Kathana Bharathi

Vaidehi Kathana is the first full-length literary critical study of the fictional, non fictional and poetic narratives of Vaidehi, who is considered to be one of the most celebrated contemporary Indian writers in Kannada. This work reviews, introduces, discusses and interprets all the writings of Vaidehi, which include short stories, poems, essays and a novel. The book examines how this great Indian writer has been reacting and responding to her time and space for the last four decades. The book shows how Vaidehi?s poetics has so subtly blended with her politics thereby creating some of the outstanding masterpieces in poetry and fiction of our times. The book discusses the special features of Vaidehi?s feminist perspectives as well as the uniqueness of her narrative skills. Arguing that Vaidehi?s spiritual triumph is demonstrated in her technical triumph, the book draws the attention of the non-Kannada readers to the entire body of Vaidehi?s writings. Lucidly translated into English by the noted translator O L Nagabhushana Swamy, T P Ashoka?s Vaidehi Kathana provides a meaningful opportunity for the non-Kannada readers to familiarize themselves with one of the greatest contemporary writers of India. T P Ashoka?s Vaidehi Kathana is a significant contribution to modern Indian literary criticism. The book provides an interesting reading not only to the students of literature, researchers and teachers but also appeals to the general readers.

In ancient India, learning spanned four quarters of one’s life. Learning was sought from the teacher, from one’s individual effort, from fellow students and in the last quarter, from the school of life itself. This book belongs to the third quarter for students of Ayurveda regardless of their background in medicine, science, or humanities. Apart from topics in the eight branches of Ayurveda, the book also deals with Ayurvedic Biology which seeks to study the concepts and procedures of Ayurveda with the tools of modern biology. M S Valiathan is a National Research Professor of the Government of India. He is a medical graduate from the University of Kerala and completed his postgraduate training in general surgery from the University of Liverpool and other hospitals in the UK. He did his specialisation in cardiac surgery from the Johns Hopkins and Georgetown University Hospitals in the US. He was a cardiac surgeon for over three decades. His shift to Ayurvedic studies resulted in the publication of three volumes on Caraka, Susruta and Vagbhata, and an Introduction to Ayurveda. The Department of Science and Technology set up a Task Force in Ayurvedic Biology under his chairmanship to promote research in the nascent discipline.

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