Melbourne (ANTARA News/AAP) - The Kama Sutra is getting a modern makeover, with the new edition set to be more of a lifestyle guide to love and relationships than a "pornographic sex book".
The erotic drawings and sexual illustrations that have accompanied various translations of the ancient Hindu text are gone from the new Kama Sutra published by Penguin, Britain`s Sunday Telegraph reports.
Instead, the Kama Sutra will be a text-only, pocket-sized classy manual presented as a "lifestyle guide for the modern man and woman".
"Until now the Kama Sutra has always been presented as a scandalous, `60s, hippie-influenced pornographic sex book," said Alexis Kirschbaum, the editorial director at Penguin Books.
"But it was originally written as advice to a courtly gentleman on how to live a well-rounded life, not just a passionate life."
The Kama Sutra is believed to have been written in the third century by Indian sage Vatsyayana.
Previous English versions of the Kama Sutra have been widely based on the 19th century translation by explorer and orientalist Sir Richard Francis Burton, often featuring erotic
illustrations to accompany the old-fashioned language.
The new edition, written by AND Haksar, an Indian scholar and translator of Sanskrit texts, will include updated chapter headings such as Making A Pass, Why Women Get Turned Off, Girls To Avoid, Is He Worthwhile, Getting Rid of Him, Easy Women, Moves Towards Sex and Some Dos and Don`ts.
"The common perception of the Kama Sutra is that it is only about sex, but any honest reading of the book shows that it is about lifestyle and social relations between human beings," Haksar said.
"My effort with the new translation has been to stay as close as possible to the original text but to present it in a contemporary language which reflects the contemporary issues within the book."
The new edition will be published by Penguin in February next year.
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Harry Potter blamed for India`s owl crisis
New Delhi (ANTARA News/AFP) - Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed fans of Harry Potter for the demise of wild owls in the country as children seek to emulate the boy wizard by taking the birds as pets.
The hit books and films, which are popular in India, feature a snowy owl called Hedwig who is a feathered sidekick for the Potter character and used to deliver mail.
"Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls," Ramesh said Wednesday, according to comments reported by the BBC.
His remarks came as wildlife group Traffic presented a report called "Imperilled Custodians of the Night" which warned about the declining owl population in India.
Researchers found that a growing number of owls were being trapped, traded or killed in black magic rituals.
Traffic called for tougher measures to protect the bird ahead of Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu festivals, which starts on Friday. It said owls were sometimes sacrificed on auspicious occasions.(*)
The hit books and films, which are popular in India, feature a snowy owl called Hedwig who is a feathered sidekick for the Potter character and used to deliver mail.
"Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls," Ramesh said Wednesday, according to comments reported by the BBC.
His remarks came as wildlife group Traffic presented a report called "Imperilled Custodians of the Night" which warned about the declining owl population in India.
Researchers found that a growing number of owls were being trapped, traded or killed in black magic rituals.
Traffic called for tougher measures to protect the bird ahead of Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu festivals, which starts on Friday. It said owls were sometimes sacrificed on auspicious occasions.(*)
Indian fm in Sri Lanka amid growing Chinese influence
Colombo (ANTARA News/AFP) - Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna was due in Sri Lanka Thursday to shore up bilateral relations amid growing Chinese influence on the island.
Krishna is due to call on President Mahinda Rajapakse and also open two Indian consulates in the southern and northernmost parts of the island before leaving on Sunday, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said.
The Indian minister will travel to the southern town of Hambantota on Friday to open an Indian Consulate General office, eight days after the government launched the first stage of a 1.5-billion-dollar Chinese-funded port there.
New Delhi is believed to be concerned that Hambantota is part of a Chinese policy to throw a "string of pearls" geographical circle of influence around India.
China is also developing port facilities in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan, and has plans for rail projects in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
A diplomatic source said India was keen to speed up some of its own port, power and railway projects in the island which is emerging after 37 years of ethnic conflict following the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year.
Krishna is also expected to travel to the island`s northern tip of Jaffna to open another consulate in an area where Tamil Tiger rebels once ran a de facto state between 1990 and 1995.
The minister will hold bilateral meetings with, among others, his counterpart G. L. Peiris as part of India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said in a statement.
"This will provide the two countries an opportunity to review the growing ties between Sri Lanka and India; monitor implementation of bilateral understandings and further enhance the bilateral relations," the ministry said.
It said the two sides will follow up on the understandings reached during Rajapakse`s visit to New Delhi in June when Indian nudged the island to move towards national reconciliation after crushing Tamil rebels last year.
India, which has some 62 million Tamils in its southern Tamil Nadu state, wields considerable diplomatic influence over Colombo and has been urging the Sinhalese-majority government to share power with minority Tamils. (*)
Krishna is due to call on President Mahinda Rajapakse and also open two Indian consulates in the southern and northernmost parts of the island before leaving on Sunday, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said.
The Indian minister will travel to the southern town of Hambantota on Friday to open an Indian Consulate General office, eight days after the government launched the first stage of a 1.5-billion-dollar Chinese-funded port there.
New Delhi is believed to be concerned that Hambantota is part of a Chinese policy to throw a "string of pearls" geographical circle of influence around India.
China is also developing port facilities in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan, and has plans for rail projects in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
A diplomatic source said India was keen to speed up some of its own port, power and railway projects in the island which is emerging after 37 years of ethnic conflict following the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year.
Krishna is also expected to travel to the island`s northern tip of Jaffna to open another consulate in an area where Tamil Tiger rebels once ran a de facto state between 1990 and 1995.
The minister will hold bilateral meetings with, among others, his counterpart G. L. Peiris as part of India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said in a statement.
"This will provide the two countries an opportunity to review the growing ties between Sri Lanka and India; monitor implementation of bilateral understandings and further enhance the bilateral relations," the ministry said.
It said the two sides will follow up on the understandings reached during Rajapakse`s visit to New Delhi in June when Indian nudged the island to move towards national reconciliation after crushing Tamil rebels last year.
India, which has some 62 million Tamils in its southern Tamil Nadu state, wields considerable diplomatic influence over Colombo and has been urging the Sinhalese-majority government to share power with minority Tamils. (*)
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