While many people outside India find the images, sounds, and practices of Indian performing arts compelling and endeavor to incorporate them into the "global" repertoire, few are aware of the central role of religious belief and practice in Indian aesthetics. Completing the trilogy that includes Darsan: Seeing the Divine and Mantra: Hearing the Divine in India and America, this volume focuses on how rasa has been applied in a range of Indian performance traditions. "Rasa" is taste, essence, flavor. How is it possible that a word used to describe a delicious masala can also be used to critique a Bharata Natyam performance? Rasa expresses the primary goals of performing arts in India in all the major literary, philosophical, and aesthetic texts, and it provides the cornerstone of the oral traditions of transmission. It is also essential to the study and production of sculpture, architecture, and painting. Yet its primary referent is cuisine. This book articulates the religious sensibility underlying the traditional performing arts as well as other applications of rasa and examines the relationships between the arts and religion in India today.
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The third book in a trilogy that includes Seeing the Divine and Hearing the Divine, this book articulates the religious sensibility underlying the traditional performing arts and examines the relationships between the arts and religion in India today.
Les mer
Preface Transliteration and Romanization A Taste of Things to Come RASA in Theory: Text and Context A. Etymological Ingredients B. Sources of Inspiration C. A Written Recipe for the Arts D. Influences and Implications RASA in Practice: Drama, Dance, Music A. All The Stage Is But a World B. Dance As Mystery Bharata Natyam Shringara Rasa: What Love Has to Do With It Kathakali Kathak C. Good Taste In Music Transformations In Time And Space Glossary Bibliography
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This volume is a gem that deserves wide distribution. It is destined to become a classic contribution to the literature on Hinduism and Indian civilization. Choice It thoughtfully explores an aesthetic of great depth and elegance. Dance Magazine This book is clear and accessible for the introductory reader. -- Mythili Kumar Asian Theatre Journal As a writer on dance, Schwartz really shines. -- Martha Ann Selby, University of Texas at Austin Journal of Asian Studies [Rasa] should prove a valuable classroom tool as well as a necessary addition to college libraries. -- Constantina Rhodes Bailly Hindu Studies Recommended to all those needing a sympathetic and intelligent introduction to the Indian performance arts and their appreciation. -- Edwin Gerow Journal of the American Oriental Society
Les mer
The third book in a trilogy that includes Seeing the Divine and Hearing the Divine, this book articulates the religious sensibility underlying the traditional performing arts and examines the relationships between the arts and religion in India today.
Les mer

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780231131452
Publisert
2004-08-11
Utgiver
Vendor
Columbia University Press
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
160

Forfatter

Biographical note

Susan L. Schwartz is associate professor of religion and director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Asian Traditions at Muhlenberg College. She is the coauthor of The Religions of Star Trek.