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Undivided gender
Archana Shastri
Ardhanarishvara, the
Androgyne
by Alka Pande. Rupa.
Pages 192. Rs 1500.
IT
was in the autumn of 1984 that I had sighted my classmate in the
London's Royal College of Art, with his false eyelashes, desperately
trying to tighten his corset for the weekend party. Cross-dressing was
common enough, and I remember one of the posters for the weekend bash
featured a young man lounging around in lingerie. At the party, one of
the rabid feminists ripped open the cross-dresser's clothes she was
violently opposed to such "gender-benders" and their invasion
of the feminine domain.
New ground on
globalisation
P. K. Vasudeva
Globalisation and South Asia
Multidimensional Perspectives
by Achin Vanaik
Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, Manohar, New
Delhi.
Pages 362. Rs 745
This
volume is the outcome of a seminar on Globalisation and South
Asia held by the Academy of Third World Studies of Jamia Millia
Islamia. Globalisation is often perceived as economic process of global
integration, but in the conference, it has been envisaged that
globalisation involves not only economics but also society, culture,
politics, education, science and so on.
Crouching
tiger, hidden dragon
Parshotam Mehra
The India-China
Relationship: Rivalry and Engagement
edited by Francine R. Frankel and Harry Harding. Oxford University
Press, New Delhi. Pages XII+377. Rs 595.
As
the two major emerging powers of Asia and the world, both India
and China have gradually evolved over the past couple of decades from a
policy of conflict and confrontation to one of engagement, if not
cooperation. Their contested borders, nuclear rivalry, competition for
influence-and not only in Asia-growing economic clout if also domestic
problems and preoccupations make for a complex if also complicated
scenario.
Ayodhya: myths demolished
Harbans Singh
The Legend of Ram-Antiquity to
Janambhumi Debate
by Sanujit Ghose.
Bibliophile South Asia in association with Prgmilla & Co. Pages
1-261. Rs 595.
It
is a fascinating study of the variations of the myths relating to
Ram that have been in vogue since times immemorial. The author, Sanujit
Ghose, takes the readers through the Iranian and the Babylonian epics as
well as the thousands of folktales that have gained currency to the
times when Tulasidas appeared on the scene to deify Ram for all times to
come.
Excuses for enmity
Manju Jaidka
Husband of a Fanatic
by
Amitava Kumar. Penguin. Pages 328. Rs 295.
When
Amitava Kumar married a Pakistani Muslim, he began a process of
discovery that culminated in this "fiercely personal essay"
entitled Husband of a Fanatic. This work examines the complex
relationship between Hindus and Muslims on the one hand, and India and
Pakistan on the other.
Rich life, poor account
Shastri Ramachandaran
The Voice of the Heart. An
Autobiography.
by Mrinalini Sarabhai. HarperCollins. Pages 316. Rs
495.
This
is a book that one would pick up
with high expectations. It is the story of and by an extraordinarily
accomplished dancer who has an assured place in the history of dance, if
not art and culture too. Covering, as her story does, nearly three
quarters of the last century when Indian performing arts moved out of
exclusive, elitist circles as well as from their traditional lower
origins, such as devadasis, Mrinalini Sarabhai has much to tell, and
teach too.
Dappled light on the Enlightened One
Rajnish Wattas
An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World
by Pankaj Mishra. Picador. Pages 422. Rs 495.
I now saw him in my own world, amid its great violence and confusion, holding out the possibility of knowledge as well as redemption the awareness, suddenly liberating, with which I finally began to write about the Buddha.
Pankaj Mishra
The more things change the more they are the same and life comes a full circle.
Hindi review
Stories told with sensitivity
Ashok Malik
Soyee Hui Heer
by Kartar
Singh Duggal. Bhartiya Jnanpith. Pages 179. Rs 40.
The
common thread running through the selection of the more than
two-dozen stories from the master storyteller of Punjab and Punjabi,
Kartar Singh Duggal, is that he touches the innermost feelings of his
principal characters. His stories explore layers of their innermost
thoughts in a very subtle way which shows his empathy for the
characters.
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