I am a carnatic vocalist,and I found this book extremely valuable for both newcomers and somebody who has knowledge in this art form.Actually I have asked my students in the University to use it as a reference.It is easily readable and written in a way that the author understands the deapth of culture and tradition of South India and its musical tradition, along with many pictures to illustrate the ideas.I personally feel that we really needed this book,since there are not many books written by westerners on carnatic music and will be highly appreciated by anybody who buys this book.

For someone already familiar with South Indian classical (Carnatic) music, this book will be a wealth of additional historical, technical and biographical information. For someone who doesn't know much about the music, I would recommend reading the book in conjunction with listening to the music (as much of it as possible) and reading other material. This book combines the detailed information of a reference book with the approachability of a popular introduction; it may be heavy reading initially for the newcomer (since the nature of the music is so different from western music), but will be very rewarding.

To place modern scholarship on India in the proper context, it will be helpful to read this book. Inden dissects the colonialist prejudices of these scholars and shows how a lot about India that we take for granted is actually a construction of these Indologists.

Inden's book is commendable for giving a clear, thorough and courageous analysis of why scholars of many ilks have given the distorted image of India that we have today. The British wanted to justify their empire and loot, by positioning themselves as the civilizing force. The Germans built their "Aryan" identity as being at the center of history. The Jungians constructed the West as being rational and progressive, as compared to the 'world negating', irrational and mystical Indians. Post-independence Indian Marxists wanted to 'qualify' India for Marxism by having to prove its feudalistic character. All these served to build and solidify the theory of India as a sponge of civilization and with no agency to originate anything worthwhile. No wonder then that most treatments of India begin and end with caste and the multitude of social evils - all deemed too quickly to be its inherent qualities. Yet there is little coverage given to the appropriations by Westerners from India. Inden's book should be read by everyone with a serious interest to understand India.

"India: Art and Culture 1300-1900" is actually a 478-page catalogue for the exhibition "INDIA !" held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rather than call it a catalogue, which can sometimes conjure up a negative image and diminish the importance of this effort, it would be more appropriate and accurate to call this a definitive tome on Indian Art. This specialized book presents three hundred thirty-three works representing Indian art from fourteenth through the nineteenth century. Author's love for art and his expertise are very obvious to the reader in the scholarly text and references accompanying each piece of work. Recipedelights.com thinks that this book is perfect for libraries, professional artists, art students, art lovers or Indian art buffs.

Stuart Cary Welch is THE acknowledged expert on Indian art. This is probably the best and most important introduction to the subject. There are nearly 200 colour pages and the text is informative without presuming too much knowledge in the reader. There is a good glossary and index plus selected bibliography for each chapter which deals with art from each selected period. I so badly wanted this book to add to my Moghul/Rajastan book collection that I ordered it directly from Mapin Publishing Pvt, Ahmedabad, India. They shipped it + 2 others airmail to Australia without charging me the full postage. This book should be on EVERYONE'S coffee table because it's beautiful and enlightening and stimulating and gorgeous and, well, just THE BEST BOOK on Indian art

I wish it was available in a larger format, as the limited space does just so much justice to the vibrant colors, moods, and designs of India. But it is a fantastic introduction, and is packed with some of the best quotes you can find on the topic....

This is a wonderful, landmark book. Ypma successfully reinterprets traditional Indian design for modern contemporary living. The book provides knowledgeable updates on various Indian craft traditions (sectioned cleanly into distinct chapters)and traces the historical roots from which these traditions have evolved. Perfectly straddles the ancient and the contemporary without stereotyping India. The pictures are great but what really sets this book apart is the accompanying text which is nothing short of illuminating. A great introduction for those interested in Indian design as it is practiced today.

If you have been to India, you have to read this book. You'll find the echo to bring you back to India. If you have not been to India, you have to read this book. It will bring you to India, the real India. Everyone has an inner yearning to go to India, at least once in your life time. Don't delay. Start the spiritual journey led by OSHO.

India My Love is a mystery tour. Our guide on the journey is Osho, a man with an extraordinary gift for storytelling and a mystic who brings a uniquely contemporary freshness to the tales of India's golden past. He introduces us to beggars and kings, wise men and fools, lovers and warriors, artists and scholars - and they come alive on the page, animating the enchanted landscape of an India that even today continues to intrigue and attract the seeker and adventurer within us all.

This book is excellent for those seeking to add a little Indian Influence into the room. Most pictures focus on living room or bedroom areas. However, there are ideas for almost every area. One thing I admired about this book was the use of various color schemes. They show ideas for bold colors like blues and purples and other room designs for quiter elegance such as cremes and beiges. There is something for everyone with a little fondness of Indian Style!

This book has beautiful photographs of both interiors and exteriors. Most elements of this style, as shown in this book, can be translated by people wanting to incorporate India style into their home. The book tells you which design elements in each photo represent India Style. This book brings India style into the present while still paying homage to the past.

Like other books in the Architectual & Design Library series, this book is great for people who are just starting to explore a style and/or people who want to add a book representative of a style to their collection.

I recommend this book to everyone.

The book is an excellent compilation of the events that shaped the partition of India. Our own flesh worked hard to part with our body. Issues that transpired between our much respected and awed leaders have been brought to the fore. The communal hatred was so deep rooted that imagination only is sufficient to experience the horror. Anyone with a quest for knowing the inside story of those days should read this book. Historical facts may have been twisted by the media then and issues forgotten over time but an autobiography such as this will put straight the facts that happened during the dark ages of turmoil. Many of us will admit that partition, after knowing the facts, was not necessary. We could have lived as one family.

The book by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is a true picture of the Political situation before independence.Depicts politics within politics.

If you want to know about modern India's plight over religion and politics, than this is the book for you. This book gives the history of India's religion including the British takeover and most importantly India's building of its own government. It outlines India's inherent conflict with its nonsecular values in a secularized world. Larson shows with vivid examples the inseparable intricacy of politics and religion in India. In the end Larson gives his ideas about resolutions for India's conflict between radical Hinduism and radical secularization.

This is not fun to read. In fact it's extremely depressing. But, you'll never find anyone more knowledgeable on the subject than Larson. I have him as one of my professors. The book is full of information. So, if you are looking for an interesting book to read this is not it. But, if you need to study India... this is it.

.
This is a very interesting & scholarly work. The author himself is an authority on South Asian Security issues. He is also the advisor of Robert Blackwill(US Ambassador to India).

The book is organized into six chapters and deals with the issue from various angles including but not limited to Military/National Security, Economic, political and contemporary International trends in Arms control/Non Proliferation.

The author puts himself in the shoes of an Indian and attempts to go an extra mile to explain the threats to India's National Security particularly from India's nuclear neighbors.

Chapters 4 & 5 are the most important ones. Towards a Force In Being I & II. In these chapters the author describes how India's nuclear force is taking shape.

The discussion of Chinese capabilities and threats (pp 58-75) is interesting so is the coverage of India's SSN/SSBN program (ATV) pp 573-581.

All in all this book is for you.
.

.
If you want to get a good grasp of India's nuclear force structure and policies then I suggest you read this book cover to cover.

This is a scholarly work full of a lot of Information, arguments backed by solid reasoning and superb constructive criticism.

The author himself is an authority on South Asian Security issues. He is also the advisor of Robert Blackwill(US Ambassador to India).

The author puts himself in the shoes of an Indian and attempts to go an extra mile to explain the threats to India's National Security particularly from India's nuclear neighbors.

The book is organized into 6 chapters and deals with the issue from various angles (Domestic politics, military, National Economic performance and Contemporary International trends in the field of Nuclear Arms control).

Out of the 6 chapters Chapters 4 and 5 are of foremost importance. Towards a Force-in-Being(I) and (II).

The book consists 19 figures and 11 maps. But the maps of India are not shown properly(particularly J&K, PoK and Aksai China).

The discussion of India's SSN/SSBN program(ATV)(pp 573-581) is very interesting so is an analysis of Chinese threat & capabilities.

It also brings up several significant issues that need to be addressed such as the Nuclear Doctrine.

All in all this book is for you !

Happy Reading !

.

Most critics and scholars, especially in the west often dismiss and even ridicule popular Indian cinema owing to its idiosyncratic musical format, melodrama and playing to the gallery. This book provides a refreshing counter-argument, while analysing how popular cinema has affected the way of life in India, and how it might be significant to a western audience.

The book is well-researched and very enjoyable. Without going into too much details about specific films, it tries to highlight the trends and unique genres developed in Indian films over a century. Having grown up on Hindi movies all my life, I found the book interesting, but I think it is more relevant to the western audience. It provides a good introduction and starting point to those just discovering the magical world of Hindi movies.

For those who are into in-depth study of Indian cinema, I recommend "Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema" by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willeman.

A knowledgeable and affectionate look at 90 years of Indian cinema, the cultural values it portrays and the influence it has had on the evolution of modern Indian society. I enjoyed it immensely and strongly recommend it both to cinema buffs everywhere and to all those interested in better understanding the complex web of traditions, prejudices and feelings that make India a compulsive focus of attraction to travellers and observers of social change.