Flower Shower: The Culture of Flowers in India (H.B) Hardcover

Flowers occupy a special role in Indian culture, history, myth and tradition. From the most elevated space of the sacred to adornment in everyday life, there is a flower for every season, every reason and a special one for the numerous gods and goddesses of Indian religion. Flowers—as offerings during ritual worship to intricate carvings on temple walls, embedded in modern paintings by contemporary artists to colourful carpets for welcoming gods and guests, from fragrant garlands that adorn Indian brides and grooms to Aromatic essential oils and perfumes, used as a play of seduction in the kamasutra—they refresh our spirits and elevate our souls. Flower shower explores this integral role that flowers play in our worlds cultural signifies; as motifs in Indian art, architecture, sculpture, literature and textiles; as culinary ingredients and as divine offerings. Discussing a range of topics from Botany to aesthetics and history to poetry, the author takes you through an immersive journey, Laden with the beauty and perfumes of the exotic, nutritional and decorative role of flowers within Indian tradition and aesthetics… deeply insightful and featuring a vast compendium of images, this book traverses the range and depth of Indian culture and transports you on a journey which is part memory, part research, part aesthetics and Part lived experience. Come! Immerse yourself in a flower shower About the Author
DR ALKA PANDE is an art critic, cultural theorist, teacher, curator and author, who has been passionately involved with the world of art for nearly three decades. She has two postgraduate degrees in History and History of Art and a PhD from Panjab University. She was the Head of Department of Fine Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, Panjab University, Chandigarh, as well as the Chairperson of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi. Recipient of the Charles Wallace Award in 1999–2000, Alka completed her post-doctoral studies in critical art theory from Goldsmith College, University of London. She received the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government (2006), the Australian-India Council Special Award for her contribution to Indian art (2009) and the Amrita Sher-Gil Samman from the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi (2015). Dr Pande’s focus is to promote art by combining art and education, with a continuing engagement with Indian aesthetics. Her curatorial projects include significant exhibitions in India and abroad. Her areas of interest within Indian cultural studies are the aesthetics of the erotic and gender. Reworking on important Indian museum collections is another area of her expertise. A prolific writer on Indology and art history, Dr Pande has authored several acclaimed books including, most recently, The Little Book of Pleasure (2017). Dr Pande is currently the Consultant Arts Advisor and Curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. She is also the curator of the exhibitions at Jor Bagh and Mandi House metro stations. She can be reached at: alkapande17@gmail.com.