Swapna Saraswatha
₹530.00
Author: Gopalakrishna Pai Translator: Sumathi Shenoy, M R Rakshith, Savita Sastri
Swapna Saraswatha is the saga of migration of a community called Saraswaths in the west coast of India, extending from Goa to the south of Mangalore. It captures the dominance of a colonial power over the region that began with the entry of the Portuguese about four hundred years ago. The novel is a graphic description of the displacement of this strongly-rooted community which saw its resurrection in a new area. In the course of its narrative, the novel traces the gradual changes in the structure of the family that moved from a closely knit joint family of the bygone era to the nuclear family. It also deals with the factors that are responsible for the change in value systems of individuals in the wake of such paradigm shifts. With its vast canvas, it remarkably weaves fiction with myth and history, peppered with cultural details and linguistic nuances. The narration in Swapna Saraswatha progresses in the form of an epic detailing the story of nine generations spread over a period of two hundred and fifty years from 1510 to about 1760. It encompasses more than a hundred and fifty characters which include Hindus, Muslims, Christians, chieftains, traders, farmers, priests and black magicians, and covers a range of themes spread across folk tales, legends, armies, myths and a sprinkling of history.
Out of stock
| Author | M R Rakshith, Savita Sastri, Sumathi Shenoy, Gopalakrishna Pai |
|---|---|
| Format |
Related products
-
Comets – Nomads of the Solar System
₹290.00This book introduces the general reader to the world of comets – those celestial visitors from the outer Solar System that occasionally visit the Earth’s neighbourhood and put up spectacular shows in the night sky. The world had geared up for just such a show at the end of 2013, when Comet ISON was expected to light up the night sky. Using the occasion to bring the world of comets to those interested, this book is a delightful read about the quirky world of these unpredictable visitors. Apart from lucidly and accurately updating the reader about what comets are, where they come from, why is it that they assume the fantastic shapes they do etc. “Comets” also regales the reader with myths about comets in various cultural contexts, snippets about famous comets in the history of mankind, anecdotes on comet discoveries and discoverers, the bewildering procedures followed while naming comets and much more. The book takes a hard look at the hype surrounding the fiery expectations about Comet ISON an cautions the reader that, while there was a good chance of the comet blazing forth in the skies of December 2013, there was a realistic chance that the comet would not survive its close encounter with the Sun. Sadly, the pessimistic predictions came true and the comet disintegrated as it went around the Sun. As we wait for chance to throw us a Great Comet to gaze at in the future, “Comets: Nomads of the Solar System” is an excellent guide to prepare for the event!
Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on

-
Valmiki Ramayana – Critical Essays
₹250.00Author: M R Parameswaran
This book critically engages with several important events and statements found in Valmiki’s epic poem, the Ramayana composed over 2500 years ago. Though certain methods were followed to preserve the Vedic texts, no serious methods were adopted to preserve the text of Ramayana. The poem spread to all parts of India and beyond through narrators of the epic who sometimes added their own explanatory verses to conform to local customs and traditions. In the second half of the 20th century, scholars at the Baroda Oriental Research Institute, after many years of labour and examination of over 2000 different manuscripts, compiled what is now accepted as the most reliable version of the poem. Based on this critical edition, a condensed English version by Dr Parameswaran was earlier published by the Manipal University Press. In the present book, Dr Parameswaran reviews the critical interpretations of scholars like Sheldon Pollock, R P Goldman and Wendy Doniger and has analytic responses to many unanswered questions. About the book: Dr M R Parameswaran has taught Mathematics as well as Sanskrit at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. His work Studies in Srivaishnavism, has been well received by academic scholars and Srivaishnavas.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book. -
Bamonn: Story of a Konkani Roman Catholic
₹255.00Author: Na D’Souza Translator: S M Pejathaya
Konkani Roman Catholic Christians were converted from other groups by Goan Missionaries long back, keeping the caste system tradition to a large extent in layers such as the Bamonn, the Charodi, the Gawdi, the Nendar, the Shudra, etc. At the time of marriages and other social gatherings they continue to consider caste system norms and customs in the community. Caste system in Indian Christians is vividly described in the novel Bamonn. Christopher Pai of Kalyanpura hails from a Bamonn family and takes great pride in his ancestry. He believes in the stories about his Konkani Roman Catholic ancestors from his elders and about their being true Christians, holding on to their faith despite tremendous pressure to convert to Islam during Tipu Sultan’s regime. He also believes Bamonns are superior to other Christians in the community. After retiring from his job of a Headmaster, he refuels his obsession to retrace his roots and find out the truth about his ancestors. In his journey of self-assurance and faith, will he succeed in his mission to convince his family, his children and the community at large of his glorious ancestry and in still pride in the next generation? . . .
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Pot of Butter and other short stories
₹250.00Author: Sunanda Belgaumkar Translator: Sa Usha, Vaijayanti Suryanarayana
Pot of Butter and other Short Stories is a collection of nine short stories, originally composed by Sunanda Belgaumkar in Kannada, handpicked and translated from her collections – Kajjaya and Koduvudenu Kombudenu. The bulk of her literary work including the stories in this book are inspired by the experiences in her early life, in the rustic and robust atmosphere of Dharwad. Her stories are predominantly semiautobiographical, laced with a liberal dose of artistic freedom.
This collection weaves together her writings on the underprivileged and marginalized as seen from the comfort of her palatial home, but rendered with compassion and empathy. Often, we find her narrative infused with self-directed questions such as, “What if I was in her shoes? ” or “Could that have been me? ” These stories are reflections on human nature, suffering, and destiny. There is hope, there is despair. There is love, there is longing. There is defeat, and there is triumph. In her stories, an oft-recurring metaphor for picking up one’s life after loss is a scorching summer followed by a torrential downpour and subsequently a plant springing to life.
As a translation, this book attempts to introduce Sunanda Belgaumkar’s literary and artistic creations to the non-Kannada reader, retaining as much of the indigenous elements of the original writings as possible. In doing so, it seeks to preserve the cultural climate of North Karnataka as it was around fifty years ago.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Sati Kamale
₹240.00Author: S U Paniyadi Translators: B Surendra Rao, K Chinnappa Gowda
This eponymous novel is centred on Kamale, who is an embodiment of wifely virtue. For fifteen long years Kamale lives the life of a widow to the outside world, nurturing the hopes of reuniting with the husband one day. Alone in the room, each night she wears her marks of a married woman with the dagger gifted by Umesha next to her. It could be seen as an exposition on the then existing indigenous discourse in India in the 19th century and early 20th century. Kamale, in her rigorous commitment and in retrieving her husband from ‘death’, is fashioned after Savithri in an intertextual reference to Mahabharata’s episode of “Satyavan and Savithri”. The novel might look conservative for the present-day reader, but it is a representative literary work of the time when Paniyadi, among many others, wanted to regain the independent status of the Tulu language which had somehow slipped out of its pedestal.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Dhvani and Epiphany: Essays in Criticism
₹270.00Author: 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.
-
Just a few pages: Some Memories of Saraswatibai Rajwade
₹210.00Author: Vaidehi, Translator: Deepa Ganesh
This book is a coming together of two women writers of modern Kannada literature; one from its early period, the other, a contemporary. Saraswati Bai Rajwade, the early writer, became a fable, a mythology, leaving behind only the shadows of her writing. Vaidehi, the contemporary writer, reinvents Rajwade from the folds of history and gives her a life in the present. Saraswati Bai Rajwade was born into a poor family in the Dakshina Kannada of yore. By chance, she stepped into theatre and later into films. But all the glory that came to her unexpectedly, vanished just as suddenly. She later became the wife of a rich and high official, travelled abroad and underwent immense suffering. In her pain and loneliness, she took to books and also began to write and attained glory as a writer. In the last years of her life, she returned to a life of austerity and anonymity. Vaidehi has collected bits and pieces from her life and writing, presenting before us a unique tapestry. In this tapestry, Vaidehi?s perceptions criss-cross with Rajwade?s life and writing. Art does not reside in the object, but in its close encounter with life. This work unfolds before us as a grand illustration of such twin narratives.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
The Ramayana of Valmiki: A condensed version of Valmiki’s epic
₹340.00Author: M R Parameswaran
The world’s greatest epic poem Valmikiramayana, composed over 2,500 years ago, is loved by countless millions of men and women of all religions. The present book is the first condensed version in English of the most reliable version of Valmikiramayana, the Critical Edition prepared by Baroda Oriental Research Institute, India.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.









