This book is a study of the Bharata Natyam dance genre "padam" focusing on its patrons and composers and its formal structure, texts, and music. It examines the "rewriting" of South Indian dance and the decades-long debates over the classicization and ownership of South Indian music. The control over the representation of the arts is a subject that should resonate with scholars working in a wide variety of genres and across many countries. The study is diachronic (historical) and also synchronic (examining padams’ organizational structure as a system). Importantly, the text includes 30 Tamil language songs, minutely translated and annotated together with a documentation of their performance history in the 20th century. Classical and modern music composers and performers, ethnomusicologists, librettists, singers, choreographers, art historians, dancers, dance scholars, and dance teachers will find them useful in giving students a deep contextual understanding of Bharata Natyam. The book will find an enthusiastic readership with dance teachers who are actively training Bharata Natyam students. It will also attract a scholarly audience as an anthropological and historical study of an artistic form which has a high profile in South Asia and has become prominent in the growing fields of ethnomusicology, dance ethnography and "world dance."

Through a succession of key stages since Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) became independent in 1948, its Tamil minority, historically concentrated in the north and east but with an important segment in Colombo, became alienated from the Sinhalese majority and, after peaceful opposition failed to secure its rights, resorted to an armed struggle. The Tamil Tigers (LTTE) today appear to hold the key to their people’s future. While they have suffered setbacks, including the loss of the Tamil capital, Jaffna, they remain a potent guerrilla force, able to strike with impunity at both military and civilian targets. The Tigers’ grip on the Tamil population seems secure, as does their overseas support and funding from Tamil exiles in Britain, Canada, and Australia. This book offers a concise history of the Sri Lankan Tamil nation, its culture, social make-up, and political evolution. In a final chapter, A. J. V. Chandrakanthan gives a first-hand account of life and attitudes inside the embattled Tamil areas today. A. Jeyaratnam Wilson teaches in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick. He is the author of The Break-Up of Sri Lanka and S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism. A. J. V. Chandrakanthan teaches in the Department of Theology at Concordia University, Montreal.

The construction of the past, as a historical agenda, figured prominently in the attempt of intellectuals to modernize society. They realized the importance of being sensitive to their past, which had been misrepresented by colonial rule. The investigation of the past to perceive the present and to conceive a future became integral to their intellectual endeavour. To use K.N. Panikkhar's words, "the intellectual quest in colonial India, engaged in an enquiry into the meaning of the past and thus in an assessment of its relevance to contemporary society, was an outcome of this awareness''. The construction of the past, was initially viewed as pre-requisite to reform. It subsequently turned out to be part of an ant-colonial agenda to retrieve a lost identity. This agenda become very vocal as the national movement reached its mass phase.

Siddhas were mystics of ancient India. They believed that human race was created to excel in knowledge and help human societies form an advanced civilization on the Earth. They knew that they needed to live longer and even become immortals to achieve this goal. In Indian context Siddhas were considered as doctors but in Western context, such people were called Philosophers. Nevertheless, a deeper understanding of Siddhas' poetic scripts reveals their different faces such as scientific thinkers, social reformers, priest kings, pioneers of advanced cultures, etc. Siddhas speak about spirit, soul and body in their scripts. They also compare cosmos, nature and earth in their science. The unique attainment of Siddhas could be their mastery over physical and cosmic sciences. Siddhas believed that physical science is comparable with cosmic science. Thus, through their physical and cosmic observations, they succeeded in inventing ambrosia of Gods and many became Gods themselves.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1859.

Tamil Cinema in the Twenty-First Century explores the current state of Tamil cinema, one of India’s largest film industries. Since its inception a century ago, Tamil cinema has undergone major transformations, and today it stands as a foremost cultural institution that profoundly shapes Tamil culture and identity. This book investigates the structural, ideological, and societal cleavages that continue to be reproduced, new ideas, modes of representation and narratives that are being created, and the impact of new technologies on Tamil cinema. It advances a critical interdisciplinary approach that challenges the narratives of Tamil cinema to reveal the social forces at work.

How perceptions of land and space influence social and aesthetic conditions in the Tamil region of India.

These Tamil Lessons are targeted for such readers, so they may pick up the rudimentary Tamil language reading and writing skills. Instructions are given in English, with a bit of Hindi/Sanskrit letter symbols that could help in near-correct pronunciation. However, a bit of help from a good Tamil-speaking person will go a long way for the readers. More so, the readers are strongly advised not only to read but also to write down these lessons, as a matter of practice. After all, there is no more truth than the one conveyed by the old Tamil saying, “chiththiramum kaip pazhakkam, senthamizhum naap pazhakkam” (skill of writing is enhanced by handwriting, as the skill of speaking good Tamil is done through oral utterances).