Download or read book Ardhakathanak written by Banārasīdāsa and published by Penguin Classics. This book was released on 2009 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Banarasidas charms us with his transparency and frankness, revealing as much of himself as possible. And he punctuates the fast-flowing narrative of his life every now and then to muse on the nature of human existence.
Download or read book Banarasidas ARDHAKATHANAK A Half Story written by Rohini Chowdhury and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2009-04-11 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poet; philosopher and merchant; Banarasidas had no precedent in literature or tradition that might have inspired him to write his life’s story or guided him in his task. His motivation to write his story was simple: ‘Let me tell my story to all.’ Completed in the winter of 1641; in Agra; Ardhakathanak is the first autobiography in an Indian language. Banarsidas charms us with his transparency and frankness; revealing as much of himself as possible. And he punctuates the fast-flowing narrative of his life every now and then to muse on the nature of human existence. The result is an astonishing account that is more modern than medieval in tone; and free of formulaic conventions and stylized ornamentation. At the end of his ‘half story’; Banarasi becomes as intimate to us as an old friend. We know the ups and downs of his life almost as well as we know our own and we come to identify with his intellectual and spiritual struggles; and perhaps even share them.
Download or read book Puffin Lives Gautama Buddha written by Rohini Chowdhury and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2011 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gautama's ideas went against the established beliefs of centuries. His teachings did not rely on the idea of a Supreme God or gods who could rescue humanity from its sorrows; instead he believed that nirvana lay within each person; and could be achieved by following the right path. Even though he was one of the most influential men who ever walked the earth; very little is known about the life of Siddhartha Gautama; the man we call the Buddha. His teachings were followed for 1;500 years in India; and became the guiding principles of life for both rich and poor; high born and lower caste. Today; the religion he founded is followed all over the world.Here is the fascinating story of his life-from his youth as a privileged prince to his renunciation and attainment of nirvana; how his teachings changed all those who came in contact with him; and the story of the tumultuous lives of people and kingdoms in ancient India.
Download or read book Half a Tale written by Banārasīdāsa and published by Rupa & Company. This book was released on 2005 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The ""Ardhakathanaka"" is a remarkable work. Written during the heyday of the Mughal rule in 1641 A.D., it is perhaps the only autobiography in the Indian tradition. Banarasi, its author, was evidently working without precedence. Yet he was surprisingly cognizant of the complexity of his task and the depth of introspection it needed. ""A man's life has much that is subtly secret and profoundly beyond grasp. Even within the tiny span of a day he passes through myriad states of consciousness. The Omniscient Tirthankara, perhaps, sees it all, but even he cannot report it in its fullness."" This was his comment at the end of his narrative. Born in a merchant family that had migrated from Rajasthan to Jaunpur in eastern U.P., Banarasi spent an eventful life in many Mughal towns, finally settling in Agra where he wrote ""Half a Tale"" at the age of 55. He died about two years later."
Download or read book Locating Pleasure in Indian History written by and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-30 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Locating Pleasure in Indian History is one of the first works on the subject of the 'discourse of pleasure' in Indian history and culture. A rigorous, source-based work, it examines the cultural practices and the underlying philosophic matrix of pleasures, big or small. It recovers the production and consumption of beauty, desire and gratification in the world of pleasure, pleasurable pursuits and pleasant experiences of viewing, performing, thinking, debating, cooking, eating, listening, writing, creating and procreating. The contributions retrieve the discourse of pleasure in visual and literary cultures-in elite and popular spheres, including the public and private domains of the bazaar, the temple, the household, the court and the garden. Further, it is examined in the urbane art of Mathura, Ravana's palace in the art of 7th CE western Deccan, the suratkhana of Rajput royalty or domestic pleasures of women in the labyrinths of the Puranas. With over 40 photographs, it historicises ideological and experiential conundrums thrown up by the idea of pursuing alimentary, carnal and even pious desires in visual and literary cultures. The reflexivity inherent in the work of artists, poets, dramatists and even shastrins is brought out through moments of pleasure and counter-pleasure as revealed through anecdotes, narratives, artefacts and objects of aesthetic gratification.
Download or read book The Barefoot Surgeon written by Ali Gripper and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2018-06-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A true insight into my remarkable friend Dr Sanduk Ruit.' - Gabi Hollows 'He reminds me of Don Bradman. They both have a God-given talent and skill...' - Ray Martin 'If I've done one thing in life I'm proud of, it's launching Ruit into the world'. - Fred Hollows 'One of the greatest people I've ever met.' - Joel Edgerton 'I've known Dr Sanduk Ruit for over thirty years. He is one of our greatest living eye surgeons and humanitarians... Watching him give the gift of sight is like watching someone give a second life.' - Richard Gere Inspiring and uplifting, this is the extraordinary story of Dr Sanduk Ruit who, like his mentor Fred Hollows, took on the world's medical establishment to give the life-changing gift of sight to hundreds and thousands of the world's poorest and most isolated people. It is the story of a boy from the lowest tiers of a rigid caste system who grew up in a tiny, remote Himalayan village with no school to become one of the most respected ophthalmologists in the world and a medical giant of Asia. Compelling and compassionate, it is also the story of a young doctor who became Fred Hollows' medical soul mate and who chose to defy the world's medical establishment and the lure of riches to make the world a better place.
Download or read book My Favourite Stories written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Three Princes of Persia written by Rohini Chowdhury and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2005-04-05 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twenty myths in this book come from the great classic tales of Greece and Rome, and from Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Native American, African, Indian and Asian traditions. At the heart of each is the story of a child hero. Some of the stories are well-known-of Horus, of the Pandavas, of Heracles, and of Romulus and Remus. There are also many that are less well-known-the story of Cuchulainn, the Celtic hero, Wen P'eng, the Chinese boy who turns into a dragon, and Rustam, Zal and Sohrab, the three princes of Persia.
Download or read book Mathemagic written by Rohini Chowdhury and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2012-09-15 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Tzyphyr is no ordinary Wizard—he knows mathemagic, the spell of numbers. It gives him a power greater than ordinary magic ever could. With him, the twins Megha and Mehul set off on a series of adventures to explore the fascinating world of numbers. They learn how numbers are used to measure, count and set things in order.
Download or read book The Early Modern in South Asia written by Meena Bhargava and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-30 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did modernity arrive in South Asia with British colonialism? Or was South Asia already modern by then? What might have that modernity looked like? The Early Modern in South Asia engages with these questions. It brings together ten chapters, which collectively trace the contours of South Asia's early modernity between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. They do this by examining the nature of historical change in various domains, including philosophy, warfare, law, environment, politics, violence, religion, and society. The chapters argue that in all these fields, there were noticeable developments during this period, marking a shift from the medieval to the early modern. The introductory chapter contextualizes this by analysing the politics of periodization in history-writing across the world. It discusses the meanings of the relatively new concept of early modernity and the implications of its use for how we understand historical change and continuity in South Asia.
Download or read book Carnatic Summer written by V. Sriram and published by East West. This book was released on 2014-09-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born in England on June 22, 1966, Sriram had his early schooling in Madras and then in Calcutta. His bachelors in engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering in 1987, was followed by a masters in business administration specializing in marketing and advertising from FMS, Delhi University. Sriram then moved on to a varied career in marketing and advertising before joining his family business in Chennai. Carnatic music has been a passion for Sriram since the age of six, when his grandmother began to teach him the basics, in the family puja room. This combined with a great interest in history, has led him to study the art form in depth with special reference to its great personalities. Since this book first appeared in print in 2004, Sriram has emerged as an engaging historian and chronicler of Chennai, and Carnatic Music. He conducts heritage walks, addresses audiences and is a columnist for city newspapers. Carnatic Summer was his first book and since then he has written eight more, on the arts, corporate history and personalities.
Download or read book Astrologicl Secrets Of Friendship Love And Marriage written by Gopeśa Kumāra Ojhā and published by . This book was released on 2004-01-30 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK:----------------The present book describes the mysteries, i.e. the hidden Astrological secrets of love, friendship and marriage and when the effects would fructify. The importance of love, friendship and marriage in life can never be o
Download or read book Fiction as History written by Vasudha Dalmia and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2019-08-01 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains the Hindi novel’s role in anticipating and creating the story of middle-class modernity and modernization in North India. Vasudha Dalmia offers a panoramic view of the intellectual and cultural life of North India over a century, from the aftermath of the 1857 uprising to the end of the Nehruvian era. The North’s historical cities, rooted in an Indo-Persianate culture, began changing more slowly than the Presidency towns founded by the British. Dalmia takes up eight canonical Hindi novels set in six of these cities—Agra, Allahabad, Banaras, Delhi, Lahore, and Lucknow—to trace a literary history of domestic and political cataclysms. Her exploration of the emerging Hindu middle classes, changing personal and professional ambitions, and new notions of married life provides a vivid sense of urban modernity. She argues that the radical social transformations associated with post-1857 urban restructuring, and the political flux resulting from social reform, Gandhian nationalism, communalism, Partition, and the Cold War shaped the realm of the intimate as much as the public sphere. Love and friendship, notions of privacy, attitudes to women’s work, and relationships within households are among the book’s major themes.
Download or read book The Man Who Saved India written by Hindol Sengupta and published by Penguin Random House India Private Limited. This book was released on 2018-08-31 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is perhaps no political figure in modern history who did more to secure and protect the Indian nation than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. But, ironically, seventy years after Patel brought together piece by piece the map of India by fusing the princely states with British India to create a new democratic, independent nation, little is understood or appreciated about Patel's enormous contribution to the making of India. Caricatured in political debate, all the nuances of Patel's difficult life and the daring choices he made are often lost, or worse, used as mere polemic. If Mahatma Gandhi was the spiritual core of India's freedom struggle and Jawaharlal Nehru its romantic idealism, it was Sardar Patel who brought in the vital pragmatism which held together the national movement and the first ideas of independent India. A naturally stoic man, Patel, unlike Gandhi or Nehru, wrote no personal history. He famously argued that its was better to create history than write it. This is why even his deepest misgivings and quarrels have been easily buried. But every warning that Patel left for India - from the dangers of allowing groups to create private militias to his thoughtful criticism on India's approach to Kashmir, Pakistan and China - are all dangerously relevant today. It is impossible to read about Patel, who died in 1950, and not feel that had he lived on, India might have been a different country. It is also impossible to ignore Patel and understand not only what the idea of India is but also what it could have been, and might be in the future. The Man Who Saved India is a sweeping, magisterial retelling of Sardar Patel's story. With fiercely detailed and pugnacious anecdotes, multiple award-winning, best-selling writer Hindol Sengupta brings alive Patel's determined life of struggle and his furious commitment to keep India safe. This book brings alive all the arguments, quarrels and clashes between some of the most determined people in Indian history and their battle to carve out an independent nation. Through ravages of a failing body broken by decades of abuse in and outside prison, Patel stands out in this book as the man who, even on his death bed, worked to save India. Hindol Sengupta's The Man Who Saved India is destined to define Patel's legacy for future generations.
Download or read book Shringar the Ras Raj written by Ved Bhatnagar and published by Abhinav Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Shringar poetry is not simply a fresh school of poetry but is, in many respects, comparable to the great English romantic poetry excelling in the delineation of nature and flight of imagination. It is a unique effort of bringing under the umbrella of ras poetry, music, sculpture and painting, and a rare mix of scholarship and popular writing.
Download or read book The Resignation written by Jainendra and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2012-03-01 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the giants of Hindi literature, Jainendra introduced the ‘psychological’ in Hindi fiction. Questions of love, marriage and relationships occupy much of Jainendra’s works, taking them into the realm of the internal and the intimate. In The Resignation, Jainendra tells the story of Mrinal, a young woman whose uncompromising idealism results in her family and society rejecting her completely. Almost seventy-five years after it was written, the story of Mrinal’s struggle against stultifying social norms and her fierce individualism remain startlingly relevant.
Download or read book Proceedings Indian History Congress written by Indian History Congress and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 1166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
