Ranga Roopa- Gods, Words and Images

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About the Book All of us know some poetry, something about religion, and a little bit even about art. This book aims at bringing these things together. Here, poetry is used to bring the reader, especially the young reader, close to art, and to enable him/her to recognize some important images. In India, we have some wonderful paintings and sculptures that contain both meaning and delight; unfortunately, we do not often explore this world. There are also icons-images of gods and goddesses-which we see but understand only imperfectly. This little book enters these different but related worlds in its own way, and should make some great works of art become part of the reader's awareness, even perhaps of his/her imagination.

The little poems, both in Hindi, and in their free rendering in English, were written especially for this book. They follow an order based on the Devanagari alphabet, something that might help in their being retained in the mind. The verses in Hindi are also printed in the Roman script so that non-Hindi speaking readers are able to have some access to them. The short poems and the works of art in this book may open many windows. If that happens, more can be learnt through these images, or about them, in the last section of the book where related questions and answers appear.

About the Author B.N. Goswamy, distinguished art historian, is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Punjab University, Chandigarh. A leading authority on Indian art, his work covers a wide range and is regarded, especially in the area of Pahari painting, as having influenced much thinking. He is the recipient of many honors, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship, the Friedberg Award from Switzerland for Outstanding Research in Art History, the Padma Shri (1998) and the Padma Bhushan (2008) from the President of India.

Prof. Goswamy has been Visiting Professor at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. He has also written extensively, many of his books having acquired the status of classics in the field of Indian art. This, however, is his first book for young readers.

**Contents and Sample Pages**