Publisher's Name:
University of Minnesota Press
Place:
Minnesota
ISBN-10:
081664996
ISBN-13:
9780816649969
Publication Date:
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Physical Description:
Paperback: 256 pages
About the book:
Today we witness, Simona Sawhney contends, the near-total appropriation of Sanskrit literature by Hindu nationalism. The Modernity of Sanskrit challenges this appropriation by exploring the complex work of Rabindranath Tagore, M. K. Gandhi, and Mohan Rakesh. Sawhney proposes that Indian nationalist writings about classic Sanskrit became a charged site for postcolonial reflections on politics and art in India.
Reviews:
This book is like a whiff of fresh air to those who are familiar with writings on Sanskrit classics and aesthetics, primarily for its lucid treatment of the subject.
—Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Sawhney’s approach to Sanskrit and its literature is ground-breaking.
—Journal of American Studies
Sawhney’s work is extremely welcome and timely. Her astute application of the tools of critical theory and cultural studies will ensure continued attention to Sanskrit literature.
—Asian Studies Review
The Modernity of Sanskrit offers some rewarding elucidations of specific aspects of individual Sanskrit texts and traditions, and Sawhney’s attempt to articulate the ‘modernity of Sanskrit’ in itself is novel and laudable.
—Contemporary South Asia