Sümi and the Dance of the Dark Spirits

Author: M S Valiathan

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.

Interested  readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book. 

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Path to Ideal Motherhood is a complete guide on pre-conceptual counselling, pregnancy and childbirth. Pregnancy is to nurture a life within, where a would-be mother experiences physical, psychological, emotional and societal changes. A complete knowledge of pregnancy, and a sincere and positive effort by the would-be mother is what is required to make this journey an enriching experience, filled with fond memories. The book discusses and provides a detailed information on important facts of childbirth and pregnancy, lifestyle changes during pregnancy, along with the importance of breathing, nutrition, exercises, sleep, etc. The book also discusses the concept of Garbha Sanskar for a healthy baby. As a young mother nurtures a young life, the book seeks to nurture the young mother towards an ideal path to motherhood.

Author: Prabhaker Acharya

Dhvani and Epiphany examines the work of major Indian poets like Nissim Ezekiel and Arun Kolatkar; the struggle of young poets to find an audience; and the art of fiction. But its main focus is on the nature of creativity. How does an artist communicate his meaning? What makes a work genuinely creative? Through a sensitive exploration of poetry- ranging from the simple poems of a child, Poorna Prajna, to the complex “Byzantium Poems” of Yeats- the first seven essays try to show how a poem comes to life when it speaks to us and we listen to its dhvani and respond.

Even in fiction, it is not all realism. There is irony in exploring the paradoxical nature of reality; events taking on symbolic overtones; and epiphany, moments of illumination and insights – when surprising correspondences are seen. Writers cannot surprise and delight their audience if they themselves are not surprised and delighted by such insights.

Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.

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