Pauranic Prana-aesthetics, a finer shade different from that of vitalistic aesthetics )the earlier having breathing-rhythm of Ksaya-Vrddhi --diminuation and augmentation--other than the latter`s emphasis only on the rhythm of augmentation), has been delineated in this study with examples from the world`s two of the best art-monuments: Ajanta (India), now not remaining unknown even to the most casual connoisseur, and Sopocani (Yugoslavia), the most significant and monumentally beautiful work of Byzantine art. Tracing Prana-aesthetics as the aesthetics of inner-light coded in the creeper-motif by the artists of Ajanta, this work emphasises decoding of the creeper-motif by Byzantine artists culminating into the frescoes of Sopocani done in Hellenistic-Byzantine aesthetics beatifield by Hesycast meditation to which that of Buddhists was not unknown. Comparisons of various determinant aspects, aesthetics and artistic denominators, and constraints not allowing similar consummation are properly investigated to substantiate the thesis that Prana-aesthetics transfigures at Ajanta but transubstantiates at Sopocani. The significance of the anabolic aspects of this aesthetics is highlighted especially as a way out from the reductivistic tendencies of the present day visual-arts straining them upto the stage of catabolic dissolution.

Mehndi, the ancient art of painting on the skin with henna, beautifies the body, rejuvenates the spirit, and celebrates the joys of creativity and self-expression. More than just a temporary tattoo, mehndi offers us a way to participate in a centuries-old tradition still practiced in India, Africa, and the Middle East. In this stunning and authoritative book, Loretta Roome traces the origins and meanings of traditional designs, demonstrates how to create them on the skin, and reveals the recipes, tools, and techniques needed to paint designs that range from simple to complex. The result of years of research and the author's experience as one of the nation's foremost mehndi artists, Roome's book offers practical information, creative inspiration, and many suggestions for enhancing the playful, intimate, sensual, erotic, and spiritual aspects of the ancient and amazing art of mehndi.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

This book offers a new scholarly exploration of the rock-cut Ajanta Caves located in the modern-day Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India, their sculpture and paintings. The book meticulously traces the rise, transformation, and legacy of these architectural marvels from the late third century BC to around AD 480.

India is a timeless land of dynamic change and huge diversity. The social and political evolution over the centuries has greatly enriched the Indian culture and has given rise to great traditions and heritage. Its glorious history tells the tales of its prosperity despite destruction due to invasion by outside forces. This prosperity shines all over India especially, in palaces, temples and in many other monuments. More spectacular are the ruins of ancient India, which are still surviving to eagerly tell their stories to the patient listeners. The beauty of the sculptures and temple architecture of India are unparalleled; so are its natural beauty and its wild life. This book presents the travel experience of a couple that visits India to rediscover and explore the glorious vistas of the bygone era. They attempt to unravel the marvels of ancient India by digging inio the history, mythology and legends of every place they visit. This book is essentially a collection of travel stories presented in the fashion of a fiction, but with authentic facts and figures. Starting from the capital New Delhi and the exotic Himalayan towns of Haridwar and Hrishikesh, the travel continues to the colourful state of Orissa and then to the historical wonders and the magnificent sites of Karnataka and finally to the fascinating state of Tamil Nadu that gleams with vibrant spirituality around its countless temples. The reader will roam freely in the ruins, in the palaces and among the gorgeous temples with towering gopurams. The classic account of these travels allows the reader to stand up in a place where the present meets the past bridging time and space and surmounting all barriers, and to behold the most impressive evidence of the creative ability of the human mind.