Читать книгу Book of Indian Beauty - Mulk Raj Anand - Страница 10

THE FIRST edition of this book, entitled The Bride's Book of Beauty, was issued by Messrs. Kutub Publishers in 1947. The edition rapidly sold out, and the original publishing house lapsed soon after, becoming Kutub Popular Ltd. But quite a few people all over the world have been asking for this essay in practical aesthetics which I had published, inspired by the enthusiasm of the late Krishna Nehru Hutheesing.

The revised version is going to press more or less in the original form of the book. Only the discursive preliminary essay "The Bride" has been re-edited by me and the more didactic material omitted. Also, the main illustrations have been changed for similar paintings from the National Museum of India, New Delhi, grateful acknowledgment to which is hereby made for the courtesy of permission to reproduce the plates. For granting permission to reproduce Figure 22, my gratitude goes to Marg Publications of Bombay.

I wish to thank Pandit Shiv Sharma, the famous Ayurvedic physician, for checking the names of medicinal plants. I owe much to Suruchi Chand for the preparation of the manuscript; to Dolly Sahiar, Lance Dane, and Amrik Singh for photography and collection of illustrations; to Kewal Anand for proof corrections. To the various women in the villages and small towns all over India, I extend my gratitude for their invaluable help.

The verse quotations were mostly culled from published and unpublished popular literature. The recipes, taken from all kinds of sources, are sometimes hundreds of years old. Some may be inconsistent with current medical practice. Therefore, readers are requested to check with a good pharmacist or doctor before using them.

—MULK RAJ ANAND

Khandala