Birds of India: A Literary Anthology

By: Abdul Jamil Urfi

Birds of India: A Literary Anthology takes a new look at natural history writings in India, and brings together for the first time extracts from ancient, medieval, as well as later-day works. Highlighting the role of birds in human life-from religion to entertainment, mythology to science, superstition to wisdom-the collection brings to light the richness and diversity of the literature available on the subject.

From the Panchatantra, The Baburnama, The Jahangirnama, and Abdul Halim Sharar's accounts of bird-keeping in Lucknow, to writings by the inimitable Edward Hamilton Aitken (EHA) and others-the writings speak for themselves. Alongside S lim Ali, the anthology features pieces by contemporary greats like S. Theodore Baskaran, R.S. Dharmakumarsinhji, Madhav Gadgil, Edward Pritchard Gee, Peter Jackson, M. Krishnan, and Zai Whitaker and by well-known writers and public figures like Abul Kalam Azad, William Dalrymple, Rudyard Kipling, Jawaharlal Nehru, Khushwant Singh, and Mark Twain. The Introduction together with the biographical head-notes to the writings, detailed sources, and further reading add value for readers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198069391
• ISBN13: 9780198069393
• Release Date: January 2011
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 414 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"