Graduated from Moscow State University in 1981, Ph.D. (History) from the same in 1985, at present Chief Researcher, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
The paper marks the tenth anniversary of the interdisciplinary project ‘Under the Skies of South ... more The paper marks the tenth anniversary of the interdisciplinary project ‘Under the Skies of South Asia’ implemented by the Centre for Indian Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies RAS and headed by Dr. Irina Glushkova. At present, following the pilot volume Death in Maharashtra. Imagination, Perception and Expression, four more volumes have been published, each based upon new methodological ‘turns’ in the humanities: Visual, discussing social perceptions of artefacts; mobile, focusing on various activities performed by individuals and societies in motion; spatial, centered around territories and various human activities to appropriate, acculturate, protect it and legitimize various kinds of interconnections with it, from political to emotional; communicative, exploring historically and ethno-culturally specific means of communication and expression of positive and negative perception of the surrounding world. The fifth volume, at present with the publisher, will discuss emotion...
Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic, has been for many centuries a source of religious, social, eth... more Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic, has been for many centuries a source of religious, social, ethical and aesthetical values for many Indians, primarily Hindus. Apart from the classical Sanskrit version attributed to Valmiki, there have been hundreds of literary, folkloric, visual, dramatic (later on film, animation and TV) variants. Their creators reworked and reconstructed the story, sometimes changing it beyond recognition, up to the emergence of ‘anti-Ramayanas’, thus answering the questions from and catering for the needs of various regional, religious, socio-cultural and political groups. Thus, they adjusted the sacred story to the perceptions of the changing times, trying to make the storyline and personages deeds more adequate to the values of a given epoch. This process has been continuing up to nowadays; the article discussing it, using as a case study two modern Ramayana novels, one in Hindi and one in English.
The editors deplore the disappearance of 'a valuable part of the culture' (p. 28). Given ... more The editors deplore the disappearance of 'a valuable part of the culture' (p. 28). Given that these two worlds were so clearly divided, a movement to abolish all courtesans endangered a valuable part of the culture all that related to song and dance. What kind of value did that culture present? A male dominated upper caste culture! Was it a culture at all? Prostitution is equated with freedom for women. What an introduction to the erotic poetry?
Vostok. Afro-aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost, 2020
This study aimed at identifying the levels of functional administrative performance at Prince Sat... more This study aimed at identifying the levels of functional administrative performance at Prince Sattam bin Abdel Aziz University in the areas of planning, guidance, organization, monitoring and decision making. It also aimed at identifying the statistical differences in the administrative performance of Prince Sattam bin Abdel Aziz University among the participants of the study, if any, attributed to gender and years of experience. To achieve the aims of the study, the analytic descriptive method was used. A questionnaire was prepared and administered to a sample of 140 administrator working at the branches of Prince Sattam bin Abdel Aziz University. The results of the study revealed that the average of the planning field among the administrators ranged from (3.60 -4.04) which is a high score of the administration performance . Monitoring came in the first rank followed by guidance, planning then decision making. Organization came in the last rank. In addition, there were statistical significant differences at the 0.05 level for the gender variable in favor of the males. Furthermore, there were statistical significant differences at the 0.05 level for the years of experience variable in favor of the class under five years of experience. The study presented some recommendations in the light of the results.
Various descriptions of the two Mughal capitals, Agra and Delhi, mention the gates of both royal ... more Various descriptions of the two Mughal capitals, Agra and Delhi, mention the gates of both royal forts as decorated with the statues of two warriors mounted on elephants. The list of those who had described these sculptures and reconstructed their history includes late-medieval Indian writers, European travellers to the Mughal empire, scholars from the nineteenth century onwards, authors of tourist guides; there is a popular oral narrative on them as well. The most widely spread version attributes the statues to the Rajput warriors who defended Chittor against the Mughal invasion and who were immortalised by the emperor Akbar in a sign of his recognition of their valour. This article is an attempt to ‘investigate’ the controversial story of a Mughal ruler glorifying his sworn enemies and to analyse historical circumstances that could be a background for such a narrative.
The poem by Alam written on the love story well explored in Sanskrit and Hindi literature is a va... more The poem by Alam written on the love story well explored in Sanskrit and Hindi literature is a valuable source on Indian society and culture of Akbar` s epoch
Abstract Medieval Indian studies is a relatively new field in Russian Indology. Sym pathy for the... more Abstract Medieval Indian studies is a relatively new field in Russian Indology. Sym pathy for the Indian people and high esteem for the achievements of their civilisation failed to prevent generations of Russain Indologists from acquir ing a prejudiced attitude towards the ...
ABSTRACT European travelogues have been for a long time used by the generations of scholars as on... more ABSTRACT European travelogues have been for a long time used by the generations of scholars as one of the most important, even primary, source of information on me-dieval and early modern India. In many cases these travel records were even pre-ferred to the texts in Persian and more so in Indian languages as more trustworthy, objective and adequate in describing pre-colonial Indian society. The veracity of European travelogues was so steadfastly believed in by the scholars that, until fairly recently, this class of sources had been excluded from critical analysis. The present paper attempts to discuss a hitherto unattended aspect of European travel in late medieval – early modern India: the problem of language communication be-tween European visitors and their Indian hosts. It analyses this problem from the view point of cultural understanding and argues for the re-assessment of the valid-ity of European travelogues as one of the major sources for medieval India studies.
The article is based upon an archival file comprising the documents of Ram Singh, the Raja of Bha... more The article is based upon an archival file comprising the documents of Ram Singh, the Raja of Bharatpur, allegedly shooting dead his personal servant Kiddu. This criminal case, investigated by two British officers, provided the British colonial authorities with an opportunity to depose the Raja, thus rectifying their own mistake of enthroning him. The documents disclose an inefficient investigation and offer an insight into the British attitudes to Indian native states and policies concerning the succession and deposition of their rulers.
EDITOR'S NOTE INTRODUCTORY NOTE 1. The State,the Ruler, and the Ruled 1. 'Meeting of the ... more EDITOR'S NOTE INTRODUCTORY NOTE 1. The State,the Ruler, and the Ruled 1. 'Meeting of the Oceans' 1. 'The Age of Kali' and the 'Kingdom of Rama' 1. In Quest of the Way Out 1. Instead of a Conclusion NOTES AND REFERENCES ABBREVIATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
The paper marks the tenth anniversary of the interdisciplinary project ‘Under the Skies of South ... more The paper marks the tenth anniversary of the interdisciplinary project ‘Under the Skies of South Asia’ implemented by the Centre for Indian Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies RAS and headed by Dr. Irina Glushkova. At present, following the pilot volume Death in Maharashtra. Imagination, Perception and Expression, four more volumes have been published, each based upon new methodological ‘turns’ in the humanities: Visual, discussing social perceptions of artefacts; mobile, focusing on various activities performed by individuals and societies in motion; spatial, centered around territories and various human activities to appropriate, acculturate, protect it and legitimize various kinds of interconnections with it, from political to emotional; communicative, exploring historically and ethno-culturally specific means of communication and expression of positive and negative perception of the surrounding world. The fifth volume, at present with the publisher, will discuss emotion...
Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic, has been for many centuries a source of religious, social, eth... more Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic, has been for many centuries a source of religious, social, ethical and aesthetical values for many Indians, primarily Hindus. Apart from the classical Sanskrit version attributed to Valmiki, there have been hundreds of literary, folkloric, visual, dramatic (later on film, animation and TV) variants. Their creators reworked and reconstructed the story, sometimes changing it beyond recognition, up to the emergence of ‘anti-Ramayanas’, thus answering the questions from and catering for the needs of various regional, religious, socio-cultural and political groups. Thus, they adjusted the sacred story to the perceptions of the changing times, trying to make the storyline and personages deeds more adequate to the values of a given epoch. This process has been continuing up to nowadays; the article discussing it, using as a case study two modern Ramayana novels, one in Hindi and one in English.
The editors deplore the disappearance of 'a valuable part of the culture' (p. 28). Given ... more The editors deplore the disappearance of 'a valuable part of the culture' (p. 28). Given that these two worlds were so clearly divided, a movement to abolish all courtesans endangered a valuable part of the culture all that related to song and dance. What kind of value did that culture present? A male dominated upper caste culture! Was it a culture at all? Prostitution is equated with freedom for women. What an introduction to the erotic poetry?
Vostok. Afro-aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost, 2020
This study aimed at identifying the levels of functional administrative performance at Prince Sat... more This study aimed at identifying the levels of functional administrative performance at Prince Sattam bin Abdel Aziz University in the areas of planning, guidance, organization, monitoring and decision making. It also aimed at identifying the statistical differences in the administrative performance of Prince Sattam bin Abdel Aziz University among the participants of the study, if any, attributed to gender and years of experience. To achieve the aims of the study, the analytic descriptive method was used. A questionnaire was prepared and administered to a sample of 140 administrator working at the branches of Prince Sattam bin Abdel Aziz University. The results of the study revealed that the average of the planning field among the administrators ranged from (3.60 -4.04) which is a high score of the administration performance . Monitoring came in the first rank followed by guidance, planning then decision making. Organization came in the last rank. In addition, there were statistical significant differences at the 0.05 level for the gender variable in favor of the males. Furthermore, there were statistical significant differences at the 0.05 level for the years of experience variable in favor of the class under five years of experience. The study presented some recommendations in the light of the results.
Various descriptions of the two Mughal capitals, Agra and Delhi, mention the gates of both royal ... more Various descriptions of the two Mughal capitals, Agra and Delhi, mention the gates of both royal forts as decorated with the statues of two warriors mounted on elephants. The list of those who had described these sculptures and reconstructed their history includes late-medieval Indian writers, European travellers to the Mughal empire, scholars from the nineteenth century onwards, authors of tourist guides; there is a popular oral narrative on them as well. The most widely spread version attributes the statues to the Rajput warriors who defended Chittor against the Mughal invasion and who were immortalised by the emperor Akbar in a sign of his recognition of their valour. This article is an attempt to ‘investigate’ the controversial story of a Mughal ruler glorifying his sworn enemies and to analyse historical circumstances that could be a background for such a narrative.
The poem by Alam written on the love story well explored in Sanskrit and Hindi literature is a va... more The poem by Alam written on the love story well explored in Sanskrit and Hindi literature is a valuable source on Indian society and culture of Akbar` s epoch
Abstract Medieval Indian studies is a relatively new field in Russian Indology. Sym pathy for the... more Abstract Medieval Indian studies is a relatively new field in Russian Indology. Sym pathy for the Indian people and high esteem for the achievements of their civilisation failed to prevent generations of Russain Indologists from acquir ing a prejudiced attitude towards the ...
ABSTRACT European travelogues have been for a long time used by the generations of scholars as on... more ABSTRACT European travelogues have been for a long time used by the generations of scholars as one of the most important, even primary, source of information on me-dieval and early modern India. In many cases these travel records were even pre-ferred to the texts in Persian and more so in Indian languages as more trustworthy, objective and adequate in describing pre-colonial Indian society. The veracity of European travelogues was so steadfastly believed in by the scholars that, until fairly recently, this class of sources had been excluded from critical analysis. The present paper attempts to discuss a hitherto unattended aspect of European travel in late medieval – early modern India: the problem of language communication be-tween European visitors and their Indian hosts. It analyses this problem from the view point of cultural understanding and argues for the re-assessment of the valid-ity of European travelogues as one of the major sources for medieval India studies.
The article is based upon an archival file comprising the documents of Ram Singh, the Raja of Bha... more The article is based upon an archival file comprising the documents of Ram Singh, the Raja of Bharatpur, allegedly shooting dead his personal servant Kiddu. This criminal case, investigated by two British officers, provided the British colonial authorities with an opportunity to depose the Raja, thus rectifying their own mistake of enthroning him. The documents disclose an inefficient investigation and offer an insight into the British attitudes to Indian native states and policies concerning the succession and deposition of their rulers.
EDITOR'S NOTE INTRODUCTORY NOTE 1. The State,the Ruler, and the Ruled 1. 'Meeting of the ... more EDITOR'S NOTE INTRODUCTORY NOTE 1. The State,the Ruler, and the Ruled 1. 'Meeting of the Oceans' 1. 'The Age of Kali' and the 'Kingdom of Rama' 1. In Quest of the Way Out 1. Instead of a Conclusion NOTES AND REFERENCES ABBREVIATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
Uploads
Papers by Eugenia Vanina