[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PXL_20230513_175223658.jpg?resize=300%2C398&ssl=1\")
Vaishnavi Patil, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Ph.D candidate at Harvard University in the History of Art and Architecture Department working on South and Southeast Asia<\/em><\/h4>\n
Thrity<\/strong> Umrigar, Honor<\/em> (2022)
<\/strong>A novel about two women trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time. I was captured by the tenderness and evocativeness with which Thrity Umigar uncovers the dichotomies operative in South Asia \u2013 urban vs. rural, Hindu vs. Muslim, and male vs. female. This story will stay with me for a long time!<\/p>\nTsering<\/strong> Yangzom Lama, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies <\/em>(2022)
<\/strong>I couldn\u2019t put this book down \u2014the novel takes us on a Tibetan family’s journey through exile and touches upon themes of displacement, ancestry, and history. Tsering Yangzom Lama has carefully assembled a family saga that spans decades, continents, and lifetimes yet feels intimately personal and profoundly thought-provoking.<\/p>\nZena Hitz, Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life<\/em> (2020)
<\/strong>A list of book recommendations would be incomplete without one that urges the reader to yearn for an intellectual life! Drawing on philosophy and the author’s own experiences, Lost in Thought <\/em>is a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_8254.jpeg?resize=300%2C428&ssl=1\")
Tyler<\/span> M. Richard, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Ph.D Candidate at Harvard University in South Asian Studies and Comparative Literature<\/i><\/h4>\n
David Shulman, Spring, Heat, Rains: A South Indian Diary <\/i>(2009)
<\/b>I first encountered the work of David Shulman my sophomore year at Harvard in Professor Parimal Patil\u2019s \u201cLove in a Dead Language.\u201d Since then, I\u2019ve spent a decade reading and relishing Shulman\u2019s sensitive studies and translations of South Indian literature. More Than Real<\/i><\/a> remains a scholastic lodestar, and I\u2019ve rewatched \u201cThe Inner Life of Dust\u201d<\/a> on YouTube more times than I\u2019d care to admit.<\/p>\nSpring, Heat, Rains <\/i>is a curious outlier in Shulman\u2019s corpus. <\/i>Comprised of diary entries, the book chronicles his experiences living in Andhra Pradesh for seven months during 2006. The book is divided into three sections\u2014vasanta<\/i>, gr\u012b\u1e63ma, var\u1e63\u0101\u2014<\/i>which correspond to the three seasons that Shulman witnesses during his stay. Proceeding with a spirit that \u201csometimes a raw thought is more alive than a polished one,\u201d each day\u2019s entry teems with both planned and impromptu activity\u2014daily lessons in Old Telugu literature, mesmerizing Carnatic concerts, tense standoffs with local bureaucrats, and not one but two vertiginous trips to Tirupati. Drifting in and out of view are a dizzying cast of characters, including well-known scholars of South Asia like Charles Malamoud and Velcheru Narayana Rao, as well as members of the Telugu intelligentsia, like M.C. Kanakaiah and T. Patanjali Sastry. Amidst a maelstrom of spontaneous visits and thwarted plans, Shulman has his routines, too, like Ratnam\u2019s reliable morning visit\u2014\u201ceach day a few minutes earlier\u201d\u2014to deliver fresh buffalo milk and exchange a few words in a delightfully \u201cstandard\u201d Telugu.<\/p>\n
One could read the subtitle to Spring, Heat, Rains<\/i> in two different ways. Shulman\u2019s book is a diary produced both in South India<\/i> as well as in a South Indian mode<\/i>. Emerging from the physical experience of living in South India, this mode operates according to what one might call a \u201cphenomenology of viscosity.\u201d Time in Andhra is alchemically tangible. It oozes, contorts, contracts, and distends. Like the Ocean of Milk of the pur\u0101\u1e47a<\/i>s, time also curdles; occasionally, wonders float to the surface. This viscosity spills into virtually all dimensions of lived experience. The air thickens with Rajahmudry\u2019s cacophanous (or musical?) street clamor and summer\u2019s mind-numbing, world-halting heat. Experience thickens with the sweetness of la\u1e0d\u1e0du-pras\u0101dam<\/i> and the smell of imminent rain. Language thickens with the distinct cadences of Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, and most importantly, Telugu. Indeed, Shulman\u2019s diary accrues a far-reaching, idiosyncratic canon filled with serendipitous equivalences. Alongside poems freshly inked by friends\u2014a Telugu ghazal<\/i> sung at a house party (see Page 101) still sends shivers down my spine\u2014come verses from works of Classical Indian literature. Two stories in particular\u2014viz. Allasani Peddana\u2019s Story of Manu <\/i>(since translated by Shulman for the Murty Classical Library of India<\/a>) and the medieval retellings of the Story of Nala<\/i> by \u015ar\u012bhar\u1e63a, \u015ar\u012bn\u0101tha, and Ativ\u012brar\u0101map\u0101\u1e47\u1e6diya\u1e49\u2014weave their way thoughout Shulman\u2019s diary, occasioning lengthier reflections on imagination, memory, and longing. They also provide Shulman with a mythic framework for processing his ongoing relationship to Andhra. \u201cHow can I leave?\u201d he wonders towards the end of his stay, \u201cAndhra and me, two illusions embracing?\u201d<\/p>\nNot only did Spring, Heat, Rains <\/i>awaken within me an incipient desire to learn Telugu so that I, too, might read Telugu literature in Telugu country, but it reminded me of the lasting truth behind the Tamil proverb ka\u1e5f\u1e5fatu kaiya\u1e37avu, kall\u0101tatu ulaka\u1e37avu. <\/i>\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned fills a hand, but what I haven\u2019t fills a world.\u201d Whether you\u2019re keen on premodern texts or post-colonial theory, Shulman\u2019s South India\u2014thickened with intellection, allusion, and abounding heart\u2014is a world well worth visiting.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bio-ronak_pic.jpg?resize=300%2C423&ssl=1\")
Ronak Jain, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Ph.D candidate at Harvard University in Economics<\/em><\/h4>\n
Khaled Hossein, The Kite Runner<\/i> (2003)
<\/b>I highly recommend The Kite Runner<\/em> by Khaled Hosseini to all. This powerful and emotionally gripping novel takes readers on a journey through friendship, redemption, and the complexities of personal identity. Set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s turbulent history, the story follows Amir, a young boy from Kabul, and his closest friend Hassan. Through their shared love for kite flying, their lives become intertwined in unexpected ways. As they navigate through the ravages of war and the aftermath of a life-altering incident, Hosseini’s beautiful prose delves into themes of guilt, sacrifice, and redemption.<\/p>\nThe Kite Runner <\/em>is a hauntingly and touchingly beautiful tale that explores the resilience of the human spirit and leaves a lasting impact on anyone who reads it. I personally loved the simplicity of writing and the powerful way in which the author captures and conveys so many relatable emotions and feelings as an immigrant reflecting back on childhood memories and traditions. Kite running was also such a relatable memory, resonating personally with me, too, growing up in Mumbai, India (though admittedly I could never really master it!).<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG20230524111116-01.jpeg?resize=300%2C215&ssl=1\")
Nusrat Mim Jahan, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Doctor of Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design<\/em><\/h4>\n
Kate Crawford, <\/b>Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence <\/b><\/em>(2021)
<\/b>This is a timely and provocative book that exposes the hidden realities of AI. Crawford <\/span>critically examines AI technology’s hidden costs and consequences. The book excited me as it challenges the popular narratives that portray AI as a “neutral” and “efficient” tool for solving “problems.” Instead, it develops arguments around how AI is built on extraction, exploitation, and domination of natural resources, human labor, and social data.<\/p>\nThis book took me on a global journey: from the mines where rare earth minerals are extracted for computer manufacturing to the warehouses where AI systems monitor and control workers. The book demonstrates how AI consumes enormous amounts of energy and contributes to the environmental crisis. It also reveals how AI reinforces existing inequalities and injustices in societies and threatens human rights and democracy in different parts of the world.<\/p>\n
Crawford argues that we need to rethink our understanding of AI and its impacts in our lives. She calls for a more holistic and ethical approach that considers political, economic, cultural, and social implications of AI development and deployment<\/span>. She also urges her readers to resist the power of the tech giants that shape and control AI and to demand more accountability and transparency from them.<\/p>\n
Thrity<\/strong> Umrigar, Honor<\/em> (2022)
<\/strong>A novel about two women trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time. I was captured by the tenderness and evocativeness with which Thrity Umigar uncovers the dichotomies operative in South Asia \u2013 urban vs. rural, Hindu vs. Muslim, and male vs. female. This story will stay with me for a long time!<\/p>\n
Tsering<\/strong> Yangzom Lama, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies <\/em>(2022) Zena Hitz, Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life<\/em> (2020) [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Spring, Heat, Rains <\/i>is a curious outlier in Shulman\u2019s corpus. <\/i>Comprised of diary entries, the book chronicles his experiences living in Andhra Pradesh for seven months during 2006. The book is divided into three sections\u2014vasanta<\/i>, gr\u012b\u1e63ma, var\u1e63\u0101\u2014<\/i>which correspond to the three seasons that Shulman witnesses during his stay. Proceeding with a spirit that \u201csometimes a raw thought is more alive than a polished one,\u201d each day\u2019s entry teems with both planned and impromptu activity\u2014daily lessons in Old Telugu literature, mesmerizing Carnatic concerts, tense standoffs with local bureaucrats, and not one but two vertiginous trips to Tirupati. Drifting in and out of view are a dizzying cast of characters, including well-known scholars of South Asia like Charles Malamoud and Velcheru Narayana Rao, as well as members of the Telugu intelligentsia, like M.C. Kanakaiah and T. Patanjali Sastry. Amidst a maelstrom of spontaneous visits and thwarted plans, Shulman has his routines, too, like Ratnam\u2019s reliable morning visit\u2014\u201ceach day a few minutes earlier\u201d\u2014to deliver fresh buffalo milk and exchange a few words in a delightfully \u201cstandard\u201d Telugu.<\/p>\n One could read the subtitle to Spring, Heat, Rains<\/i> in two different ways. Shulman\u2019s book is a diary produced both in South India<\/i> as well as in a South Indian mode<\/i>. Emerging from the physical experience of living in South India, this mode operates according to what one might call a \u201cphenomenology of viscosity.\u201d Time in Andhra is alchemically tangible. It oozes, contorts, contracts, and distends. Like the Ocean of Milk of the pur\u0101\u1e47a<\/i>s, time also curdles; occasionally, wonders float to the surface. This viscosity spills into virtually all dimensions of lived experience. The air thickens with Rajahmudry\u2019s cacophanous (or musical?) street clamor and summer\u2019s mind-numbing, world-halting heat. Experience thickens with the sweetness of la\u1e0d\u1e0du-pras\u0101dam<\/i> and the smell of imminent rain. Language thickens with the distinct cadences of Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, and most importantly, Telugu. Indeed, Shulman\u2019s diary accrues a far-reaching, idiosyncratic canon filled with serendipitous equivalences. Alongside poems freshly inked by friends\u2014a Telugu ghazal<\/i> sung at a house party (see Page 101) still sends shivers down my spine\u2014come verses from works of Classical Indian literature. Two stories in particular\u2014viz. Allasani Peddana\u2019s Story of Manu <\/i>(since translated by Shulman for the Murty Classical Library of India<\/a>) and the medieval retellings of the Story of Nala<\/i> by \u015ar\u012bhar\u1e63a, \u015ar\u012bn\u0101tha, and Ativ\u012brar\u0101map\u0101\u1e47\u1e6diya\u1e49\u2014weave their way thoughout Shulman\u2019s diary, occasioning lengthier reflections on imagination, memory, and longing. They also provide Shulman with a mythic framework for processing his ongoing relationship to Andhra. \u201cHow can I leave?\u201d he wonders towards the end of his stay, \u201cAndhra and me, two illusions embracing?\u201d<\/p>\n Not only did Spring, Heat, Rains <\/i>awaken within me an incipient desire to learn Telugu so that I, too, might read Telugu literature in Telugu country, but it reminded me of the lasting truth behind the Tamil proverb ka\u1e5f\u1e5fatu kaiya\u1e37avu, kall\u0101tatu ulaka\u1e37avu. <\/i>\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned fills a hand, but what I haven\u2019t fills a world.\u201d Whether you\u2019re keen on premodern texts or post-colonial theory, Shulman\u2019s South India\u2014thickened with intellection, allusion, and abounding heart\u2014is a world well worth visiting.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The Kite Runner <\/em>is a hauntingly and touchingly beautiful tale that explores the resilience of the human spirit and leaves a lasting impact on anyone who reads it. I personally loved the simplicity of writing and the powerful way in which the author captures and conveys so many relatable emotions and feelings as an immigrant reflecting back on childhood memories and traditions. Kite running was also such a relatable memory, resonating personally with me, too, growing up in Mumbai, India (though admittedly I could never really master it!).<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n This book took me on a global journey: from the mines where rare earth minerals are extracted for computer manufacturing to the warehouses where AI systems monitor and control workers. The book demonstrates how AI consumes enormous amounts of energy and contributes to the environmental crisis. It also reveals how AI reinforces existing inequalities and injustices in societies and threatens human rights and democracy in different parts of the world.<\/p>\n Crawford argues that we need to rethink our understanding of AI and its impacts in our lives. She calls for a more holistic and ethical approach that considers political, economic, cultural, and social implications of AI development and deployment<\/span>. She also urges her readers to resist the power of the tech giants that shape and control AI and to demand more accountability and transparency from them.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>I couldn\u2019t put this book down \u2014the novel takes us on a Tibetan family’s journey through exile and touches upon themes of displacement, ancestry, and history. Tsering Yangzom Lama has carefully assembled a family saga that spans decades, continents, and lifetimes yet feels intimately personal and profoundly thought-provoking.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>A list of book recommendations would be incomplete without one that urges the reader to yearn for an intellectual life! Drawing on philosophy and the author’s own experiences, Lost in Thought <\/em>is a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought.<\/p>\nTyler<\/span> M. Richard, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Ph.D Candidate at Harvard University in South Asian Studies and Comparative Literature<\/i><\/h4>\n
David Shulman, Spring, Heat, Rains: A South Indian Diary <\/i>(2009)
<\/b>I first encountered the work of David Shulman my sophomore year at Harvard in Professor Parimal Patil\u2019s \u201cLove in a Dead Language.\u201d Since then, I\u2019ve spent a decade reading and relishing Shulman\u2019s sensitive studies and translations of South Indian literature. More Than Real<\/i><\/a> remains a scholastic lodestar, and I\u2019ve rewatched \u201cThe Inner Life of Dust\u201d<\/a> on YouTube more times than I\u2019d care to admit.<\/p>\nRonak Jain, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Ph.D candidate at Harvard University in Economics<\/em><\/h4>\n
Khaled Hossein, The Kite Runner<\/i> (2003)
<\/b>I highly recommend The Kite Runner<\/em> by Khaled Hosseini to all. This powerful and emotionally gripping novel takes readers on a journey through friendship, redemption, and the complexities of personal identity. Set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s turbulent history, the story follows Amir, a young boy from Kabul, and his closest friend Hassan. Through their shared love for kite flying, their lives become intertwined in unexpected ways. As they navigate through the ravages of war and the aftermath of a life-altering incident, Hosseini’s beautiful prose delves into themes of guilt, sacrifice, and redemption.<\/p>\nNusrat Mim Jahan, Mittal Institute Graduate Student Associate<\/strong>
Doctor of Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design<\/em><\/h4>\n
Kate Crawford, <\/b>Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence <\/b><\/em>(2021)
<\/b>This is a timely and provocative book that exposes the hidden realities of AI. Crawford <\/span>critically examines AI technology’s hidden costs and consequences. The book excited me as it challenges the popular narratives that portray AI as a “neutral” and “efficient” tool for solving “problems.” Instead, it develops arguments around how AI is built on extraction, exploitation, and domination of natural resources, human labor, and social data.<\/p>\n
![\"Mittal](\"https:\/\/mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Screen-Shot-2019-06-11-at-1.59.14-PM-e1560349741306-600x363.jpg\")
Mittal Institute Arts Program Manager Sneha Shrestha in front of one of her murals. Image provided by Sneha Shrestha.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u00a0","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,546,25,1,89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-gsa","category-in-region","category-news","category-students"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n