- Mohandas K. Gandhi has been described as an artist of non-violence, crafting as he did a set of practices of the self and politics that earned him the mantle of Mahatma, the great soul. Mohandas K. Gandhi has been described as 'an artist of non-violence, ' crafting as he did a set of practices of the self and politics that earned him the mantle of Mahatma, 'the great soul.' His philosophy and praxis of satyagraha, non-violent civil disobedience, has been analyzed extensively. But is satyagraha also an aesthetic regime, with practices akin to a work of art? Is Gandhi, then, an artist of disobedience? Sumathi Ramaswamy explores these questions with the help of India's modern and contemporary artists who have over the past century sought out the Mahatma as their muse and invested in him across a wide range of media from painting and sculpture to video installation and digital production. At a time when Gandhi is a hallowed but hollow presence, why have they lavished so much attention on him? A hundred and fifty years after his birth, Gandhi is hyper visible across the Indian landscape from tea stalls and government offices to museums and galleries. This is ironical given that the Mahatma appeared to have had little time for the visual arts or for artists for that matter. Yet fascinatingly, the visual artist has emerged as Gandhi's conscience-keeper, reminding others of the meaning of the Mahatma in his own time and today. In so doing, these artists also reveal why this most disobedient of 'modern' icons has grabbed their attention, resulting in a veritable art of disobedience as an homage to one of the twentieth century's great prophets of disobedience.

The world of socio-aesthetics is the serene world of human ascent and excellence. To Mahatma Gandhi, a poignant aesthetic visionary par excellence, the orbit of socio-aesthetics incorporates careful and cautions cultivation of nobler sentiments and finer sensibilities like Truth, Goodness, Beauty and so on for endless advancement of man in the efforescence of myticism. The fusion of Sarvodaya, Non-violence, religion, education and symbolism for the desirable end-in-view of socio-aesthetics as Gandhi advocates and translates till the last day of his life, bears ample testimony to the socio-aesthetic fullness of vision of humankind.

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art provides an extensive research resource to the burgeoning field of Asian aesthetics. Featuring leading international scholars and teachers whose work defines the field, this unique volume reflects the very best scholarship in creative, analytic, and comparative philosophy. Beginning with a philosophical reconstruction of the classical rasa aesthetics, chapters range from the nature of art-emotions, tones of thinking, and aesthetic education to issues in film-theory and problems of the past versus present. As well as discussing indigenous versus foreign in aesthetic practices, this volume covers North and South Indian performance practices and theories, alongside recent and new themes including the Gandhian aesthetics of surrender and self-control and the aesthetics of touch in the light of the politics of untouchability. With such unparalleled and authoritative coverage, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art represents a dynamic map of comparative cross-cultural aesthetics. Bringing together original philosophical research from renowned thinkers, it makes a major contribution to both Eastern and Western contemporary aesthetics.

In the Vishnudharmottara Purana, when Vajra asks about the art of sculpting deities, Markandeya responds that understanding sculpture first requires knowledge of painting. When Vajra seeks the rules of painting, Markandeya further explains that painting itself cannot be understood without knowledge of dance. To grasp choreography, one must first comprehend music, and true understanding of music is only possible through mastery of singing. This interdependence of art, the insight into the essence of art, is not only attractive but also worth deploring especially when over-specialization is the norm of our age. The essays in this book are a reflection of that ideal, seeking to explore and touch even a small part of this artistic interdependence.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. His life and thought has had an enormous impact on the Indian nation, and he continues to be widely revered - known before and after his death by assassination as Mahatma, the Great Soul.

The original work presents a totally new methodology for understanding the concept of aesthetic experience through the medium of 'dialogue' - a dialogue between the subject and object; I and thou.