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      • Trusted Partner

        A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN KILINSKI PARK

        by Arieh Stav

        There were rumors; a smell of fear in the air. And yet, it all happened with incredible suddenness. The Soviets were abandoning the city; the Germans were at the gates. Mera Stollar grabbed her baby and ran for her life. From that day on, her life became an odyssey of flight and survival. Thanks to her son’s Aryan appearance (as long as he did not lower his pants…), her resourcefulness and wisdom, they escaped from the city after the murder of its Jewish inhabitants. Without documents, the mother and child wandered among the back lanes of Occupied Poland under the guise of Polish refugees, until they reached Warsaw. On the way, they endured the ever present fear of capture, hunger, cold, illness and the cruelty and indifference of people; but there are also instances of compassion and mercy. Their flight is accompanied by many dangers and threats. They are thrown into the street by a Christian family for having crossed themselves left-handed; a Ukrainian informer turns them in to the police – meaning transport to Treblinka; the convoy is bombed and on the first day of the Liberation, Mera is found guilty of collaborating with the German enemy, a sin carrying a sentence of execution. A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN KILINSKI PARK also tells the stories of Rocheleh, thrown into prison over a pair of boots; Stiepan the Ukrainian policeman whose love for Vera does not prevent him from murdering her entire family; of Lieber, protected by his father’s corpse in the Susenki killing pits; Sonia the convert, who was not saved by the crucifix she wore on her throat; Granny Jadzia, the Pole who was prepared to sacrifice her life for Libi, whom she loved like a grandchild; Alex and Irena, the two Ukrainian circus artists who, ironically, come under Mera’s protection; and Rudolph, the German paratrooper whose courtship and love for Mera lead to disillusion.   Arieh Stav was born in 1939 in Rovno, Poland at that time, Ukraine today. In 1951, he made aliyah with his mother. He was educated at Kibbutz Givat Haim, served in the IDF as a paratrooper and was a member of the Kibbutz until 1963, when he left and moved to Tel Aviv. He studied psychology, philosophy and drama at Tel Aviv University. Arieh Stav is the Director of the Ariel Center for Policy Research, a non-partisan organization devoted to inclusive research and discussion of political and strategic issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people. Stav is the editor of Nativ, a bi-monthly periodical on politics and the arts, author and editor of numerous books and research studies. He has translated (to Hebrew) and published numerous volumes of epic poems which were written throughout the ages and in a myriad of languages.

      • Trusted Partner
        October 2023

        From India to Germany:What My Father's Journey Tells Usabout Migration and the Kindness ofStrangers

        by Sunita Sukhana

        — An extraordinary story of migration — Contemporary history of the 70s and backgrounds to India, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany He was the son of the Sikh priest, a successful 400-meter runner and, eventually, a migrant. In 1979, Bagicha Singh turned his back on his homeland and set off with a head full of dreams on the long, turbulent overland journey from India to Germany. It was the year the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the Islamic Revolution raged in Iran. A year whose aftermath continues to shape the world to this day. More than 40 years later, his daughter tells the story of Bagicha's adventurous journey. The result is a touching document on origin, contemporary history, and the meaning of migration.

      • The Arts
        October 2021

        Jali

        Windows of Divine Light in Mughal Art and Architecture

        by Editor: Navina Haider, contributors: George Michell, Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites, Ebba Koch

        A jali is a perforated stone or latticed screen, with ornamental patterns that draw on the compositional rhythms of calligraphy and geometry. In the parts of Asia and the Mediterranean where solar rays are strongest and brightest is where ustads, or master artisans, were able to evolve an aesthetic language of light, giving it form and shape through stone and other materials. Jalis share a common aim to bring filtered light into enclosed spaces, while providing protection and privacy. Additionally, they shape the atmosphere of a sacred space, augment the grandeur of palaces and enhance the charm of domestic interiors. This book explores the delicate beauty of more than two-hundred jalis across India, from fourteenth-century examples in Delhi to those designed by global contemporary artists inspired by historical styles. This expansive volume covers the temple designs of the Gujarat Sultanates, imperial symbolism and Sufi allusions in Mughal jalis, the innovations and adaptations of jalis across Rajasthan and central India and, further south, calligraphy in stone relief and pierced stone in the Deccan. With contributions by American art historian Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites, George Michell, an authority on South Asian architecture, and renowned art and architectural historian Ebba Koch, this lavishly illustrated publication reveals the poetry etched in these stone screens.   Navina Najat Haidar is a curator in the Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. She helped lead the planning of the museum’s galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia. Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites is an American art historian, who has lived and worked in India for more than forty years. His primary focus has been the revival of traditional Indian and Islamic arts and crafts. Over the years, Crites has participated in a number of prestigious art and architectural projects ranging from Mexico to Malaysia. George Michell, an authority on South Asian architecture, has made the study of Deccani architecture and archaeology his life’s work. He has spent over thirty years researching and cataloguing the enormous ruined city of Hampi Vijayanagara, among many other historical sites in the region. Ebba Koch, preeminent art and architectural historian, is presently a professor at the Institute of Art History in Vienna, Austria and a senior researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Koch has spent much of her professional life studying the architecture, art, and culture of the Mughal Empire, and is considered a leading authority on Mughal architecture. Abhinav Goswami, based in Vrindavan, is trained as an archaeologist, photographer and temple priest. For the last three decades, Goswami has dedicated himself to documenting people, places, architecture and festivals of the rich cultural region of Vraj and other parts of India. http://mapinpub.com/bookinfo.php?id=315

      • Children's & YA
        November 2020 - April 2021

        I Will Live at Peace

        by Dr. Issam Smeir, Luma Azar. Illustrator: Hanane Kai

        AMAL (Hope) Series Almost 500 million children live in an area of conflict or disaster, 50 million of them were displaced. Prolonged exposure to war and uncertainty put many children in a state of ‘toxic stress’, with hugely detrimental effects. If left untreated, the long-term consequences are likely to be even greater, affecting children’s mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing for the rest of their lives. A series of nine specialized books dealing with the topic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This Bibliotherapy series was written and designed based on PTSD therapy modality directed at children who suffer psycho-social challenges. The books are written in an adventurous style with a clinical connection that introduces the child to various symptoms, providing methods for dealing with them. It also presents coping mechanisms that help the child deal with the symptoms to have improvements throughout the stages of treatment. It also includes activities at the end of each book for caregivers to use with the child. Story 2: I Will Live at Peace Ever Since the terrible thing happened to Saleem and his family, he has been seeing nightmares which affected his ability to concentrate on his studies. And therefore, Saleem gets scared all over again and relives the incident every time he is reminded of the incident: any image, or sound, or scent, even any word. One day Saleem meets someone who has also gone through a terrible thing, and that person had felt exactly like he is feeling. From this experience, Saleem realizes that not everything that scares him is real danger and remembering the terrible incident, is by no means a re-occurrence of it. Saleem feels relieved now; he understands that he can live at peace without constant fear.

      • Children's & YA
        November 2020 - April 2021

        I Will Be Alright

        by Dr. Issam Smeir, Luma Azar. Illustrator: Hanane Kai

        AMAL (Hope) Series Almost 500 million children live in an area of conflict or disaster, 50 million of them were displaced. Prolonged exposure to war and uncertainty put many children in a state of ‘toxic stress’, with hugely detrimental effects. If left untreated, the long-term consequences are likely to be even greater, affecting children’s mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing for the rest of their lives. A series of nine specialized books dealing with the topic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This Bibliotherapy series was written and designed based on PTSD therapy modality directed at children who suffer psycho-social challenges. The books are written in an adventurous style with a clinical connection that introduces the child to various symptoms, providing methods for dealing with them. It also presents coping mechanisms that help the child deal with the symptoms to have improvements throughout the stages of treatment. It also includes activities at the end of each book for caregivers to use with the child. Story 1: I will be Alright Following the distressing events that Saleem’s family went through, they move to a new town. Saleem finds himself a stranger to the home, the school, and the neighborhood. What made matters even worse, is that he already felt like he was a stranger to himself after undergoing these bad events. Saleem experiences various difficulties, and there are many things that bother him. Nevertheless, he learns something important about himself, gets to know good people, and finds himself approaching an exciting adventure that awaits him. This gives him some hope and a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

      • Literature & Literary Studies
        January 2018

        Beloved Delhi

        A Mughal City and her Greatest Poets

        by Saif Mahmood (Foreword by Rakhshanda Jalil; Preface by Sohail Hashmi)

        ‘A riveting resurrection of the city of poets, the city of history, Saif Mahmood’s learned and evocative book takes us to the heart of Delhi’s romance with Urdu verse and aesthetics.’—Namita Gokhale Urdu poetry rules the cultural and emotional landscape of India—especially northern India and much of the Deccan—and of Pakistan. And it was in the great, ancient city of Delhi that Urdu grew to become one of the world’s most beautiful languages. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, while the Mughal Empire was in decline, Delhi became the capital of a parallel kingdom—the kingdom of Urdu poetry—producing some of the greatest, most popular poets of all time. They wrote about the pleasure and pain of love, about the splendour of God and the villainy of preachers, about the seductions of wine, and about Delhi, their beloved home. This treasure of a book documents the life and work of the finest classical Urdu poets: Sauda, Dard, Mir, Ghalib, Momin, Zafar, Zauq and Daagh. Through their biographies and poetry—including their best-known ghazals—it also paints a compelling portrait of Mughal Delhi. This is a book for anyone who has ever been touched by Urdu or Delhi, by poetry or romance.

      • The Mulberry Courtesan

        by Sikeena Karmali

        In 1857, the shadows are falling thick and fast on what is left of the Mughal empire. The last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, is a broken, bitter man in his eighties who has retreated into religion and poetry. Zafar’s empire extends no further than the precincts of his grand palace, the Red Fort in Delhi, but this hasn’t prevented numerous court intrigues and conspiracies from flourishing within the Lal Qila; these involve the emperor’s wives, children, courtiers, hangers-on and English functionaries among others. Flung into this poison pit is Laale, a young woman from an Afghan noble family, abducted from her home in the mountains and sold into the Mughal emperor’s court as a courtesan. Fiery, independent and beautiful, the ‘mulberry courtesan’ captures the ageing emperor’s heart, giving him hope and happiness in his last years. Told against the backdrop of India’s great revolt of 1857 and the last days of the Mughal empire, The Mulberry Courtesan is an epic tale of romance, tragedy, courage and adventure.

      • Afghanistan

        A Cultural and Political History

        by Thomas Barfield

        An "impressive" history of Afghanistan (New York Times Book Review), from the Mughal Empire to the TalibanAfghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century to the Taliban resurgence today. Thomas Barfield introduces readers to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them. He shows how governing these peoples was relatively easy when power was concentrated in a small dynastic elite, but how this delicate political order broke down in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when Afghanistan's rulers mobilized rural militias to expel first the British and later the Soviets. Armed insurgency proved remarkably successful against the foreign occupiers, but it also undermined the Afghan government's authority and rendered the country ever more difficult to govern as time passed. Barfield vividly describes how Afghanistan's armed factions plunged the country into a civil war, giving rise to clerical rule by the Taliban and Afghanistan's isolation from the world. He examines why the American invasion in the wake of September 11 toppled the Taliban so quickly, and how this easy victory lulled the United States into falsely believing that a viable state could be built just as easily.Afghanistan is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how a land conquered and ruled by foreign dynasties for more than a thousand years became the "graveyard of empires" for the British and Soviets, and what the United States must do to avoid a similar fate.

      • The Star of India

        by Diana R Chambers

        The Golden Age of Hollywood meets end-of-the-Raj India. The romance of “the next Lana Turner” and a Cambridge-educated maharaja threatens his kingdom during the tumultuous days before Independence. It is 1946 Hollywood, and sparks fly when the dashing Maharaja of Cooch Behar, Jagaddipendra Narayan, meets Star of Tomorrow Nancy Valentine. A fictionalized account, The Star of India is based on the real-life romance between a rising young actress and a Cambridge-educated war hero and ruler of an ancient principality. Bhaiya sweeps Nancy back home during India’s tumultuous run-up to Independence. Amid the power struggles of every political, royal, and religious faction, Nancy is entangled in a whirlwind of intrigue, espionage, and attempted murder. Bhaiya comes under great pressure from his elegant and formidable mother, Indira of Cooch Behar, who believes his marriage to a foreigner will weaken the family’s position with their people, and make them vulnerable to a government takeover. Amid growing opposition to the couple’s union, the state’s fabled Mughal ruby disappears, and its curse will shadow them all.

      • Literary Fiction
        June 2020

        Pureland

        by Zarrar Said

        An assassin, accused of heinous acts of terror, begins his testimony by claiming responsibility for the murder of the Nobel Prize winning physicist, Salim Agha. To explain his motive, he begins by telling Salim’s story and the tragic relationship he had with his beloved nation, Pureland. Full of fascinating mysticism, Salim’s life commences with a prophecy from a levitating saint: he was destined for greatness from the start. But he is born into poverty in a feudal village and the prophecy begins to fade, but his life takes a turn when his landlord, General Khan, sees something special in the boy and promises to enroll him in a prestigious school in the city. Salim’s journey is never an easy one as he is hindered by conniving servants, General Khan’s evil mother, and his internal struggle with identity. He also falls in love with Khan’s daughter, Laila, who becomes his muse as well as his curse. A beloved so powerful that he vows to do anything to win her heart. She becomes the embodiment of everything he is destined to achieve. But everything starts to crumble. In an accidental act to impress his landlord, Salim inadvertently contributes to a coup d’état that derails his nation. He manages to leave for New York in order to stand on equal footing with his landlord and win over his beloved. But over the years in exile, Pureland is taken over by the Caliphate and remorse leads Salim to try and undo this wrong – and in doing so he creates vicious enemies who vie to slay him. One such enemy is the narrator himself. Inspired by the true tragic story of Pakistan’s only Nobel Prize winning physicist, Zarrar Said’s novel Pureland is a tour-de-force debut about a nation that has lost its way, its people who suffer from unspeakable tyranny, and a remorseful hero whose legacy has been wiped out by hatred.

      • Physiology
        October 2011

        Physio-Biochemistry and Biotechnology of Vegetable Crops

        by M.K. Rana

        This book is aimed at providing systematic information on nutritional importance of vegetables in human nutrition, physiology, post-harvest technology, biochemistry and biotechnology of vegetables at a single source. The book contains very concise and precise information on physio-biochemical and biotechnological aspects of vegetable crops and also covers areas like resistance against diseases and herbicides and tolerance against drought and salinity and the physical aspects of quality, i.e., shape, size, texture, colour, tenderness, etc. It also contains the information on best possible solutions of problems faced by the students, scientists, growers and trade. The information given in this book is truly based on scientific records of scientists working on vegetables in various institutes. The book on physio-biochemical and biotechnological aspects of vegetable crops compiled for the students of postgraduate and postdoctoral programs is one such attempt to make them learn and understand the subject more precisely and motivate them o improve their knowledge in the field of physio-biochemistry and biotechnology of vegetables crops to meet the future needs. In addition, this book may be user-friendly to others who have the concern to expand their knowledge in the field of physio-biochemistry and biotechnology of vegetable crops and wish to fetch more remuneration from vegetable crops.

      • The Arts

        Incredible Treasures

        UNESCO World Heritage Sites of india

        by Editors: Shikha Jain & Vinaysheel Oberoi

        The World Heritage Sites listing by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aims to promote awareness and preservation of heritage sites considered to have outstanding value for all humanity. There are 38 such sites in India, as of the year 2021, which include 30 cultural sites, seven natural sites and one mixed site. This volume presents them all together for the first time, with informative, accessible commentary and stunning photographs. This treasure trail begins deep in the jungles of central India, with the spirited figures that shimmer on the prehistoric cave walls of Bhimbetka. Caves of another kind draw us westwards, to the radiant artistry of the rock-cut sanctuaries of Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta Caves. Further north and east are monuments materially associated with the birth and spread of Buddhism across the subcontinent, all urgent testimonies to India’s tolerant past. Elsewhere in the south, mighty stone temples rise in the air, from the Chola temples to the ruins of Hampi, and, in the east, from the Sun Temple to Khajuraho, presenting sacred and profane visions of faith. Other masterpieces of pluralism borrow from Hindu, Jain and Islamic traditions to fashion a distinct identity, like the Taj Mahal or Rani-ki-Vav, both expressions of grief turned into beauty. Finally, even very old cultures must come into the new, finding novel vocabularies from colonial masters and Christian Europe, as in the railways chugging up snowy Darjeeling, or Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh. India’s natural odyssey takes us through forested glades that dot the country, harbouring flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. From the gelid slopes of the Himalayas and their associated spiritual manifestations to the many wildlife sanctuaries, the natural and mixed properties include biospheres of exceptional beauty and sites of long interaction between people and the landscape. Incredible Treasures is an eloquent homage to India’s long, layered history, bearing witness to its rich biodiversity and the creativity and influence of multiple communities, crafts and religious traditions.   Dr. Shikha Jain has worked on several nomination dossiers for India and other Asian countries. She was Member Secretary of the Advisory Committee on World Heritage Matters to the Ministry of Culture, India, from 2011–15, during its elected term in the World Heritage Committee. She has worked as a consultant to UNESCO New Delhi on specific missions. She is currently Asia-Pacific Coordinator for ICOFORT, ICOMOS; UNESCO Visiting Fellow at Category 2 Centre, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun; Haryana State Convener of INTACH and Founder Director, DRONAH. She has a post-graduate degree in Community Design and Preservation from Kansas University, USA and a doctorate in architectural history from De Montfort University, UK. Vinay Sheel Oberoi was an IAS officer of the 1979 batch of the Assam- Meghalaya cadre. He held a post-graduate degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics. During his long career of nearly four decades, he served as a consultant with the World Bank, as the Chief (Industry and Technology) of UNDP in India, and the Director of the National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA), among other assignments. From 2010 to 2014, he was the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO, in Paris. On his return to India, Oberoi served as Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India and Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. After his retirement he continued to work in an advisory capacity with various institutions, including several governmental  bodies in the fields of education and culture. He passed away in 2020. Eric Falt has worked in the field of diplomacy and international affairs for three decades, focusing initially on communications and moving to political affairs and the management of large teams. He has been Assistant Director-General of UNESCO in charge of external relations and public information, with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the UN. Previous assignments have included: attendance of UN Security Council negotiations in New York; participation in the Cambodia peace process; involvement in human rights and peacekeeping activities in Haiti; responsibilities in a humanitarian program in Iraq; and overall promotion of development activities for the United Nations in Pakistan. He also led the global communications effort of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and then the global outreach activities of the United Nations Secretariat in New York. He is currently Director, UNESCO India Cluster Office. Rohit Chawla is one of India’s leading contemporary photographers. ​As the erstwhile Group Creative Director for the India Today Group and Open magazine, he has conceptualised and photographed over 300 magazine covers. He has had several solo exhibitions across the world and has also done three coffee table books. Amareswar Galla is currently Professor of inclusive cultural leadership and Director of the International Centre for Inclusive Cultural Leadership at Anant National University in Ahmedabad. He is the founding Executive Director of the International Institute for the Inclusive Museum. He has previously held the posts of Professor of Museum Studies, the University of Queensland and Professor of Sustainable Heritage Development at the Australian National University. He is co-founder of the global movement for the inclusive museum and intangible heritage studies and has an extensive publication record. He was the producer and editor of World Heritage: Benefits Beyond Borders, published by Cambridge University Press and UNESCO in 2012. Janhwij Sharma is Joint Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, overseeing all World Heritage Sites for ASI as the nodal agency for India. He is a conservation architect, graduating from Chandigarh College of Architecture with post-graduation in conservation from York, UK. Amita Baig is a heritage management consultant with nearly three decades of experience in heritage preservation as well as sustainable tourism in India and the Asian region. She worked for many years in Agra with the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative. Baig represents the World Monuments Fund in India and has been a member of Government of India’s Advisory Committee on World Heritage Matters and served as a member of the Council of the National Culture Fund. Dr. Jyoti Pandey Sharma is a Professor in Architecture at Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal (Haryana), India. She engages with issues pertaining to built heritage and cultural landscapes, particularly those concerning the Indian subcontinent’s legacy of Islamic and colonial urbanism. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and in edited volumes. She has been an invited speaker at a number of international symposia and conferences. Her research has received awards and fellowships including a Summer Fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University and a UGC Associate at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, India. Dr. V B Mathur is Chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority and former Director of UNESCO Category 2 Centre on World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region (UNESCO-C2C) at the Wildlife Institute of India. A former Indian Forest Service officer, he has made over 35 years of outstanding contribution towards a better understanding of Protected Areas and natural heritage management in India. He also serves as an expert member on various inter-governmental forums.   Dr Rohit Jigyasu is a distinguished conservation architect and risk management professional, and the project manager on urban heritage, climate change and disaster risk management at ICCROM, Italy. He serves as Vice President of ICOMOS International for the period 2017–2020. From 2010–2018, he was UNESCO Chair at the Institute for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan University, Japan. He was the President of ICOMOS India from 2014–2018 and of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP) from 2010–2019. He has also been a member of ICOMOS International’s Executive Board since 2011. Kiran Joshi has been researching lesser-known 19th- and 20th-century Indian heritage for over 25 years, and exploring the diverse meanings and manifestations of Indian modernity and shared heritage. Her seminal work on Chandigarh helped to introduce the notion of ‘Modern Heritage’ in India. She has been associated with ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on 20th-century heritage (ISC20C) since 2004, and she founded ICOMOS India’s National Committee on the subject (NSC20C) in 2013. She is a founder member of DOCMOMO India and served as President of ICOMOS India during 2019–2020. Dr. Sonali Ghosh is an Indian Forest Service Officer. She has served as a site manager in the Kaziranga and Manas World Heritage Sites, and as a founding faculty at the UNESCO-Category 2 Centre at the Wildlife Institute of India. She is a certified IUCN World Heritage Site evaluation expert and has co-edited books on cultural landscapes in Asia as well as an anthology on natural heritage writing. Her current interests lie in exploring nature-culture linkages in heritage and Protected Area management.

      • Horticulture
        October 2020

        Textbook of Floriculture and Landscaping

        by Anil Kumar Singh & Anjana Sisodia

        The ancient history of India depicted an important and precious place of flowers and garden through paintings, murals, coins, etc. All this gives an idea about the close association of floriculture with our life and culture. The book is covering up to date information based on ICAR and SAU horticulture syllabus for students of B. Sc. (Ag.), B. Sc. (Hort.) and M.Sc. (Ag.) in Horticulture. It presents all the basics and advanced information in their easiest way for the readers thus, especially designed to cover all the aspects of floriculture and landscaping.

      • Lifestyle, Sport & Leisure
        July 2021

        Courtyard Houses of India

        by Yatin Pandya

        Indian architecture is not an object in space; it integrates space within the object, where the built and the unbuilt become counterpoints to vitalize each other. The alchemy of the two sustains the space and the life within. The void within the built—the courtyard—lies at the genesis of the urban dwelling form in India across geography and time. In ancient Indian sciences, the courtyard assumes the central position as Brahmasthana, the nucleus of the living environment. It provided for an open-to-sky outdoor space while being away from the public eye and thus suited an introverted lifestyle. In this book, the author traces the metaphysical, mythical, socio-cultural, environmental and spatial roles of the courtyard in the domestic architecture  of India—from early civilization and Vedic times to Islamic and colonial influences. This volume documents traditional and vernacular courtyard dwelling types across India within diverse climatic, cultural as well as geographic zones such as western (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra), southern (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa), eastern (Bihar, West Bengal), central (Madhya Pradesh) and northern (Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.). It then discerns the spatial elements constituting the court, and the arts, the crafts as well as  the elements integral to the court.   Illustrated with splendid photographs and representative drawings, the book attempts to understand the presence and resolution, continued use and adaptation as well as the diverse interpretations and abstractions of the courtyard.   Yatin Pandya is an author, activist, academician, researcher as well as a practising architect with his firm FOOTPRINTS E.A.R.T.H. (Environment Architecture Research Technology Housing). He is a graduate of CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and holds a Master of Architecture degree from McGill University, Montreal. Pandya has been involved with city planning, urban design, mass housing, architecture, interior design and product design as well as conservation projects. He has authored numerous papers, which have appeared in national and international journals, and has produced several documentary films on architecture. During his tenure at the Vastu-Shilpa Foundation, Pandya worked on the publications Concepts of Space in Traditional Indian Architecture and Elements of Spacemaking, published by Mapin and now in their fourth reprint, which have won the Indian Institute of Architects’ (IIA) Award for Architectural Excellence in Research in the years 2012 and 2014, respectively. The research leading to this book was also carried out during his time at Vastu-Shilpa Foundation. He is a visiting faculty at the National Institute of Design and CEPT University, and a guest lecturer at various universities in India and abroad. The recipient of numerous national and international awards for research, design and dissemination, Pandya counts environmental sustainability, socio-cultural appropriateness, timeless aesthetics and economic affordability to be key principles of his work.

      • Gardening
        July 2019

        Vegetable Science and Technology

        by Pranab Hazra

        This book has been designed to cater the needs of undergraduates and postgraduates of State and Central Agricultural Universities studying vegetable science and horticultural science. This book has been framed to provide the principles for environmental and growth factors, seedling and graft production, nutrient and water management, organic and protected farming, crop protection, post-harvest management and marketing of vegetable crops. Every production aspect of 42 major and minor vegetable crops grown in the tropical and subtropical regions along with information regarding origin and taxonomy, importance and uses, botany, nutritional and medicinal values, plant protection measures and post-harvest management have been provided. The author long and rich experience acquired through teaching and research on different aspects of vegetable science in the State Agricultural University was put to structure this book.

      • History of Art / Art & Design Styles
        August 2014

        Mediating Netherlandish Art and Material Culture in Asia

        by Edited by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann and Michael North

        Scholars have extensively documented the historical and socioeconomic impact of the Dutch East India Company. They have paid much less attention to the company’s significant influence on Asian art and visual culture. Mediating Netherlandish Art and Material Culture in Asia addresses this imbalance with a wide range of contributions covering such topics as Dutch and Chinese art in colonial and indigenous households; the rise of Hollandmania in Japan; and the Dutch painters who worked at the court of the Persian shahs. Together, the contributors shed new light on seventeenth-century Dutch visual culture“and the company that spread it across Asia.

      • Horticulture
        August 2015

        A Colour Handbook

        Landscape Gardening

        by Alka Singh & B.K. Dhaduk

        This book deals with the basic aspects of landscape gardening including garden types and styles, principles, elements and garden components in detail and is well supported with illustrations and photographs for better clarity and easy understanding. It has been compiled especially for the students and it would also be useful to the landscape professionals, teachers as well as garden and nature lovers.

      • Poetry
        November 2013

        Mango Tree

        by Valerie Morton

        The inspiration for this short collection is one man and one country.  Written through the eyes of a young English woman travelling to India for the first time in 1967, these are unashamedly intimate memories, helped by diaries and letters inviting the reader into the vibrancy, mystery and cruelty of a country where waking up each morning is an epiphany.

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