Archaeology and the public purpose: writings on and by M. N. Deshpande

By:

Lahiri, Nayanjot

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: Oxford University Press 2021 New DelhiDescription: xiv, 334 p.: ill. Includes bibliographical references and indexISBN:

9780190130480

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

930.1092 L2A7

Summary: This book interleaves the history of post- Independence archaeology in India with the life and times of Madhukar Narhar Deshpande (1920-2008), a leading Indian archaeologist who went on to become the director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India. Spanning nearly a century, this is a tale told through a main character-Deshpande himself-some of whose writings have been included in the volume. We explore the circumstances which brought men like Deshpande to this career path; what it was like to grow up in a family devoted to India's freedom; the watershed moment that created a large cohort that was trained by Mortimer Wheeler, the doyen of British archaeology; the unknown conservation stories around the Gol Gumbad in Bijapur and the Qutb Minar in Delhi; the forgotten story of how the fabric of a historic Hindu shrine, the Badrinath temple, was saved; the chemistry shared by the prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the archaeologist, Deshpande, at the Ajanta and Ellora cave shrines, and; the political and administrative challenges faced by director generals of archaeology. The book is a must read for anyone interested in India's past in general and the history of Indian archaeology in particular. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/archaeology-and-the-public-purpose-9780190130480

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Book	Ahmedabad General Stacks	Non-fiction	930.1092 L2A7 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		203395

Total holds: 0

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Previous	929.799954 A8M8 The Mughal nobility under Aurangzeb	930.1 C6G3 Geoarchaeology: the human-environmental approach	930.1 S2A6 Ancient civilizations	930.1092 L2A7 Archaeology and the public purpose: writings on and by M. N. Deshpande	934 A6 Ancient India: new research	934 C4C6 The concept of Bharatavarsha and other essays	934 D2L6 The lost river: on the trail of the Sarasvati	Next

Table of content

PART I On Deshpande
1. Among Independent India's Young Archaeologists
2. A Life in Public Archaeology
3. The Archaeologist and the Prime Minister
4. Director General Deshpande
5. The Archaeologist and the Environmentalist
6. Retirement and After

PART II By Deshpande
Early Forays
1. Krsna Legend in the Jain Canonical Literature
2. Bahal 1952-3

Old Sites, New Discoveries
3. Ellora: Two Copper Coins of the Chola King Rajaraja I
4. Bhaja: Important Epigraphical Records from the Chaitya Cave

Cave Shrines: Ajanta, Ellora, Thanala, and Tabo
5. Ajanta Caves: Their Historical Perspective
6. A Walk through the Caves of Ellora
7. Tabo: The Himalayan Ajanta
8. Buddhist Group of Thanala Caves

Archaeology, Ethnography, and History
9. Archaeology's Contribution to History in Recent Times
10. Some Aspects of Folk Religion in the Konkana and Desh Regions of Maharashtra
11. The Siva Temple at Bhojpur

Conserving Monuments: From Gol Gumbaz to Konark
12. Problems of Conservation of Cultural Property in India
13. Gol Gumbad, Bijapur
14. Qutb Minar
15. Konark Sun Temple Archaeologists and Ascetics
16. Professor H.D. Sankalia: The Ekalavya of Archaeology
17. B.K. Thapar: Colleague and Life-Long Friend
18. A Tribute to the Great Ascetic of Bijapur, Padma Shri Kakasaheb Karkhanis: Centenarian Harijansevak
19. Gurudev Ranade: A Single Word That Changed My Life! Reaching Out and Looking Back
20. Monuments and the Child: Experience of an Archaeologist
21. Unearthing the Past: An Archaeologist's Story

This book interleaves the history of post- Independence archaeology in India with the life and times of Madhukar Narhar Deshpande (1920-2008), a leading Indian archaeologist who went on to become the director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India. Spanning nearly a century, this is a tale told through a main character-Deshpande himself-some of whose writings have been included in the volume. We explore the circumstances which brought men like Deshpande to this career path; what it was like to grow up in a family devoted to India's freedom; the watershed moment that created a large cohort that was trained by Mortimer Wheeler, the doyen of British archaeology; the unknown conservation stories around the Gol Gumbad in Bijapur and the Qutb Minar in Delhi; the forgotten story of how the fabric of a historic Hindu shrine, the Badrinath temple, was saved; the chemistry shared by the prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the archaeologist, Deshpande, at the Ajanta and Ellora cave shrines, and; the political and administrative challenges faced by director generals of archaeology. The book is a must read for anyone interested in India's past in general and the history of Indian archaeology in particular.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/archaeology-and-the-public-purpose-9780190130480

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