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 219 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 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 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 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 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 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 Mathemagic written by Rohini Chowdhury and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2012-09-15 with total page 42 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 Truth About Me written by A Revathi and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2010-07-10 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We got stared at a lot. People asked out loudly—some out of curiosity, others out of malice—whether we were men or women or ‘number nines’ or devadasis. Several men made bold to touch us, on our backs, on our shoulders. Some attempted to grab our breasts. ‘Original or duplicate?’ they shouted and hooted. At such moments I felt despair and wondered if there would ever be a way for us to live with dignity and make a decent living. Revathi was born a boy, but felt and behaved like a girl. In telling her life story, Revathi evokes marvellously the deep unease of being in the wrong body that plagued her from childhood. To be true to herself, to escape the constant violence visited upon her by her family and community, the village-born Revathi ran away to Delhi to join a house of hijras. Her life became an incredible series of dangerous physical and emotional journeys to become a woman and to find love. The Truth about Me is the unflinchingly courageous and moving autobiography of a hijra who fought ridicule, persecution and violence both within her home and outside to find a life of dignity.
Download or read book My Life In My Words written by Rabindranath Tagore and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2010-09-08 with total page 573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique autobiography that provides an incomparable insight into the mind of a genius The Renaissance man of modern India, Rabindranath Tagore put his country on the literary map of the world when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. My Life in My Words is, quite literally, Tagore on Tagore. Uma Das Gupta draws upon the vast repertoire of Tagore’s writings to create a vivid portrait of the life and times of one of India’s most influential cultural icons. The result is a rare glimpse into the world of Tagore: his family of pioneering entrepreneurs who shaped his worldview; the personal tragedies that influenced some of his most eloquent verse; his groundbreaking work in education and social reform; his constant endeavour to bring about a synthesis of the East and the West and his humanitarian approach to politics; and his rise to the status of an international poet. Meticulously researched and sensitively edited, this unique autobiography provides an incomparable insight into the mind of a genius.
Download or read book Urban Wage Earners in Seventeenth Century India written by Nishat Manzar and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-04-22 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume takes a pan-Indian view of different professional groups and service providers mainly based in towns. While Persian texts provide limited information on the subject, European sources in the form of travelogues, letters, memoirs and official reports unfold an interesting panorama on the subject. Here focus has been on the seventeenth century, as some prominent European share holders’ Companies established their warehouses-cum-residential complexes in India in this very century. Officials of these Companies sent to India or elsewhere, maintained proper records of their transactions and interaction with the state officials, common people, servants inside the household and outside, and through their reports attracted many European freebooters also to have a firsthand experience of the East. Here from, we get numerous details on the social life, working conditions, wages and other aspects of life of people who earned their livelihood through manual labour, as conditions in India appeared novel to them and they meticulously recorded everything with much interest. Their information is corroborated with the Indian sources. In both types of sources – Persian and European – artisans, labourers and service providers have generally been projected as ‘poor’, ‘miserable’ and ‘wretched’; who faced exploitation at all levels. Still, their contribution to the economy and society was imperative. Aspects of life of such people deserve a detailed discussion as this volume amply proves. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
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 103 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 The Bones of Grace written by Tahmima Anam and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2017-08-02 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bones of Grace is a modern love story spanning continents and the interwoven fortunes of those who have and have not. On the eve of her departure to discover evidence of the near mythological walking whale Ambulocetus Natans, Zubaida Haque falls in love with a stranger she meets at a piano concert. But after a tragedy sends her back to her hometown Dhaka, she seeks solace in the figure of an old friend and makes a rash decision with disastrous consequences. In a bid to escape familial constraints, she moves to a southern port city to help a charity working on the infamous shipbreaking beaches. Here she meets Anwar, a shipbreaker whose story holds a key that unlocks for Zubaida not only the mysteries of her past but the possibilities of a new life. The third instalment of the Bengal trilogy, The Bones of Grace brings the arc of Bangladesh's tumultuous history full circle in an epic of loss and love.
