The Multivalence of an Epic: Retelling the Ramayana in South India and Southeast Asia
₹3,000.00
Editor: Parul Pandya Dhar
The Ramayana traditions of South India and Southeast Asia are examined at multiple levels in this volume. The research presented here offers in-depth investigations of chosen moments in the development of the epic tradition together with broader trends that help in understanding the epic’s multivalence. The journey and localization of the Rāmāyaṇa is explored in its manifold expressions from classical to folk, from temples and palaces to theatres and by-lanes in cities and villages, and from ancient to modern times. Regional Rāmāyaṇas from different parts of South India and Southeast Asia are placed in deliberate juxtaposition to enable a historically informed discussion of their connected pasts across land and seas. The three parts of this volume, organized as visual, literary, and performance cultures, discuss the sculpted, painted, inscribed, written, recited, and performed Ramayanas. A related emphasis is on the way boundaries of medium and genre have been crossed in the visual, literary, and performed representations of the Rāmāyaṇa. These are rewarding directions of research that have thus far received little attention. Bringing together 19 well-known scholars in Ramayana studies from Cambodia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UK, and USA, this thought-provoking and elegantly illustrated volume engages with the inherent plurality, diversity, and adaptability of the Rāmāyaṇa in changing socio-political, religious, and cultural contexts and with shifting norms, tastes, traditions, and ideologies.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
International Edition available on |
South Asia Edition available on
|
| Format | |
|---|---|
| Author |
Related products
-
Early Buddhist Artisans and their Architectural Vocabulary
₹1,600.00Author: S Settar
The early Buddhist architectural vocabulary, being the first of its kind, maintained its monopoly for about half a millennium, beginning from the third century BCE. To begin with, it was oral, not written. The Jain, Hindu, and other Indian sectarian builders later developed their vocabulary on this foundation, though not identically. An attempt is made here to understand this vocabulary and the artisans who first made use of it.
In the epigraphic ledger, the first reference to the mythical creator of the universe, the Visvakarma (Visakama), is made on the thupas at Sanchi and Kanaganahalli; the earliest excavators of cave temples, comprising five specialists – selavdhaki, nayikamisa, kadhicaka, mahakataka and mithaka – as well as a team of master-architects and supervisors, called the navakamis, appear at Kanheri. Besides these, there were also others called avesanis, atevasinas, acaryas, and upajjhayas all over the Buddhist world. The list does not end with these, because there were yet others called vadhakis (carpenters), seli-vadhakis (stonecutters), sela-rupakas (stone sculptors), mithakas (polishers), and so on. All these artisans who have recorded their life stories on the stone surface are identified, and their professional contributions evaluated here for the first time.
International Edition available on South Asia Edition available on 
-
Biomedical Spectroscopy
₹2,950.00Author: Santhosh C, Vasudevan Baskaran Kartha
Biomedical spectroscopy is the output of the intensive discussions of the authors and the medical professionals of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University. The ?Centre for Laser Spectroscopy?, a centre for developing biomedical applications of laser spectroscopic methods, was established at Manipal University in 1997. The scientists of the Centre, together with the physicians, surgeons, and pathologists of the KMC, initiated a number of research programs in this area. The main aim of the Centre was to develop spectroscopic methods for early detection, screening, monitoring therapy and identification of disease markers, with special emphasis on various cancers, so that these techniques can be applied for routine healthcare applications. Outcome of these research activities are covered in the book. A common platform of information can provide a more open communication enabling faster and better evolution of the spectroscopic methods for biomedical applications.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
International Edition available on 
South Asia Edition available on -
Writing the self in Illness: Reading the Experiential through the Medical Memoir
₹240.00Author: Amala Poli
Writing the Self in Illness: Reading the Experiential Through the Medical Memoir is MUP’s refreshing venture into the developing fields of Medical and Health Humanities with an aim to consider the necessity of the narrative knowledge as complementary to the contemporary notions of well-being, illness, and healthcare.
Is individual happiness contingent on health and well-being “How does one find happiness in the throes of illness” In the present-day scenario, wherein medical practice is largely dominated by evidence-based understanding, diagnostic language, and problem-solving methods, the discipline of Medical Humanities emerges with a reciprocal dialogue between Humanities, Social Sciences, Health, and Medicine. The study of varied experiential narratives – literary works and unmediated accounts of patients and healthcare professionals, is foregrounded in Medical Humanities to amplify knowledge and understanding about the complexity of encounters with illness and their transformational quality in a nuanced manner. Both thought-provoking and informative, this publication brings about the anecdotal form of personal narratives in the light of medical discourses along with the specific cultural context of the narrative.
The present publication seeks to be an important reading for students and academics in the field of medical humanities, health professionals or medical practitioners, as well as scholars aspiring to venture into this flourishing field.Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
-
The Practice of Geopolitics
₹850.00Intended to be a Practioner?s Guide to Geopolitics, the book provides a look into the thought processes that generate correct and timely analysis of global events. Geopolitics needs to weave within its analytical grasp economics, society, strategy and even culture, as the science deals with overall national capabilities as well as the mutal synergy and frictions between nations. Although a broad range of subjects has been covered in the book, each is anchored in the ground reality of events having a profound impact on the lives of citizens and on world events. The growing interconnectedness of the globe has resulted in a need to do away with the popular west centric models of international relations and to view events not through that single prism but from a holistic viewpoint that accepts the relevance and maturity of different histories and geographies. What the book provides is an alternativeWeltanschauung to the dominant models of geopolitical analysis, so that the science is enabled to cross beyond the narrow boundaries which have confined. The scope and applicability of its analysis. The rise of Asia needs a geopolitical vision unique to the continent, and this is what has been provided by Professor Nalapat.
-
Geoffrey Bawa – A Conscious Perception
₹650.00This book is all about giving the readers a peek view into the life of Geoffrey Bawa; Sri Lanka’s most famous architect. an book that reveals an insight into his work through his most famous projects accompanied by beautiful hand-drawn illustrations. Alluring and simply authentic, these self-narrative illustrations are a result of personal experience. This book will give readers an understanding of how successfully Geoffrey Bawa had inculcated spaces, vistas, and landscape with that of the built environment bringing about a touch of Modern Tropism and fusing it together with the rich culture and traditions of Sri Lanka.
-
Vaidehi Kathana
₹250.00Author: T P Ashoka
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.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
-
Childhood Cancer
₹185.00Childhood Cancer is a major medical problem in most of the societies of the modern world. Though enough literature is available on the subject, it is not easily intelligible to common people. An ordinary parent whose ward is affected by any form of childhood cancer would beat a loss without the basic information. This book is aimed at educating a non-professional who wishes to grasp the problem in detail and in a simple way. The book primarily deals with the signs and symptoms of cancer in children which enable early detection. It is written in a lucid manner to remove the myth among parents that diagnosis of cancer in children amounts to a death sentence. Many of the childhood cancers, if detected early, can be cured completely, and the patients can live the rest of their lives like any other normal people. The book is an attempt to create this awareness among parents through proper information about the disease. Further, the book would also serve as a manual for MBBS students and professionals in other fields for primary treatment and management of the childhood cancer patients.
Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
-
Kannada Theatre History 1850-1950: A Sourcebook
₹250.00Editors: Akshara K V,
This source book on Kannada theatre history is a valuable contribution to the larger field of Indian Theatre Studies. Avoiding the shortcuts of an overview or a Wikipedia-like assemblage of information, it delves into the lives, histories, struggles, debates and anecdotes surrounding some of the most pioneering figures in the shaping of Kannada theatre between 1850-1950. The selection of primary sources, most of which are being made available in English for the first time, is nothing short of a revelation in the way it illuminates insights into the actual making and thinking of theatre practice. Here we have a model of how the construct of ‘Indian Theatre’ can be textured, inflected, individuated and problematized at regional, local and intracultural levels. Rustom Bharucha .This book is a labour of love by scholars who not only love Kannada theatre, but want to pass on their enjoyment of it. Delving deep into folklore oral history, local history, gossip debate and discourse, the editors bring out the world of Kannada theatres in pluralistic terms. Scholarship and playfulness combine to create a powerful act of storytelling where the book itself mimics the career of Kannada theatre. As an anthology it becomes an initiation rite, an introduction to all the great figures, not as hagiography but as nuanced analysis. Big questions and little questions combine to create both a sense of combativeness and a wonderful feeling of homecoming. Like tricksters, they break the binaries of tradition and modernity, treating it almost like a bad play which needs new scripts and new performers. A wonderful anthology. A deeply desi book, with all the cosmopolitanism of world theatre.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on