A Celebration of Love - The Romantic Heroine in the Indian Arts

Author: Eminent ContributorsEditor(s): Harsha V DehejiaPublisher: Roli BooksYear: 2004Language: EnglishPages: 304ISBN/UPC (if available): 8174363025 DescriptionHarsha V Dehejia has gathered a galaxy of scholars from around the world to take the reader on a journey that celebrates the romantic heroine in the Indian arts. It’s a visually rich journey which takes us to opulent havelis and bucolic groves, temples and courtyards, where we meet kings and nobility and also artists and artisans, as we hear whispers of gopis and the footfalls of Krishna. We encounter the nayika in miniature paintings and temple sculptures, pothis and calendars, dance and music but above all hear resonances of her heart throbbing longingly in our own selves for ultimately the nayika in the Indian tradition is a paradigm of the perennial quest of mankind for a divine and transcendent love.At the heart of the many and varied artistic expressions of the romantic sentiment is the nayika or the heroine. Her various a