Kirjahaku

Illustrated with pieces from museums across the world, Masterpieces of Indian Art is a rich and stunning portrayal of the most precious treasures of Indian art. Extensive photo research and detailed examination of every facet of the arts make it nothing less than a book of illustrated art history. Its scope stretches across nearly four millennia, and it covers ground beginning from the art of the Harappans to Chola bronzes, Mughal miniatures, and the exquisitely crafted jewellery and textiles of India. Written by an expert whose reading of art history for the ordinary reader manages to be both simple and subtle, it is both lucid and thorough. Ambitious in its range, meticulous in its details, and insightful in its commentary, Masterpieces of Indian Art is a jewel of a book.

Description'The freedom and beauty of the green outdoors-soft beds ofgrass and ferns; the caress of the breeze; the scent of flowers;birdsong and moonlight-inflame desire in the nayak (hero)and the nayika (heroine) in ancient and medieval Indian art andliterature... Whether the nayak and nayika be mortals or gods, love is always erotic, and its most beautiful expression happensin the lap of nature, as the lovers give themselves to each otherwithout inhibition beneath the open sky.'In this exquisite book, one of India's most respected authorities on art, aesthetics and pre-modern sexuality brings us images that celebrate eroticlove in the outdoors. With a brilliant introduction providing the context, shehas put together glorious visual evidence of the freedom that lovers onceenjoyed in South Asia.

Description'Yoga is the science of ultimate balance-between dharma (duty, or "right living"), artha (economic well-being), kama (eroticdesire) and moksha (enlightenment or liberation)... Sexualsatisfaction is thus essential for a full and healthy experience oflife. The most visible manifestations of yoga are physical poses orasanas and these were the easiest to depict. Hence the profusionin India's pre-modern sculpture and art of people engaged ina variety of sexual acts, the positions inspired directly by yogaasanas.'A leading authority on India's art and erotic traditions brings us images oflovers in yogic or yoga-inspired poses-for mindful pleasure, extendedbliss, or passionate excess-and ranging from the stunningly gymnastic tothe delightfully over-the-top. With a brilliant introduction explaining theconnection between yoga and kama, this book of art is as exquisite as it isunusual.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu...the Devi and Her avatars reside everywhere. In Devi and Her Avatars, writer and historian Dr Alka Pande has chosen some of the most revered and fascinating avatars from the Devi Bhagavata Purana and the Durga Saptashati-the two key texts in which the many forms of Devi are celebrated-and explored their origins as well as the local lores, legends and symbolism surrounding them. From Adi Shakti to Shiva Shakti to Mahadevi, from the Vedic to the Puranic to the tribal goddesses, from Vindhyavasini to Durga to the kuladevis, the Goddess is worshipped in different forms. In Assam, She is Kamakhya Devi, the Tantrik goddess; in Bengal, She is Durga and Kali, slayers of asuras and demons; in Gujarat, She is Momai Mata or Dashama; in Kerala, Her form is Bhadrakali; in Tamil Nadu, She is Amman; among the Gonds in central India, She is worshipped as Prakriti and Kankali Kali. She is the Eternal and reigns supreme as the Primal Energy. This fascinating book traces how Devi's presence has been experienced and revered by Her believers for many millennia.

51 SECRET PEETHAS OF THE GODDESS. THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE OMNIPRESENT ALL-POWERFUL GODDESS SHAKTI