{"title":"Namit Arora","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"indians-book-namit-arora-9780670090433","title":"Indians","description":"What do we really know about the Aryan migration theory and why is that debate so hot? Why did the people of Khajuraho carve erotic scenes on their temple walls? What did the monks at Nalanda eat for dinner? Did our ideals of beauty ever prefer dark skin? Indian civilization has existed for many millennia, but how much do we know about our forebears and their cultural worlds? In this riveting book, Namit Arora takes us on an unforgettable journey through 5000 years of history, reimagining in rich detail the social and cultural moorings of Indians through the ages. Drawing on credible sources, he explores what inspired and shaped them: their political upheavals and rivalries, vocations and trades, and a variety of religious beliefs, festivals and social set-ups. Arora makes a stop at six iconic places-the Harappan city of Dholavira, the Ikshvaku capital at Nagarjunakonda, the Buddhist centre of learning at Nalanda, enigmatic Khajuraho, Vijayanagar at Hampi, and Varanasi-enlivening the narrative with vivid descriptions, local stories and evocative photographs. Punctuating this are chronicles of famous travellers who visited India-including Megasthenes, Xuanzang, Alberuni and Marco Polo-whose dramatic and idiosyncratic tales conceal surprising insights about our land. In lucid and elegant prose, Arora explores the exciting churn of ideas, beliefs and values that unfolded among our ancestors through the centuries-some continue, for better or worse, to shape modern Indian lives, while others have been lost forever. An original, deeply engaging and extensively researched work, Indians illuminates a range of histories coursing through our veins.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49529112658193,"sku":"GOR013452156","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50037644263697,"sku":"CIN0670090433G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51005506060561,"sku":"NIN9780670090433","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51745763295505,"sku":"CIN0670090433VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53213072458001,"sku":"NGR9780670090433","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0670090433.jpg?v=1773918019"},{"product_id":"lottery-of-birth-book-namit-arora-9789383968190","title":"The Lottery of Birth","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn egalitarian ethos has not been a prominent feature of Indian civilization, at least since the decline of Buddhism over a thousand years ago. All people, it is believed, are created unequal, born into a hierarchy of status and dignity, and endowed not with universal but particular rights and duties. This has greatly amplified the unfairness of accidents of birth in shaping one's lot in life. Despite a long history of resistance, such inequalities have thrived and mutated, including under European rule, modernity, and markets.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStarting with the deeply moving stories of three writers, Arora explores the origins, persistence, and textures of inequalities rooted in the lottery of birth in India-of caste, class, gender, language, region, religion, and more-and their intersections in daily life. Blending scholarly rigor with moral intelligence, these essays engage with the Bhagavad Gita; the legacies of Ambedkar and Gandhi; Indian modernity, democracy, and nationalism; linguistic hierarchies; reservations; violence against women; identity politics; and much else that today weighs on Indian minds.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for the book: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Lottery of Birth reveals Namit Arora to be one of our finest critics. In a raucous public sphere marked by blame and recrimination, these essays announce a bracing sensibility, as compassionate as it is curious, intelligent and nuanced. - \u003cstrong\u003ePankaj Mishra\u003c\/strong\u003e, Essayist and Novelist.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA remarkable compendium. The topics Arora tackles here-India's formidable caste, class, and gender inequalities, and how its leaders, writers, and thinkers have engaged with them-have been tackled before, but mostly in dense academic volumes. What's unique here is Arora's seamlessly accessible and personable language, rich with autobiographical context, so we feel that the author has a stake in what he speaks of, above all, as an engaged citizen. From ancient scriptures to Dalit literature, reservations to violence against women, Arundhati Roy's controversial views on Gandhi and Ambedkar to Perry Anderson's controversial views on Indian history, these essays are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand contemporary India. - \u003cstrong\u003eArun P. Mukherjee\u003c\/strong\u003e, Professor Emerita, York University.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNamit Arora writes with envy-inspiring clarity and erudition about the central role in our lives of the many random inequalities we begin life with, such as class, gender, and, especially important in the Indian context, caste. This brilliant book is an immensely useful corrective to the conservative notion that people get more-or-less what they deserve, based on their own 'merit' and hard work. Read it. If nothing else, it will surely soften your attitude toward the disadvantaged in our midst, which is never a bad thing. - \u003cstrong\u003eS. Abbas Raza\u003c\/strong\u003e, Founding Editor, 3 Quarks Daily.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49620058276113,"sku":"GOR013163894","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51067937194257,"sku":"NIN9789383968190","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52327350829329,"sku":"NGR9789383968190","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9383968192.jpg?v=1751319336"},{"product_id":"california-story-book-namit-arora-9781950437832","title":"A California Story","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51057413751057,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51057416306961,"sku":"NIN9781950437832","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52619512447249,"sku":"NLS9781950437832","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1950437833.jpg?v=1751157020"},{"product_id":"india-naagarigam-2951-2984-3021-2980-3007-2991-2984-3006-2965-2992-3007-2965-299-book-namit-arora-9789390958146","title":"India Naagarigam \/ \u0026#2951;\u0026#2984;\u0026#3021;\u0026#2980;\u0026#3007;\u0026#2991; \u0026#2984;\u0026#3006;\u0026#2965;\u0026#2992;\u0026#3007;\u0026#2965;\u0026#2990;\u0026#3021;","description":"தமிழில் வ. ரங்காசாரி 'இந்தியா என்கிற அற்புதம் பற்றிய நம் அறிவை மேலும் ஆழப்படுத்துகிறது.' - பங்கஜ் மிஷ்ரா, நாவலாசிரியர் 'அரிய கருத்துகளால் மின்னுகிறது.' - ஜான் கீ, வரலாற்றாசிரியர் 'உரிய காலத்தில் எழுதப்பட்ட அவசியமான நூல்.' - சமந்த் சுப்ரமணியன் *** இந்திய நாகரிகம் என்பது ஒரு சிந்தனை, ஒரு யதார்த்தம், ஒரு புதிர். இந்தியாவின் 5,000 ஆண்டு வரலாற்றின் வழியே பயணம் செய்யும் உணர்வை ஏற்படுத்தும் நூல் இது. நூலாசிரியர் நமித் அரோரா, ஆறு முக்கிய இடங்களுக்குச் சென்று நம்முடைய தொன்மையான வரலாற்றைக் கள ஆய்வு செய்திருக்கிறார். தோலாவிராவில் உள்ள ஹரப்ப நாகரிக நகரம், இக்ஷ்வாகு வம்சத்தவரின் தலைநகரமான நாகார்ஜுனகொண்டா, பௌத்தர்களின் கல்வி மையமான நாளந்தா, புரியாத புதிரான கஜுராஹோ, ஹம்பியின் விஜயநகரம், இறுதியாக வாரணாசி. மெகஸ்தனிஸ், பாஹியான், யுவான் சுவாங், அல்பெரூனி, மார்க்கோ போலோ போன்ற புகழ்பெற்ற பயணிகளின் சுவையான கதைகளையும் பொருத்தமான இடங்களில் அறிமுகப்படுத்துகிறார். தெளிவான, நேர்த்தியான நடையில், நம்முடைய முன்னோர்களின் சிந்தனைகள், நம்பிக்கைகள், விழுமியங்கள் எவ்வாறு பல ஆயிரம் ஆண்டுகளாக இந்தியாவை நெறிப்படுத்துகின்றன, எஞ்சியவை எப்படி காலவெள்ளத்தில் காணாமல் போய்விட்டன என்று காட்டுகிறார். நம்முடைய ரத்த நாளங்களில் கலந்துவிட்ட வரலாற்றின் மீது ஒளியைப் பாய்ச்சுகிறது இந்நூல். 'Indians: A Brief History of A Civilization' நூலின் அதிகாரப்பூர்வமான மொழிபெயர்ப்பு.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52665323651345,"sku":"NLS9789390958146","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9789390958146.jpg?v=1762276995"},{"product_id":"speaking-of-history-book-namit-arora-9789383968473","title":"Speaking of History","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53010968248593,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53010968543505,"sku":"NIN9789383968473","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9789383968473.jpg?v=1768011309"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-namit-arora.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}