Murugan -- the younger son of Shiva and Parvathy, the younger brother of Ganesha -- is a tricky and temperamental god, but he is beloved of the poets. Fittingly then, Kala Krishnan Ramesh's contemporary bhakti poems in He Is Honey, Salt and the Most Perfect Grammar speak in the voices of many poets. We don't always know who they are, but as the poems unfold, one voice emerges above those of the rest. She is the god's favourite poet, a woman whose whole life revolves around him.
KALA KRISHNAN’S MURUGAN TRILOGY DELVES RIGHT INTO THE HEART OF WHAT IT IS ABOUT THIS GOD THAT’S SO COMPELLING, WHY HE ELICITS NOT JUST DEVOTION BUT ALSO LOVE. The Vast: a still, dark, endless field of nothing, in which something broods and gathers, rising and billowing into waves. Everything emerges from these waves of the Vast, including Time, Creation, and the woman and two men known as The Three. From the waves come multitudes of beings, including the Asura, those of untiring breath who seek knowledge, and the Sura, the bright ones who keep order. The greatest of all the Sura and Asura is Surapadman, who will embody inventiveness, wisdom and statecraft for all time to come. The only one who can counter his might and his challenge to the rules of creation is Karthikeya, child of Shambhu and Uma, and brother to Ganesha, the all-seeing elephant-headed god. Kala Krishnan has been exploring the Murugan universe for years now. In this first volume of a planned trilogy, she expands the mythologies of the god. Kumara, Karthikeya, Kandhan, Velan, he is the god of Tamizh, the patron of the Great Assembly of poets in Madurai, friend and mentor to the hot-headed and fiercely loyal Aambal, who is known to all as ‘Murugan’s poet’. A reimagining of the life and exploits of the magnificent young god, Mahasena is resonant with the stories that were, as well as vividly original.
KALA KRISHNAN’S MURUGAN TRILOGY DELVES RIGHT INTO THE HEART OF WHAT IT IS ABOUT THIS GOD THAT’S SO COMPELLING, WHY HE ELICITS NOT JUST DEVOTION BUT ALSO LOVE. The great battle of Chendur has drawn to a close and Murugan has fulfilled his role as Mahasena. But it has left his beloved war bard Aambal enervated, her memories obliterated, her tongue stilled, unable to compose sentences, let alone verses. Will Aambal find her way to words again? The battle had also kept Murugan from Theivanai whose mere presence had tugged at his feet. Will he succeed in wooing her now? Kala Krishnan has been exploring the Murugan universe for years now, first in verse and now in prose. In this second volume of a planned trilogy, she expands the mythologies of the god. Kumara, Karthikeya, Kandhan, Velan, Mahasena: the god of Tamizh, the patron of the Great Assembly of poets in Madurai, friend and mentor to the hot-headed and fiercely loyal Aambal, known to all as ‘Murugan’s poet’. Exploring the stories of the women in the god’s life—his poet Aambal and his wife Theivanai—Book Two of the trilogy is resonant with the stories that were, as well as vividly original.
Holistic nutritionist and highly-regarded blogger Sarah Britton presents a refreshing, straight-forward approach to balancing mind, body, and spirit through a diet made up of whole foods. Sarah Britton's approach to plant-based cuisine is about satisfaction--foods that satiate on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Based on her knowledge of nutrition and her love of cooking, Sarah Britton crafts recipes made from organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. She explains how a diet based on whole foods allows the body to regulate itself, eliminating the need to count calories. My New Roots draws on the enormous appeal of Sarah Britton's blog, which strikes the perfect balance between healthy and delicious food. She is a "whole food lover," a cook who makes simple accessible plant-based meals that are a pleasure to eat and a joy to make. This book takes its cues from the rhythms of the earth, showcasing 100 seasonal recipes. Sarah simmers thinly sliced celery root until it mimics pasta for Butternut Squash Lasagna, and whips up easy raw chocolate to make homemade chocolate-nut butter candy cups. Her recipes are not about sacrifice, deprivation, or labels--they are about enjoying delicious food that's also good for you.
Starting at the very basics and working its way up to important language constructions, "An introduction to Japanese" offers beginning students, as well as those doing self-study, a comprehensive grammar for the Japanese language. Oriented towards the serious learner, there are no shortcuts in this book: no romanised Japanese for ease of reading beyond the introduction, no pretending that Japanese grammar maps perfectly to English grammar, and no simplified terminology. In return, this book explains Japanese the way one may find it taught at universities, covering everything from basic to intermediary Japanese, and even touching on some of the more advanced constructions.
