SynopsisBhakti poetry is an amazing amalgamation of art, music, literature, philosophy, politics, soteriology and mysticism. Andal and Akka Mahadevi: Feminity to Divinity reflects this amalgamation in letter and spirit. Two medieval women, Andal, a ninth-century A lvar saint-poetess from Tamil Srivaisnavite tradition, and Akka Mahadevi, a twelfth-century Kannada saint-poetess from Virasaivite tradition, with their poetic renderings and life, got elevated to a stature beyond that of saints. This book deals with three major aspects. One, understanding of bhakti in its historical, philosophical and social perspectives. It thus delves on the idea and phenomenon of bhakti, the ancient religions and the evolution of bhakti tradition in south India. Two, it portrays the life of poet-saints Andal and Akka Mahadevi and their chosen path of bhakti. Their poetic renderings Tiruppavai and Nachiar Tirumo li of Andal, and vacanas of Akka Mahadevi have found merit in rituals, theatre, cinema, dance, painting and other arts. The textual analysis of their poetry is done from religious, literary and socio-political angles. Three, it reflects on how the works of these saints have percolated down to the living patterns in modern India; rather it is a dedication to the living traditions in bhakti. This volume also helps to extricate bhakti experience from its mystical aura and make it more accessible to our perceptive faculties. Thus it enthuses the spirit of anyone, be an artist, a poet, a philosopher, or a scholar.
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Binding: Hardcover
About the author
Dr Alka Tyagi, a bilingual poet, translator and critic, teaches English at Dyal Singh (Evening) College, University of Delhi. She has her doctoral degree from School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU on medieval Bhakti poets Andal and Akka Mahadevi. Her thesis was published as Andal and Akka Mahadevi: Feminity to Divinity (2014). She writes poetry in Hindi and English. The Hindi collections are Sun ri Sakhi (2009) and Amaltas (2014) and English collection is Whispers at the Ganga Ghat (2014). She has translated Bhavani Prasad Mishras award-winning Hindi poetry collection A Woven Rope for Sahitya Akademi. Dr Tyagi has co-edited, Gendered Space, an anthology of short stories translated from Indian languages into English. She has co-edited Literary Aesthetics and Conflict Studies (2018). Her areas of interest include Bhakti, Yoga and Kashmir Shaivism.
