
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK735233217143686696155181371/details.html

04/03/2015

Jashn-e-Khusrau 2013 celebrating the genius of Khusrau edited by Shakeel Hossain for Aga Khan Trust for Culture. [New Delhi] Aga Khan Trust for Culture Ahmedabad Mapin Publishing, 2014

ISBN 9788189995874
DK-242770
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK825332171624909269920361571/details.html

Amir Khusrau (AD 1253-1325) is recognised as one of the eminent poets of the Persian region comprising South and Central Asia, Iran and Asia Minor in the thirteenth/fourteenth centuries. His literary works and contributions to language, music and local traditions saw the interweaving of culture and traditions. This volume is a tribute to his genius: it showcases his contributions to the making of the composite South Asian culture that is seen as the precursor of what has come to be called Hindustani culture.

26/02/2015

Vibrant rock a catalogue of stone sculptures in the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal Gautam Sengupta, Sharmila Saha with contributions by Rajat Sanyal, Sambhu Chakraborty, Maitry Roy Maulik, Tarun Koley. Kolkata, West Bengal Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal, 2014.

ISBN 9788192953403
DK-243788
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK55465233764267545869631371/details.html

In the West Bengal State Archaeological Museum, Kolkata, are housed the rare tools of the Early, Middle and the Late Stone Ages; Antiquities of proto-historic times; old terracottas; bronzes; woodcarvings; textiles; and manuscripts – besides a huge variety of stone sculptures from the Gupta Maurya, Sunga, Kushana and Pala and Medieval times.

With engaging illustrations, Vibrant Rocks meticulously catalogues the stone sculptures that are preserved in the State Archaeological Museum. Schematically, the Catalogue includes, besides a comprehensive Introduction and two Appendices, four chapters presenting Brahmanical Sculptures, Buddhist Sculptures, Jaina` Sculptures, and Architectural Fragments. Accompanying the illustrations of the sculpted images is the detailed information concerning their find-spots, modes of acquisition, measurements, rock-types, and inscriptional texts, wherever available. These apart, the Catalogue tries to analyze the iconographic attributes of each individual image. These images, find the authors, have a kind of ‘sporadic distribution’ all over West Bengal. In its introduction, the authors spell out the historical backdrop of these stone sculptures.

25/02/2015

The spirit of Indian painting close encounters with 101 great works, 1100-1900 B.N. Goswamy. Gurgaon, Haryana, India Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2014.

ISBN 9780670086573
DK-243910

http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK645523321121536778422511371/details.html

Showcased in this volume are some of the finest, at once fascinating Indian paintings – the veritable marvels of Indian art. An art historian of international eminence, Professor Goswamy, who has had a lifetime involvement with paintings, here sets out 101 works, painstakingly chosen from thousands of the well-known works. His selection, admits Goswamy, is purely personal; but what has guided his choice, “first and foremost”, is that “each one of them speaks to me with a strength and clarity, I cannot ignore”. These paintings, spanning about a thousand years, represent different periods, diverse themes that inspired painters, varying regional styles, and historically important works that were influenced by foreign traditions; besides the works of great masters. Even if each of these paintings, in Goswamy’s opinion, is a great work of art, he does not claim them to be the greatest masterpieces of Indian painting.

In presenting these 101 paintings, the volume does not follow chronological sequence– for it is not meant to be another history of Indian painting. It rather seeks to bring the readers/viewers into close contact with each work and make them feel the texture of its form and thought, to taste its essence or rasa. The paintings, accordingly, have been put together in four different, broad-based groups – Vision, Observation, Passion, and Contemplation. In his comprehensive, truly insightful introductory essay, ‘A Layered World’, Professor Goswamy explains almost every aspect of the selected paintings -- the themes and emotions that inspired the painters, the values and influences that shaped their work, and the unique ways in which they depicted Time and Space. The book, thus, unveils not just the aesthetic appeal of these paintings, but also their true worth hidden within these rare gems of art. It captures the very spirit of Indian painting.

B.N. Goswamy: an internationally acclaimed authority on Indian Painting, is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Panjab University.

24/02/2015

Ratnasri gleanings from Indian archaeology, art history and Indology : papers presented in memory of Dr. N.R, Banerjee. New Delhi Kaveri Books, 2015.

ISBN 9788174791641
DK-243862
http://www.dkagencies.com/doc/from/1063/to/1123/bkId/DK5566523322381264869115131371/details.html

The volume seeks to commemorate a distinguished scholar: Dr N.R. Banerjee, for his widely recognized work in the fields of Indian archaeology and art history. Putting together 22 well-researched papers in five thematically organized sections, the volume covers varied aspects of Indian prehistory, art history, Brahmanical Hindu and Buddhist sculptural art, iconography, architecture, landscape archaeology, epigraphy, seals and documentary studies. Contributed by eminent scholars from France, Germany, India, and Pakistan, the papers consider Neolithic Pottery from South India, Climate and Environment in the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization, a Vishnu plaque from Rajasthan, Buddhist images from Orissa, Surya cult in Mathura, New Elements of Fantasy in Gupta Art, Architecture vis-à-vis Society, Lives of Monuments, Clay Seals of Bhavaraja, and Surya Worship in South Indian Documents, among many other specific themes.