Best indian literary criticism books according to redditors

Read all her tweets and watch some of her interviews on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOS43zILE8w), she is a great historian that has been targeted by the Indian Hindu right wing for supporting the truth. She must be given a high platform to speak the truth louder and wider.

Fluent in Sanskrit and knowledgable in Persian, she is the author of Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit in the Mughal Court, Aurangzeb: The Man and The Myth and Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King - Please purchase a copy to read, and share it with everyone who's interested. She MUST be invited to speak in Pakistan and the government must promote her.

If you're especially interested in Tamil, David Shulman's "biography" of the language is exceptionally interesting, though dense with detail: https://www.amazon.com/Tamil-Biography-David-Shulman/dp/0674059921

I agree with triliana that you should pay for a book, like RS MacGregor's Outline of Hindi Grammar. Link to Amazon, but you can probably find it for half the price on AbeBooks or ALibris.

Rupert Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi Dictionary is absolutely indispensable for anyone who wants conversational Hindi -- MacGregor's Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary is far more useful but won't get you anywhere in beginner's Hindi, esp if you can't read Devanagari. Snell's dictionary begins with a very brief introduction to Hindi grammar, which is not comprehensive but is better than no grammar at all.

Speaking of Snell...he is the director of the Hindi-Urdu Flagship at UT-Austin. NO ONE trying to learn Hindi should be without the resources they put online.

As I said, McGregor's Outline of Hindi Grammar is best, but HUF has PDF links for several excellent older textbooks, completely and legally for free.

Here's a few for a start -

The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature

[Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay](
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibhutibhushan_Bandyopadhyay) - Pather Panchali, Aparajito : The Unvanquished

Anandamath - Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay - Flipkart Link

Rabindranath Tagore for the 21st Century Reader

Chowringhee - Shankar - Flipkart Link

Satyajit Ray - The Magic Moonlight Flower and Other Enchanting Stories, Indigo: Selected Stories & Others

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay - The Menagerie and Other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries, Picture Imperfect and Other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries, Rhythm of Riddles, BYOMKESH BAKSHI STORIES

Tagore in English

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay - In English

I looked up the entire passage you're citing in Goldman's translation (quoted below for your reference), and it supports your interpretation that Rama and Sita were 13 and 6 respectively at the time of marriage. Goldman's translation has an impeccable reputation and it's based on the critical edition.

However, I should warn you that there is no such thing as an "authoritative" or "definitive" Ramayana text. The Ramayana is a living tradition with a long history wherein many cultures and traditions have their own versions of the Ramayana which differ significantly from Valmiki's version. I recommend this book if you'd like to learn more about the Ramayana tradition. While I trust that Goldman is a faithful and accurate translator of the Valmiki critical edition, I would caution against the belief that Valmiki is the ultimate authority on the Ramayana.




> Sarga 45
>
> 1. When Ravana came in the guise of a mendicant to carry off
> Vaidehi, he had first put some questions to her. Of her own accord
> she now began to tell her story.
> 2. For Sita had thought a moment: "He is a brahman and my
> guest. If I do not reply he will curse me." She then spoke these
> words:
> 3. "I am the daughter of Janaka, the great king of Mithila. My
> name is Sita, may it please the best of twice-born, and I am the
> wife of Rama.
> 4. "For twelve years I lived in the house of Raghava, enjoying such
> pleasures as mortals enjoy. I had all I could desire.
> 5. "Then, in the thirteenth year, the king in concert with his kingly
> counselors approved the royal consecration of my husband.
> 6. "But just as the preparations for Raghava's consecration were
> under way, a mother-in-law of mine named Kaikeyi asked her husband
> for a boon.
> 7. "You see, Kaikeyi had already married my father-in-law for a consideration. So she had two things she now could ask of her husband,
> the best of kings and a man who always kept his word: One
> was the consecration of Bharata, the other, my husband's banishment.
> 8. " 'From this day forth I will not eat, or drink, or sleep, I will put
> an end to my life if Rama is consecrated.'
> 9. "Such were Kaikeyfs words, and though my father-in-law, who
> had always shown her respect, begged her with offers of commensurate
> riches, she would not do what he begged of her.
> 10. ab-874*. "Rama, my mighty husband, was then twenty-five
> years old, and I had just passed my eighteenth birthday.
> 10. cd-ef. "His name is renowned throughout the world, his eyes
> are large, his arms strong. He is virtuous, honest, truthful, and
> devoted to the welfare of all people.

Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore

http://www.amazon.com/Gitanjali-Collection-Indian-Poems-Laureate/dp/0684839342

>Its because theres this weird concept in India where they actually think they are white

No one thinks they are 'white', sadly fair skin is preferred here.

>Im not kidding theres like clothing stores in India named aftet Hitler

There is, but the owner confessed that he didn't know who Hitler was. 'Hitler' is used to describe strict people in India.

>Its because back in the day the British classified half of India as Caucasian (which it is) but they forgot to tell the Indians that Caucasian does not necsessarily mean White

Will need a source on that.

>only refers to skull shape.

Skull shape comes under 'Scientific racism' which is a pseudoscience.

>It reminds me of when White people claim they're Aryans (which they kinda are) but it specifically refers to the Iranian people who are the real Aryans (they're just called Iran - which basically means "Arya").

Never heard about this in any serious discussion. Arya(=Nobel), it is widely contested that were they even a race? Even if they existed, people are so mixed that there are no 'real Aryans'. I can suggest a great book by Dorothy Figueira- Aryans, Jews, Brahmins: Theorizing Authority Through Myths of Identity

I've used it a bit. I went through Translating Buddhism from Tibetan cover to cover, though, and my personal trick was to do all the exercises, not move on until I feel I've mastered an exercise, and to not really worry much about the vocabulary.

I can get disheartened by a lot of memorization so I just use a dictionary when I don't know a word. As vocab words keep coming up. I eventually know them without peeking.


This may not be the best approach for everyone, but I work mostly with scriptural rather than colloquial Tibetan so instant recall of terms is not as critical for me.

Buddhism: Beginner's Guide... by Michael Williams will give you a nice overview.

Buddhism: Beginner's Guide to Understanding & Practicing Buddhism to Become Stress and Anxiety Free (Buddhism, Mindfulness, Meditation, Buddhism For Beginners) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1537410008/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_U-HODbJHF38YG

https://www.amazon.in/Natural-Enmity-Reflections-Niti-Pancatantra-ebook/dp/B01LY7EBDS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540730857&sr=8-1&keywords=ashay+naik