Description
Same-Sex Love in India presents a stunning array of writings on same-sex love from over 2000 years of Indian literature. Translated from more than a dozen languages and drawn from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and modern fictional traditions, these writings testify to the presence of same-sex love in various forms since ancient times, without overt persecution. This collection defies both stereotypes of Indian culture and Foucault's definition of homosexuality as a nineteenth-century invention, uncovering instead complex discourses of Indian homosexuality, rich metaphorical traditions to represent it, and the use of names and terms as early as medieval times to distinguish same-sex from cross-sex love. An eminent group of scholars have translated these writings for the first time or have re-translated well-known texts to correctly make evident previously underplayed homoerotic content. Selections range from religious books, legal and erotic treatises, story cycles, medieval histories and biographies, modern novels, short stories, letters, memoirs, plays and poems. From the Rigveda to Vikram Seth, this anthology will become a staple in courses on gender and queer studies, Asian studies, and world literature.
About the Author
RUTH VANITA is Associate Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Montana.
SALEEM KIDWAI is a translator, writer, and consultant living in New Delhi.
Reviews
'The essays are works of meticulous scholarship and of great interest to those interested in the Indian literary tradition.' - The Statesman (New Delhi) 'Same-Sex Love in India: Readings in Indian Literature is truly a labour of love. It is also an extremely useful compilation of material on same-sex love in India, accompanied by insightful analyses of contemporary social mores at the time that the poems, stories and novels were written.' - Ritu Menon, India Today 'Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai have offered readers a vast and sumptuous feast in their diverse selection of South Asian texts ranging from the ancient Sanskrit epics, the Pali Jatakas and the Kamasutra through medieval puranic narratives and Urdu poetry to Mahatma Gandhi and contemporary fiction. The collection spans not only an immense chronological sweep but also includes work from many of the classical and regional languages of ancient, medieval, and modern India. This rich collection, accompanied by the authors' informative commentary, is a powerful corrective to the often expressed opinion that the Indian tradition is either unaware of or openly hostile to same sex love. This volume will be welcomed by scholarly and general audiences alike.' - Dr Robert Goldman, Sarah Kailath Professor of India Studies, University of California at Berkeley 'This remarkable volume brings together an encyclopedic collection of writings on the subjects of love between women and love between men in India from ancient times to the present. Vanita and Kidwai's introductory essays to each section are works of outstanding scholarship. This book will long be considered the definitive anthology of documents on same-sex love in India.' - Lillian Faderman, author of To Believe in Women: What Lesbians Have Done for America - A History 'This path-breaking volume presents the English-reading public with an imposing array of texts relating to an important but little-studied aspect of Indian life and literature. While accessible to the lay reader, it ranges impressively over three millennia and a dozen languages and will certainly excite scholars across many disciplines.' - Sumit Guha, Professor of History, Brown University 'An age that has specialized in assembly-line violence and death factories must celebrate every form of love as an affirmation of life. This enchanting collection is a tribute to an ancient civilization which has always cherished love that defies conventional ideas of sanity and normality.' - Ashis Nandy, author, The Intimate Enemy, Director, Center for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
Book Information
ISBN 9780312293246
Author R. Vanita
Format Paperback
Page Count 370
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave USA
About the Author
RUTH VANITA is Associate Professor of Women's Studies at the University of Montana.
SALEEM KIDWAI is a translator, writer, and consultant living in New Delhi.
Reviews
'The essays are works of meticulous scholarship and of great interest to those interested in the Indian literary tradition.' - The Statesman (New Delhi) 'Same-Sex Love in India: Readings in Indian Literature is truly a labour of love. It is also an extremely useful compilation of material on same-sex love in India, accompanied by insightful analyses of contemporary social mores at the time that the poems, stories and novels were written.' - Ritu Menon, India Today 'Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai have offered readers a vast and sumptuous feast in their diverse selection of South Asian texts ranging from the ancient Sanskrit epics, the Pali Jatakas and the Kamasutra through medieval puranic narratives and Urdu poetry to Mahatma Gandhi and contemporary fiction. The collection spans not only an immense chronological sweep but also includes work from many of the classical and regional languages of ancient, medieval, and modern India. This rich collection, accompanied by the authors' informative commentary, is a powerful corrective to the often expressed opinion that the Indian tradition is either unaware of or openly hostile to same sex love. This volume will be welcomed by scholarly and general audiences alike.' - Dr Robert Goldman, Sarah Kailath Professor of India Studies, University of California at Berkeley 'This remarkable volume brings together an encyclopedic collection of writings on the subjects of love between women and love between men in India from ancient times to the present. Vanita and Kidwai's introductory essays to each section are works of outstanding scholarship. This book will long be considered the definitive anthology of documents on same-sex love in India.' - Lillian Faderman, author of To Believe in Women: What Lesbians Have Done for America - A History 'This path-breaking volume presents the English-reading public with an imposing array of texts relating to an important but little-studied aspect of Indian life and literature. While accessible to the lay reader, it ranges impressively over three millennia and a dozen languages and will certainly excite scholars across many disciplines.' - Sumit Guha, Professor of History, Brown University 'An age that has specialized in assembly-line violence and death factories must celebrate every form of love as an affirmation of life. This enchanting collection is a tribute to an ancient civilization which has always cherished love that defies conventional ideas of sanity and normality.' - Ashis Nandy, author, The Intimate Enemy, Director, Center for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
Book Information
ISBN 9780312293246
Author R. Vanita
Format Paperback
Page Count 370
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave USA
