Rural Kyrgyz have many traditions that appear biblical, causing an observer to ponder a link between the prophets and Central Asian tribes. Comparing Kyrgyzstan's national epic Manas with ancient scripture reinforces such a bond; especially obvious is the similarity between the tribal patriarch "Manasseh son of Jacob" and the Kyrgyz hero "Manas son of Jakyb." Many of the chapters in this book were essays presented at academic conferences in Kyrgyzstan. They were first published in the Kyrgyz language for a Central Asian mindset.

How do specific secular and religious ideologies—such as nationalism, neoliberalism, atheism, Pentecostalism, Tablighi Islam, and shamanism—gain popularity and when do they lose traction? To answer these questions, Mathijs Pelkmans critically examines the trajectories of a range of ideologies as they move into the post-Soviet frontier in Central Asia. Ethnographically rooted in the everyday life of a former mining town in southern Kyrgyzstan, Fragile Conviction shows how residents have dealt with the existential and epistemic crises that arose after the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Residents became enchanted by the truths of Muslim and Christian missionaries, embraced the teachings of neoliberal and nationalist ideologues, and were riveted by the visions of shamanic healers. But no matter how much enthusiasm and hope these ideas first engendered, the commitment to any of them rarely lasted very long.Pelkmans finds that there is an inverse relationship between the tenacity and the effervescence of collective ideas, between their strength to persist and their ability to trigger committed action. Introducing the concept of pulsation, he argues in Fragile Conviction that ideational power must be understood in relation to three aspects: the voicing of the idea, its tension with everyday reality, and its reverberation within groups of listeners. The conclusion that the power of conviction is rooted in the instability of sociocultural contexts is a message that has relevance far beyond urban Central Asia.

Can employees emulate the rules that make business owners succeed? How do you navigate through twists and turns at your work place? Is your career sorted? Do you know the secrets you learn only when you earn? Peek into the life of Manas, a budding business graduate, who starts as an intern and navigates through the challenges on his way to the top of the ladder. The book, which draws from real-life incidents, reveals the secrets he needed to learn and unlearn to get there and the bunch of well-wishers who helped him on the way.

Are themes like the lost tribes of Israel for whacky religious extremists, or are the historical parallels telling us to wake up and deal with historical reality? Check out Kyrgyz-biblical similarities and make your own decision.

This book applies phenomenological methodology to examine the transformations of messages as they pass from the mind to the linear world of human speech, and then back again. Rapid development of linguistic science in the second half of the 20th century, and cognitive science in the beginning of the 21st century has brought us through various stages of natural human language analysis and comprehension – from deep structures, transformational grammar and behaviorism to cognitive linguistics, theory of encapsulation, and mentalism. Thus, drawing upon new developments in cognitive science, philosophy and hermeneutics, the author reveals how to obtain the real vision of life lurking behind the spoken word. Applying methodology introduced by Edmund Husserl and developed by Martin Heidegger, the author examines how we can see the ‘living’ and dynamic essence of speech hidden in the world of linear linguistic strings and casual utterances. This uniquely researched work will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of cognitive stylistics, pragmatics and the psychology of language.

Manas and Ritu are two very different people from two different backgrounds. They end up in Chennai to pursue engineering. This novel talks about how these two became friends and then best friends. In due course of time Manas gets more and more attached to her emotionally. An unexpected turn of events leads to Manas facing the biggest nightmare ever.

This story revolves around the today's mall where a dead magician is brought back to life through his magic locket. The power of the locket brings life in the mannequins also. Only the dead magician and his granddaughter could listen and speak to them. The magician's granddaughter works in the same mall and the mannequins help her in sales as they could read other's mind. Read this interesting story to know how she meets her love and how the mannequins and her dead grandfather help her in getting her love and her lost property.