THE WORLD OF 1950s BOMBAY comes alive in this story of twin sisters trying to follow their own dreams and meet the expectations of their very proper Punjabi family, still unsettled by the violence of Partition. Lovely, rich saga. A MINUS
The first is a rather long post is on Rabindranath #Tagore’s deeply political novel, the Home and the World. It’s an effort read but an important book that reflects his political stances, differing ideologies, and people.
"This paper studies the constitutive role of cartography apropos law, territory, and social order, in a specific historical context, by examining the crucial political role played by the British East India Company's cartographic practices and maps in aspiring and imagining the transplantation and establishment of English sovereignty in the Indian subcontinent."
"Incense spheres discovered in Tang hoards, which are the earliest artefacts found to date, reveal multicultural origins upon close examination. Persian and Sogdian silversmith elements, Buddhist ideas and Syriac Christian liturgical practices, may all have left their traces on the making of the object."
Fang, F. X. (2024). Scent, Art and Astronomy: New Light on Tang Incense Spheres and Their Global Connections. The Medieval History Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09719458231226000
Have recently got every into researching administrative records of past students. This was a fun post to do, where a member of the family of the student filled in some of the gaps that the administrative record masks
In the Name of the Nation: India and Its Northeast by Sanjib Baruah
In India, the eight states that border Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Tibetan areas of China are often referred to as just "the Northeast." In the Name of the Nation offers a critical and historical account of the country's troubled relations with this borderland region.
The Theft of India: The European Conquests of India, 1498-1765 by Roy Moxham
The Theft of India documents the intense rivalry for spoils that played out between the British, the French, the Dutch and the Portuguese, and the impact this had on the Indians.
"We show that most Indians derive ancestry from three ancestral groups related to ancient Iranian farmers, Eurasian Steppe pastoralists and South Asian hunter-gatherers. We uncover a common source of Iranian-related ancestry from early Neolithic cultures of Central Asia into the ancestors of Ancestral South Indians (ASI), Ancestral North Indians (ANI), Austro-asiatic-related and East Asian-related groups in India."
50,000 years of Evolutionary History of India: Insights from ∼2,700 Whole Genome Sequences
Dumbarton Oaks public lecture tomorrow (Thursday): "India on the Red Sea: The Early Byzantine Awareness of East Africa and South Arabia," by Ben Garstad
Free. 6-7 PM ET on Zoom
Ben is an erudite scholar and an animated speaker -this is sure to be an interesting (and timely) lecture!
Three blind men touch an elephant in three different places, such as a leg, trunk, or tusk. Each therefore reaches a very different conclusion (e.g., it's a tree) as to what the phenomenon is.
Interpretation: We cannot very well see things or people as a whole. Even the perspectives in #academia come from different disciplines. Different people looking at a multifaceted individual can each draw a very different image of the person.
Three animals cross a river, and each reaches the other shore. The rabbit swims along the surface, the horse occasionally hits bottom, but the elephant touches bottom all the way.
Interpretation: This is a parable of enlightenment or individual differences in wisdom. People can only understand things to their own depth. They might therefore avoid a person who is too heavy like the elephant. Just sayin"!
Reading The Bangalore Detectives Club book 1, and really enjoying it. I hadn't realised was set in the 1920s, when my great-grandmother was living there, so learning more of the place is fun. As is the reference to Lady Molly, I might have to dust off my Orzcy and check her out #AmReading#ebooks#Kobo#India#mystery@bookstodon
"This article aims to complicate the origin story of biological anthropology by examining how colonial subjects were involved in the development, testing, and refinement of racial theory, and thus of biological anthropology itself. Taking India as an example, I trace how Indians and the caste system were first the subjects and eventually the interlocutors of racial scientific theory and testing."
The Essential Vedanta: A New Source Book of Advaita Vedanta
This book will be of great interest to all students of Hinduism, students of both Eastern and Western philosophy, and spiritual seekers who wish to better understand this ancient Indian tradition of non-dualist thought.
Today in Labor History December 25, 1927: B. R. Ambedkar and his followers burned copies of the Manusmriti to protest its treatment of Dalit people (formerly known as untouchables). Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist and social reformer who fought discrimination against Dalits. He later renounced Hinduism and inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement. The Manusmṛiti or Laws of Manu, is thought to be the first Hindu legal text and constitution.
Today in Labor History December 25, 1968: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) were burnt to death in the Kilvenmani massacre in Tamil Nadu. The Dalits had been striking for higher wages. The incident helped lead to major changes in the local rural economy, including a large redistribution of land. Meena Kandasamy portrayed the event in her 2014 novel “The Gypsy Goddess.”
We had some crazy weather in Boston today (ominous pic of the crows is from last week), but at least I had some talks for my #AcademicPlaylist to keep me company while helping my neighbor clear a downed tree from their driveway! (1/9)
Next was a fantastic conversation with Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba on reimagining India's economic future at the Indian School of Business. While this hits some of the points in Rajan's previous discussion at the Stigler Center, there's more emphasis on the tradeoff between manufacturing subsidies and education investment (and there are more jokes)! Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7RVUNdHkHg (4/9) #economics#India
Today in Labor History December 3, 1984: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killed over 3,800 people and injured up to 600,000 more. Up to 16,000 people died, in total, over the years following the disaster. The Government of Madhya Pradesh has paid compensation to family members of 3,787 of the victims killed. Numerous local activist groups emerged to support the victims of the disaster, like Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, who won the Goldman Prize in 2004. Many of the activists were subjected to violent repression by the police and government. Larger international groups, like Greenpeace and Pesticide Action Network also got involved. The disaster has played a role in numerous works of fiction, including Arundhati Roy’s “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” (2017) and Indra Sinha’s “Animal’s People” (2007). It has also been referenced in music by the Revolting Cocks “Union Carbide” and the Dog Faced Hermans ”Bhopal.”
The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback
Yashaswini Chandra
The horse is etched on the Indian landscape, and to view the subcontinent’s past through the prism of the horse is to be swept up in its power and grace. Horses are a thread that connects Indian history, mythology, art, literature, folklore and popular belief.
You’re truly One of the Kind is an adorable picture book about diversity and cherishing our individuality. It shares a sweet message of confidence, love and friendship. I love how Sonali Patodia uses Indian mythology and culture to explore all these concepts.