Studies in Art History of India

Center>Preface The present book "Indian Art Historical Essays" is the outcome of the freelance articles of Prof. Raju Kalidos (RK) that came out in mass media and research journals during the past 25 years. We are reminded of a pleasant anecdote that took place between RK and the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the Tamil University, Prof. V.I. Subramanian, in 1984. Our professor had joined the Tamil University few months ago when a popular Tamil newspaper published an interview with him. The Vice Chancellor chided our professor saying that he should not go out for cheap publishing agencies and that he should write in Oxford and Cambridge. Our professor was able to fulfill this expectation years later in 1997 and 1999 when four of his research papers were published in the South Asian Studies (Oxford & IBH Publishers) and Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London (Cambridge University Press).

Later he published a number of articles for sake of the elite and the common man in mass media as expected by the successor Vice Chancellors. These articles are collected by the editors and published in the present volume, recognizing their intrinsic merits. What we have done as editors is to add to the matter with the Latest details, updating the work and adding few references in the Harvard method. A glossary and bibliography has been added, setting the matter to a scientific method of presentation, employing the diacritical system, and occasionally intruding into the subject in warranted places. We have presented the latest nomenclature of historical usages, avoiding certain obsolete usages (e.g. Vijayanagar=Vijayanagara, Nayak=Nayaka).

The title of the book is quite interesting. It was Bertrand Russell, the 1950 British Nobel Laureate that published a collection of 11 essays under the head, Unpopular Essays in the 1950s. We are told that this book was awarded to our professor as a first prize when he was a graduate student (1965-68) of the University of Madras for his proficiency in English essay writing. We have slightly modified the title and call the present work "Unpopular Popular".

"Unpopular" because all are not published in research journals; "popular" because the mass media press (e.g. Indian Express, Deccan Herald) is the most widely circulated and read in any country. Thus, the title has its own justification. It may be noted here that RK is a devoted student of English and Tamil literature, especially Shakespeare and John Milton. He could recite from Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, Wordsworth metallic, the Tamil classics, especially the bhakti hymns, and lit'; 1rgical works of Sanskrit for hours together by heart. One who is thorough with the art historical articles of RK may find Shakespeare and Milton inlaid like golden threads.

The term" unpopular" may be justified in another respect. It is not known how many scholars/readers keep the cuttings of these articles for reference. Normally, newspaper readers throw the matter into the bin after completing the day's routine. Therefore, there is a need to bring these articles to the notice of scholars and public in the form of a book and hence the present publication stands justified.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages