Utopia / Dystopia

[Mary Storm]

Dear All

Thank you so much for your thoughts and insights.

I have been thinking about Shambala and Shangri-la (Hilton's Lost  
Horizon) , Kali Yuga and Gore Vidal's novel Kalki. I am trying to find  
possible Indian sources of western literary images... for utopia /  
dystopia.

All Best,

Mary

On 14-Apr-2010, at 3:14 AM, Luis Gonzalez-Reimann wrote:

> Mary,
>
> For traditional materials you should look at the theory of the  
> yugas. A good rendering of descriptions of the yugas (with many  
> refs. to primary texts) is:
>
> von Stietencron, Heinrich. 1986. Calculating Religious Decay: The  
> Kaliyuga in India, in von Stietencron, Heinrich, /Hindu Myth, Hindu  
> History: Religion, Art, and Politics/. New Delhi: Permanent Black,  
> 31-49.
>
> My book, /The Mahabharata and the Yugas/ (Peter Lang, 2002),  
> translates some sections from the /Mahabharata/ and discusses the  
> idea of the Kali Yuga , the worst age.
>
> Then there is the Tibetan Shambhala, which might interest you. For  
> that, you can start with:
>
> /The Way to Shambhala: a Search for the Mythical Kingdom Beyond the  
> Himalayas/. Edwin Bernbaum, 2001.
>
> Luis González-Reimann
> _____
>
>
> on 4/13/2010 9:26 AM JKirkpatrick wrote:
>> A famous publication was Begam Rokeya Sakhawat Husain's
>> _Sultana's Dream_(1905)--a feminist utopia where all gender roles
>> are reversed.
>> Bankim Chandra Chatterji's _Anandamath_ could be viewed or
>> appreciated as a both a dystopian representation of British rule
>> and a utopian dream of Indian political freedom, although it's
>> technically not a utopia per se.
>>
>> I've not read the book, but Ashish Nandy's  _Traditions, Tyranny,
>> and Utopias: Essays in the Politics of Awareness_. Delhi, New
>> York: Oxford UP, 1987. New York: Oxford UP, 1992 might have some
>> use for your query.
>>
>> Then there is the Ramrajya theory--are there any texts--classical
>> or not-- exploring this utopian concept?
>> Best wishes,
>> Joanna K.
>>
>> ===================
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Indologists,
>>
>> I am looking for possible distinctive descriptions of utopias /
>> dystopias in Indian literature. I hope to find something that
>> might parallel ideas in Plato's Republic or Thomas More's Utopia.
>>
>> I am looking for descriptions of self-contained paradigmatic
>> societies- either ideal or wretched.
>>
>> Any ideas would be most welcome.
>>
>> I hope that wherever you are it is cooler than New Delhi!
>>
>> Mary Storm
>>
>> Mary Storm, Ph.D.
>> Academic Director and Lecturer
>> India: National Identity and the Arts
>> and
>> Himalayan Buddhist Art and Architecture
>> SIT Study Abroad
>> http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad
>> F 301 Lado Sarai
>> New Delhi 110030 India
>> Mobile: +91 98106 98003
>>
>>