Anyone who knows India is aware of its sophisticated aesthetic philosophy and equally rich history of making everyday things beautiful. Yet, most Indians, and travellers to India, have also experienced the great contrast between its ingrained beauty and its contemporary ugliness. Towards Ananda examines the many reasons for such a paradox, with particular focus on the visual arts. Unlike most books on Indian art and aesthetics which emphasize the ‘glorious past’ of the classical traditions, this one is centred on the present and the future—on contemporary art and its place in the emerging global art world. The author explores ancient theories of aesthetics in the light of contemporary challenges, and journeys across the country to distil the complex forces which have shaped Indian aesthetics. He also gives us an overview of Western ideologies and art movements, and their conflict with Eastern perspectives. In the course of the narrative, the author illustrates the application of the aesthetic values of balance, rhythm, harmony and proportionality in art—as also in economics, development strategies, health, education, city planning, architecture, and product design. Though the primary focus is India, the issues discussed, of purpose and practice, content and context, market forces and institutions, extend to all societies that are becoming homogenized by globalization. A book that engages the reader both intellectually and emotionally, Towards Ananda is a seamless chain of ideas about the production and consumption of art in modern times. As an insider’s view of the art world, it offers valuable insights into how artists see, think and work. And since art can never be separate from the experience of reality, it is also a provocative commentary on the state and society that we are a part of.

Art and life in India have been inextricably intertwined from ancient times to the present day. Art as a way of life, as ritual, as decoration and as unity with the Sublime bore testament to the socio-cultural milieu; the high level of sophistication that developed in ancient India was reflected in the arts in a holistic light. The arts, thus, strived to hone man’s intellectual sensibilities, thus raising him to the level of the transcendental, which in India was Brahma or ultimate reality. This book brings forth the popular theories of Indian aesthetics and Indian poetics. Bharatmuni, Abhinavgupta, Anandvardhana and a number of seers have given substantial dimensions to the concept as found in Natryashastra, Dhvanyavloka, and Abhinavbharati, among other texts. It represents primarily a compilation of commentaries and criticism of these texts, and will serve as a preliminary guide to students, beginners and researchers of Indian aesthetics and poetics. The appendices bring together a number of papers on Indian aesthetics, while there is also an informative and comprehensive bibliography and an exhaustive glossary to provide added aid for non-Sanskrit speakers.