{"product_id":"banaras-reconstructed-architecture-and-sacred-space-in-a-hindu-holy-city-9789386392961","title":"Banaras Reconstructed: Architecture and Sacred Space in a Hindu Holy City","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Madhuri Desai\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Orient Blackswan Pvt Ltd\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Orient Blackswan Pvt Ltd\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween the late sixteenth and early twentieth centuries, Banaras, the iconic Hindu centre in northern India that is often described as the oldest living city in the world, was reconstructed materially and imaginatively, and embellished with temples, monasteries, mansions, and ghats.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAristocrats, priests, and pilgrims from across South Asia invested in Banaras and created a city that could realize and enhance textual prescriptions. They consolidated sacred sites and realigned pilgrimage routes, which were framed through innovative architecture and urban spaces. They transformed the city according to an imagination of the past, while also connecting it to their immediate cultural and political realities. As a result Banaras was re-conceptualized in terms of its built forms and ritual practices. At the same time, its past was re-imagined in a broader context of Indo-Islamic and colonial regimes. The city’s altered sacred landscape became the subject of pilgrimage maps and its spectacular riverfront was depicted in panoramas and described in travelogues.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Banaras Reconstructed, Madhuri Desai examines the convergences as well as the tensions that have shaped this complex and remarkable city and explores larger questions about religious urban environments in South Asia. In so doing, she raises issues central to both historical and contemporary Indian identity.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis book will be essential reading across several disciplines, including history, art and architectural history, urban history, South Asian studies, and religious studies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Orient Blackswan Pvt Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":45616487334039,"sku":"9789386392961","price":1592.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9789386392961.webp?v=1769294924","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/banaras-reconstructed-architecture-and-sacred-space-in-a-hindu-holy-city-9789386392961","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}