Penguin to publish The Meaning of India: Essays By Raja Rao

Raja Rao’s philosophical essays now republished posthumously with a new foreword that re-contextualizes his work for the modern age

Penguin | 244 pages| Paperback| Essays/Classics/Non-Fiction

About the Book

The Meaning of India embarks on a journey to paint India as more than just a geographically contained place. It is a philosophically rich space that provides one with a perspective that is simultaneously unique to the individual and universal to Indian civilization. 

Picture Credit: Penguin
Picture Credit: Penguin

Seamlessly moving from one school of Indian philosophy to another as only Raja Rao can, this remarkable collection of essays also acts as a blueprint for the creation of the country’s wisdom (through its philosophies) and power (through its history, people, colonization and independence). The essays traverse various parts of India (and the world)-from political capitals to villages and shrines-to find common ground in the midst of multiplicities, and also looks deep within the individual, the self, the transcendence of meaning beyond the material. Ultimately, Rao finds the meaning of India in multiplicity and borderlessness, in the external and internal negotiations of every human being.

About the Author

Raja Rao, a path-breaker of Indian writing in English, was born in Hassan, Mysore. He has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

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