Hot Water Man is a story set in Karachi during Bhutto’s rule. But like most British writing on the subject of the jewel in the British crown, it is the story of a search for a lost kingdom—the Raj. And Bhutto figures only marginally, as does the real Pakistan. Where the authors of these works are not writing of the actual period, as Paul Scott did so successfully, they are trying to trace its remnants.
Portuguese imperialism sought to present itself as the embodiment of a divine Caesar and thereby to absolve itself from the obligation of render¬ing the spoils either unto God or unto Caesar. Rapine became thus an essential part of the crusade. The Portuguese could thus evolve a curious blend of lust for gold and souls. Its numismatic expres¬sion was the Cruzado.
Among the Western inter¬preters of Indian art, Alice Bonar was remarkable in that she was not only an art his¬torian but also an artist her¬self with the deep insight and vision which only a practising artist can possess. Born in Switzerland, she studied art in Brussels, Munich and Basle and set up her own studio, first in her native country and later in Paris.
This book, a revised version of the author’s Ph.D. thesis, seeks to ‘highlight processes of socio-religious transforma¬tion within a specific region and cultural context into which iconography provides useful and interesting insights’. The author believes that this approach will fulfill a long-felt need for a meaningful analysis of the evolution of iconographic concepts and their im-pact on socio-cultural groups and religious systems.
Krishna Chaitanya’s book is the first of a series on different aspects of Indian cul¬ture being put out by the India Library. The book is a broad survey that includes material from our religions, literature and the arts. It can be considered a book of ideas; each idea is examined for its contribution to the meaning and texture of our life-style and world-view.
During the past two deca¬des there has been a greater emphasis on the in-depth study of ‘regional history’. It has been observed that the general tendencies in history apparently found over a vast geo-political reality take differ¬ent forms in diverse situations. Like most other regions, Gujarat assumes some peculiar features which are reflected throughout its history. Being a coastal area, it has been open to the outer world for centuries—mainly for merc¬antile transactions.