About the Book:
A peculiar feature of the classical aesthetic thought in India has been the emphasis on the art experience as a special state of being, defined not so much by saundarya or beauty as by ananda or beatitude. Yet, saundarya has been a crucial ingredient in the aesthetic experience, prevalent not only in traditional art objects but also in articles of daily life. The discourse of saundarya, as distinct from its experience, was however conducted by or on behalf of the cultivated aesthete and was carried out within the ambit of classical thought. In contrast, modernity, understood not merely as modernisation but as a departure from traditional modes of thinking and behavior, has opened new vistas of human experience and creativity, some of them in total opposition to traditional aesthetic norms. But even as modernity opens new discourses and initiates fresh debates on saundarya, we are reminded that the experience of beauty is a primal need, not easily overcome or substituted by another Can a renewed quest for an understanding the perception and practice of saundarya in India ensure that it is not relegated to the status of an archaic relic or curio, but restored as one of the bindus or foci of our lives?
This volume, perhaps the first of its kind, is a unique contribution to the history of Indian aesthetic analysis. Its eminent contributors, ranging from aestheticians, linguistics, philosophers, historians, literary critics, art collectors, curators, performing artists, painters, and musicians of the highest calibre, are drawn from across three continents and diverse countries. Profusely illustrated, this visual and textual treat on the craft and culture of beauty in India, promises to be a collector's item.
Foreword
Preface: Satyam, Shivam, SundaramKARAN SINGH
Introduction: Evam Saundaryam HARSHA V. DEHEJIA
ESSAYS
Saundarya and Indian AestheticsKAPIL KAPOOR
Some Images of TotalityRICHARD LANNOY
Transcending the Subjective-Objective Dualityin Indian Philosophy and Aesthetics VIJAYA SUBRAMANI
Beauty as Anandashakti in Kashmir Shaivism BETTINA BAUMER
Surasundaris: Celestial Beauties in Temple Art DEVANGANA DESAI
Beyond the Body: The Idea and Production of Saundarya in Classical Indian Dancing MANDAKRANTA BOSE
Panditraja Jagannatha's Aesthetic Theory: A Modern Interpretation INDRA NATH CHOUDHURI
Beauty in the Human Form in Sixteenth Century Hindi Poetry and the Evolution of Ek Chashma Chehra in Rajasthani Painting ANAND KRISHNA
Aesthetic and Formal Imperatives in Indian Painting J. P. LOSTY
Saundarya and Zibai: Concepts of Beauty in Hindu and Islamic Textile Design ROSEMARY CRILL
In the Flow of Modernity: Some Reflections on Tirtha and Murti in Hindu India MADHU KHANNA
ILLUSTRATIONS
NOTES
Saundarya and Saundarya Lahari SWAMI VINAYA CHAITANYA
"Saundarya and Ananda are not different..." SONAL MANSINGH
Saundarya and Sancharibhavas in Dance SUNIL KOTHARI
The Unheard Melody VIDYA RAO
Beauty as a Certain Stillness ARPANA CAUR
A Collector's Eye for Beauty JAGDISH MITTAL
Saundaryaheen Saundarya? SHAILA PARIKH
Gandhi and Saundarya: Towards an Aesthetic Swaraj SUNDHIR KUMAR
"The Very Embodiment of Beauty..." A Dialogue with J. Prabhakar RAMAN SRINIVASAN
Aesthetics of Lakrachna HAKU SHAH
Celebration of Life: Saundarya in Indian "Folk" Art NARENDRA BOKHARE
Saundarya O Shringar: Beauty and Love in Rabindra Sangeet REBA SOM
The Last Sign? Aesthetics and Semantics in Recent Art Theory ANA AGUD
The Art of Despair: The Sense of the City in Modern Bengali Poetry SUDIPTA KAVIRAJ
Re-inventing the Idea of Beauty GEETI SEN
Experience Parallel to Beauty: Some Reflections on Atul Dodiya's Man with Chakki RANJIT HOSKOTE
The Aesthetics of the Ordinary: Evoking Narrative Wonder Within the Linear Grammar of Modernity RUKMINI BHAYA NAIR
The Artist and the Modern Public Sphere RAJEEV BHARGAVA
Death in Aesthetic Experience WAGISH SHUKLA
Saundarya, Modernity and the Aesthetics of Duality MAKARAND PARANJAPE
Notes on Contribution
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