India celebrates itself as a nation of unity in diversity; but where does that sense of unity come from? One important source is a widely-accepted narrative called the “bhakti movement.†Bhakti is the religion of the heart; of song; of common participation; of inner peace; of anguished protest. The idea known as the bhakti movement asserts that between 600 and 1600 CE; poet-saints sang bhakti from India’s southernmost tip to its northern Himalayan heights; laying the religious bedrock upon which the modern state of India would be built.Challenging this canonical narrative; John Stratton Hawley clarifies the historical and political contingencies that gave birth to the concept of the bhakti movement. Starting with the Mughals and their Kachvaha allies; North Indian groups looked to the Hindu South as a resource that would give religious and linguistic depth to their own collective history. Only in the early twentieth century did the idea of a bhakti “movement†crystallize―in the intellectual circle surrounding Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal. Interactions between Hindus and Muslims; between the sexes; between proud regional cultures; and between upper castes and Dalits are crucially embedded in the narrative; making it a powerful political resource.A Storm of Songs ponders the destiny of the idea of the bhakti movement in a globalizing India. If bhakti is the beating heart of India; this is the story of how it was implanted there―and whether it can survive.
#355329 in Books Edward N Luttwak 2012-11-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.75 x 5.50 x 1.25l; .88 #File Name: 0674066421320 pagesThe Rise of China vs the Logic of Strategy
Review
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A rare chance to learn!By S. FergusonLuttwak explains that the "highest echelon" of the U.S. Treasury "is staffed almost entirely by former or future employees of the leading financial firms" that are sensitive to Chinese enterprises as future clients; for example Timothy Franz Geithner. According to Luttwak; these financial power elites have no responsibility for or indeed any intellectual interest in the condition of the U.S. manufacturing sector and the subsequent loss of jobs; which they regarded as "uncompetitive and not worth having" — and their willingness to bend to Chinese demands for the sake of making cheap capital available to private finance; has also allowed a tsunami of technology; including aerospace technology; innovated by American enterprise to be given to the Chinese.Every American should read this book! This man is brilliant and he knows what most do not or will not say. We have much to learn.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Lovely little book. Reads well and the argument is ...By Mr. EruditeLovely little book. Reads well and the argument is presented in a simple manner connecting the dots in current affairs.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Beyond the usual comments on the rise of ChinaBy Juan Manuel LopezAn excellent book that demistfy many topical aspects of the rise of China. As Luttwak shows; things are much more complex that they appear
