Translated by nandakumar k (2 risultati)

Hardcover. Condizione: New. A Thousand Cuts is a harrowing, sobering and ultimately inspiring autobiography of Professor T.J. Joseph, who in 2010 became the victim of a brutal terrorist assault, accused of blasphemy after setting an exam question that enraged fundamentalists. This book is an important reminder of the pernicious effect of religious extremism and the duty of every person to speak out against those who would silence free expression' SHASHI THAROOR 'There is excruciating agony here, but also black humour and irony that enliven and lighten the narrative even at the height of anguish' K. SATCHIDANANDAN 'The poignant tale, with its sense of urgency and helplessness, has been sensitively translated as A Thousand Cuts' RANA SAFVI A chilling account of religious extremism In 2010, T.J. Joseph, a professor of Malayalam at Newman College, Kerala, framed an innocuous question for an internal examination that changed his life forever. Following a trumped-up charge of blasphemy, members of a radical Islamist organization set upon him in public, viciously maiming him and chopping off his right hand. His memoir, told with amazing restraint and wry humour, is the moving tale of his life and family as they went through hell and beyond. Here's the extraordinary story of a man who survived dismembering only to be betrayed by his own Church. Let alone stand by him, it robbed him of his livelihood and isolated him from his community, driving Joseph's long-suffering wife to melancholia and eventual suicide. Joseph's story is one of fortitude, will power, forgiveness and compassion, told with rare wit that will make readers chuckle through their tears. This is a tale that will leave the reader seething, weeping and smiling by turns.…

Hardcover. Condizione: New. Manimekalai, one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature, gives us, a delightful insight into the ways of life, the pleasures, beliefs, and philosophical concepts of a refined civilization. The story relates the adventures of a dancing girl who becomes a convert to Buddhism. Manimekalai calls into question many of our received ideas concerning ancient India as well as our interpretation of the sources of its present-day religion and philosophy. In its clear accounts of the philosophical concepts of the time, the Manimekalai presents the various currents of pre-Aryan thought (mainly preserved by the Ajivika ascetics and Jain monks) which gradually influenced the Vedic Aryan world and became an essential part of it and, through Buddhism, spread over the whole of the Far East and Central Asia. The society in which the action of the Manimekalai takes place has little to do with the Aryanized civilization of the north which we know from Sanskrit texts. Although important cultural exchanges between the Aryan and Dravidian worlds had already taken place by this time, the latter was still able to maintain its independence, some of its features continuing even to our own times. The centre of religious and political power is the king. As in ancient China, the god's favour and the country's prosperity depend on the King's virtue. Spiritual and religious life is guided by sages, seers (rishis), who lead an ascetic life, living in the mountains or in secluded places. It appears that Dravidian society did not originally possess a priestly caste. However, during the Manimekalai period, groups of Brahmans from the north had already established themselves in villages or parts of the towns, forming separate communities which were treated sometimes with respect and sometimes with hostility.…