Books by category

ISBN : 9789389136265

Description:

Eating With History: Ancient Trade- Influenced Cuisines of Kerala is an invaluable compendium of a culinary tradition and variety of food recipes that evolved out of Kerala’s kitchens. The food trail is extensive and as varied as it can get. The proximity to the sea and the natural beauty and resources of the state–especially the fragrant spices which grew in abundance– attracted inhabitants of foreign soils and inspired them to initiate overseas trade along what was later known as the Spice Route. In a state with fish, other seafood and vegetables dominating people’s food habits, the various kinds of meats, foreign cooking techniques and exotic flavours were curried to life from foreign trade influences and became significant foods.

There are numerous recipes in each foreign-influenced community in Kerala, well represented in this book, in meticulous detail. These recipes were cherished by the families and handed down through generations via cross-cultural interactions within Jews of the Paradesi and Malabari sects, Syrian Christians, Muslims, Anglo-Indians, Latin Catholics and others who mingled with and evolved from the local populace.

The book provides a well-researched and rich cultural history of foreign food culture, tracing how the new elements adapted to local food traditions and evolved as a parallel line of foods, creating new textures, flavours and tastes.

ISBN : 8188698342

Description:

Ayurveda, the indigenous Indian medical science dates back to 3000 BC. In Sanskrit, Ayur means pertaining to life and Veda, science or wisdom. Panchakarma is the rejuvenation therapy expounded in Ayurveda. But due to ignorance, it is often perceived as just another system of oil massage. Contrary to this belief, Panchakarma is a holistic rejuvenation therapy. This part of Ayurveda comprises five therapeutic actions to detoxify the body and to revitalize the body system. Panchakarma is intended not only for the elimination of toxins but also for the replenishment of tissues.

Panchakarma is always performed in three stages Purva Karma (pre-treatment), Pradhana Karma (primary treatment) and Paschat Karma (post treatment).

Panchakarma grew and flourished in Kerala. The therapy procedures and equipment used varies from region to region. The book, Panchakarma: Ayurveda's Mantra of Rejuvenation is intended to familiarize readers with the Panchakarma therapies as practiced in Kerala.

ISBN : 9788120834637

Description

Ashwaganda for stamina and vitality ... arjuna for the health ... dandelion for breast wellness ... gokshura to reach a sexual peak ... . Traditional Ayurveda, using the principles of the three doshas, constitutional body type and highly individualized therapies, is the oldest continuosly practiced healing system on Earth. Over those many centuries, generations of Ayurvedic scholars and physicians have reviewed, inspected, dissected and refined the system to perfect a highly effective form of health, balance and healing. Now, two of the world's leading Ayurvedic herbalists, both leaders of the holistic health renaissance, and who, together, bring a total of over 75 years of practice to the work, have crafted a manual for making Ayurveda understandable and eminently, practically useful. The way of Ayurvedic Herbs is more than an herb manual. It is a life path to well-being.

ISBN : 9788120820104

Description:

Ayurveda and the Mind is perhaps the first book published in the West that explores specifically the psychological aspect of this great system. The book explores how to heal our minds on all levels from the subconscious to the superconscious, along with the role of diet, impressions, mantra, meditation, yoga and many other methods to create wholeness. Dr. Frawley has once again demonstrated his unique talent of digesting ancient Vedic knowledge and feeding us this understanding which nourishes our body, mind and soul.

ISBN : 0141012110

Description:

India is a very diverse country with many distinct pursuits, vastly different convictions, widely divergent customs, and a veritable feast of viewpoints.

The Argumentative Indian brings together an illuminating selection of writings from Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen that outline the need to understand contemporary India in the light of its long argumentative tradition. The understanding and use of this rich argumentative tradition are critically important, Sen argues, for the success of India's democracy, the defence of its secular politics, the removal of inequalities related to class, caste, gender and community, and the pursuit of sub-continental peace.

ISBN : 9788192328065

Description:

India is home to over a thousand species of birds ranging from glittering sunbirds, peacocks and pheasants through to unassuming inhabitants of town and countryside like crows, sparrows and pigeons to those that are rare and threatened like the Indian Bustard. In this book, many of them are brought to vivid life by one of the countrys greatest naturalists and nature writers.

M. Krishnans prose is studded with evocative descriptions of nature, literary allusions, stylistic flourishes, humour, and most rewardingly, precise observations and original insights into over a hundred species of birds in a variety of habitats. This is a work that will delight bird lovers of every stripe.

As Zafar Futehally, one of the countrys best known ornithologists, says in his fore, Every piece in this collection has something even for the seasoned naturalist, and even his description of common events holds your interest because of the writing.

About the Author

As a naturalist, M. Krishnan (1912-1996) had few peers. A brilliant writer and photographer his writing was showcased to fine effect in a newspaper column called Country Notebook that appeared continuously in the Sunday Statesman for forty-six years. Although two posthumous books that feature his photos and writing have been published Natures Spokesman edited by Ramachandra Guha and Eye in the Jungle edited by Ashish and Shanthi Chandola with T.N.A. Perumal- Of Birds and Birdsong is the first collection of Krishnans pieces to focus exclusively on birds. Krishnan was awarded the Padma Shri in 1970.

Shanthi and Ashish Chandola are well-known wildlife cinematographers, writers and photographers. This is the second collection of Krishnans writing that they have edited.

ISBN : 9383255854

Description:

This book acts as a portal into the demography of Fort Kochi-Mattancherry area of Kochi, a human habitat for more than 30 migrants societies speaking 16 different languages apart from Malayalam, the common language of Kerala.It is also a collection of many legends, historical or otherwise, of communities who came to Kochi from beyond seas and rivers, from as far Portugal and Irag and Indus Valley and Kutch, to make Kochi their home and assert their identities on the cosmopolitan society here.

ISBN : 9788129124364

Description:

A delectable mix of Arabic, Mughlai and traditional South Indian influences, today�s Hyderabadi cuisine is the legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad, whose khansamas were skilled in the use of spices to bring distinctive flavours to the table.

Digging into the 400-year-old history of the royal kitchens of the Nizams, Geeta Devi brings to you a scrumptious array of Hyderabadi recipes to stimulate the palate. From Patthar ka Gosht and Paneer Golkonda to Haleem and Gajar-Methi ka Salan, from Kacche Gosht ki Biryani and Jhinge ka Achaar to Shahi Tukde and Anokhi Kheer�this book reveals the secrets behind a mouth-watering range of delicacies that will delight the modern gourmand.

Illustrated with beautiful images, Geeta Devi�s recipes are accessible and easy to follow, whether you want to serve up a quick vegetarian snack, a complex main course of mixed meats, an unusual variation on the biryani, a tangy pickle or a rich dessert fit for a feast. Accompanied by a glossary of commonly used ingredients in the Indian kitchen, this is a thoughtfully designed and compact book that you can easily carry into your kitchen while you try out the recipes!

ISBN : 9781526618504

Description:

In August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish in his richest provinces a new administration run by English merchants who collected taxes through means of a ruthless private army – what we would now call an act of involuntary privatisation.

The East India Company's founding charter authorised it to 'wage war' and it had always used violence to gain its ends. But the creation of this new government marked the moment that the East India Company ceased to be a conventional international trading corporation dealing in silks and spices and became something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business. In less than four decades it had trained up a security force of around 200,000 men – twice the size of the British army – and had subdued an entire subcontinent, conquering first Bengal and finally, in 1803, the Mughal capital of Delhi itself. The Company's reach stretched until almost all of India south of the Himalayas was effectively ruled from a boardroom in London.

The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world's most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting book to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.

ISBN : 9788189995249

Description:

The book documents the surviving vernacular Mosques of Cochin-a jewel of the trading culture of the Malabar Coast of Kerala,and where historic patterns of an urban trading culture remain visible in the buildings and layout of the city.The Mosques of Cochin stand as powerful and visible expressions of the integration of Islam into the Culture of Malabar.

ISBN : 1234567890129

Description:

Caraka Samhita and Indian Medicinal Plants for Jodey Simmonds,USA