ART MUSINGS 2013

MAÏTÉ DELTEIL | ‘ENCHANTED’ | RANJIT HOSKOTE, DR ALKA PANDE & ANUPA MEHTA

Shringara: The Many Faces of Indian Beauty, Rupa Publications, New Delhi – 2011

The book epitomizes how the Beauty in its quintessential sense is innate rather than created. It is to be discovered, rather than ornamented, and possessed rather than sculpted. Saundarya is this half-received and half-perceived phenomenon. The book raises pertinent questions: Do we simply venerate shringara as holy relic of the past? Or will we have the courage to establish a new language of shringara.

Leela, An Erotic Play of Verse and Art, Harper Collins, New Delhi – 2009

A collection of Indian poetry from ancient to contemporary times, Leela is complemented by some extremely refreshing and original photography, graphics and paintings. The book emerges from the celebration of sensuality and desire in the Indian cultural landscape, where eros is a part of everyday life.

The New Age Kamasutra for Women, Brijbasi Art Press, New Delhi – 2006

The book celebrates the sensitivities of the 21st century woman through the gaze of a woman. Unlike most translations and interpretations of the Kama Sutra which have been authored by men and naturally, therefore, adopt a male bias, this crosses the boundaries of the classical treatise on the aphorisms of love, transposing its context to the modern day.