This book re-examines feminist theory through the lens of South Asian aesthetic conventions drawn from iconography, philosophy, Indo-Islamic mystic folk traditions and poetics. It discusses alternate fluid representations of gender and intersectional identities and interrelationships in some dominant as well as non-elite Indic aesthetic traditions. The book explores pre-Vedic sculptural and Indus terracotta iconographies, the classical aesthetic philosophy of rasa, mystic folk poetry of Bhakti and Sufi movements, and ghazal and Urdu poetics to understand the political dimension of feminist theory in India as well as its implications for trans-continental feminist aesthetics across South Asia and the West. By interlinking prehistoric, classical, medieval, premodern and contemporary aesthetic and literary traditions of South Asia through a gendered perspective, the book bridges a major gap in feminist theory.
An interdisciplinary work, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of feminist theory, women's studies, gender studies, art and aesthetics, philosophy, literature, cultural studies, queer studies, sexuality studies, political studies, sociology and South Asian studies.
'This is an intellectually stimulating and theoretically sophisticated book generating new directions in feminist analysis and in the field of Women and Gender Studies. It is an amalgamation of aesthetic theory with more recent transdisciplinary approaches from Women and Gender Studies to explore and reimagine feminist aesthetics and gender binaries through diverse art forms including clay sculpture from the Indus valley, rasa theory, and the 'rekhta' ghazal. Theoretically rich and complex, the book promises to be an important document in the way it connects diverse and seemingly disparate fields. Its marshalling of arguments shows a vast range of reading, a sure grasp of diverse disciplines and the ability and articulation to bring it all together to develop a coherent and convincing narrative.'
Meenakshi Malhotra,Associate Professor of English, Hansraj College, University of Delhi; Editorial Board Member, Borderless; Member of Department Research Committee of School of Gender and Development Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University; and Member of Board of Studies for English, SRM University, Sonepat, India
