On the life and works of Kashmiri mystic poetess, Rūpā, d. 1721.

A cross-disciplinary anthology on contemporary Kashmir by academics from Jammu and Kashmir, the first such volume to appear. The book offers a panorama of key cultural concerns of Jammu and Kashmir today, incorporating analysis of military, cultural, religious, and social aspects of the society and polity.

Kashmiri Pandits have a five thousand-year old history which is horrible, horrific and horrendous, but these people are wonderful, in the sense that they have maintained themselves in body and soul, have preserved their cultural identity to a large extent and mostly guarded their rituals and customs. This book highlights the atrocities inflicted on Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of the valley. No drama can rival the grandeur of their sufferings of the last seven centuries. The mass exodus of 1990 has left Kashmiri Pandits refugees in their own country for the last 30 years.

The names of Mirabai, Akka Mahadevi and Andal, are known to many, but innumerable women poets remain relatively unknown. When we hear of them, it is invariably as plaster saints or meek followers. It is time to smell the danger in their words again, to listen to their feral sensuality, their searing questions about custodians of gender and faith. It is time to tune into their brazenness, their heartbreaking longing. Not just for their sake but for ours too. In this anthology of sacred poetry that arrives after the much-loved book, Eating God, Arundhathi Subramaniam weaves together haunting voices of, by and for women across the Indian subcontinent. Here is a lineage of audacious woman-centred spirituality that traverses the poetry of ancient Buddhist nuns, Bhakti and Sufi mystics, tantrikas and Vedantins. There are women here, and men singing as women, and both raising their voices in praise of the sacred feminine. Brought to us through translation, these poems surprise with how intimately familiar their ravenous yearnings and ecstatic freedoms are. Wild Women invites us to reclaim an explosive inheritance of female power, rapture and wisdom.

Lal Ded, Habba Khatun, Rupa Bhavani, Arnimal: these four women poets, dating from different periods in the history of Kashmir, are household names in the valley and are claimed by all, no matter what religious, ethnic or other group they belong to. In this beautiful volume, Neerja Mattoo brings their work together for the first time, placing it in two traditions, the mystic and the lyric. Fine and nuanced translations of their poems are accompanied by brief introductions to their work that place the women in a historical context and deal with both the facts and the beliefs about their work.

The Variegated Plumage Encounters with Indian Philosophy a commemorative volume dedicated to the memory of Pandit Jankinath Kaul Kamal` is a collection of diverse scholarly articles and research papers contributed by the veterans who are specialists in their respective fields. The present volume adequately covers different aspects of Indian Philosophy and culture. The extensive section will provide impetus to further research in the subject. The second section is a collection of papers dealing with a wide range of issues in Indian Philosophy and culture.

Goddess Images Are Omnipresent Within The Cultural Fabric Of India, Yet Most Indians Are Unaware Of Uplifting Meanings These Images Convey. In The Book, Images Of Indian Goddesses,. Dr. Madhu Bazaz Wangu Explains The Emergence Of Indian Goddesses Within The Changing Social, Political And Cultural Environment From The Prehistoric To The Present Times And Explains Their Metaphysical Meanings. Why Are Hindu Goddesses Paradoxical In Nature? Why Are They Portrayed As Erotic And Maternal Simultaneously? Why Do They Have Multiple Arms? Why Do Some Of Them Have Their Own Vehicle (Vahana) And Some Do Not? Why Are Such Images Portrayed On The Popular Calendar- Posters? The Book Answers Such Questions And Helps The Reader Understand Their Meanings. The Goddesses Discussed Range From The Devoted Sita To The Sinister Kali; From The Warrior Durga To The Auspicious Shri Lakshmi; From The Erotic Radha To The Serene Sarasvati And Many Others. Dr. Wangu Firmly Feels That If Experienced Hindu Goddesses Have A Potential For Stimulating The Onlooker'S Innermost Self. Experiencing Goddess Imagery Uplifts This Worldly Life And Ponders The Nature Of The Other -Worldly Existence. Furthermore, The Book Argues That The Goddesses Are Stimulating And Empowering Models Not Only For Indian Women But For All. Images Of Indian Goddesses Helps A Common Person Understand And Appreciate The Bewildering Number Of Female Images Expressed In India'S Sacred Art. The Book Is Not Only Absorbing And Inspiring, It Also Offers A Visual Treasury Of Goddess Art Images. Its Text Is Food For The Mind And The Illustrations Are A Feast For The Eyes.