Look Inside

Reflections on Odishan History, Culture and Archaeology (A Felicitation Volume in Honour of Dr. Prafulla Kumar Mohanty)

FREE Delivery
$104
$130
(20% off)
Quantity
Delivery Usually ships in 3 days
Item Code: HBG361
Author: Edited By Arabinda Bose, Rudra Prasad Behera, Shiva Soumya Biswas
Publisher: Agam Kala Prakashan, Delhi
Language: English
Edition: 2025
ISBN: 9789392556289
Pages: 289 (Throughout B/w Illustrations)
Cover: HARDCOVER
Other Details 11.5x9 inch
Weight 1.28 kg
Fully insured
Fully insured
Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
23 years in business
23 years in business
Book Description
About The Book

Reflections on Odishan History, Culture and Archaeology, a felicitation volume dedicated in the honour of Dr. Prafulla Kumar Mohanty, is a significant attempt to the study Odisha's hidden historical past. The work explores multiple dimensions in the field of history including prehistoric archaeology, maritime history, iconographic analysis, monumental studies, cultural antiquities, and socio-economic angles. It features research articles that span Odisha's Ancient, Medieval, and Modern periods, with the articles on prehistory grounded in scientific exploration and observation. Many of the contributions are based on original sources, with a particular focus on the region's historical sites. The volume is further enriched with a diverse array of data, plates, and records, making it an invaluable resource that sheds light on historical research in Odisha.

About the Editors

Dr. Bose has been extensively involved in research and scholarly activities related to the history and archaeology of Odisha. He is working as a lecturer in History and currently he is the Head of the Department, History in Vyasa Nagar Autonomous College, Jajpur Road, Jajpur. He has completed his M.A. and M.Phil. from Utkal University in Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology. He was awarded with Ph.D. by North Orissa University in 2020. He has published many articles in different Journals and magazines. He was awarded with the "Young Historian Award" in 2022 by Odisha History Congress, which establishes his interest, ability and excellence in the field of research.

Dr. Behera has obtained his M.A., M. Phil. from Utkal University and Ph.D. from Ravenshaw University. He also has a PG Diploma in Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology, ASI, New Delhi. He has an expertise in Maritime History of Odisha. He also has experience as a Project Trainee in Marine Archaeology Centre, CSIR National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. He is currently working as an Assistant Curator in Odisha State Archaeology, Bhubaneswar, Department of OLL&C, Govt of Odisha. He has authored quite a few articles in National and International Journals of repute.

Dr. Sahoo has been writing for both national and international journals in the field of Archaeology for over a decade, Dr. Soumya Ranjan Sahoo has a unique voice that is prominent in many of his articles. Dr. Sahoo is presently working as a Lecturer in History, in A.P. College, Sujanpur, Jajpur. Prior to this, he served as a Civil Servant after getting OCS and as an Assistant Curator in Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar. He completed his Ph.D. from Ravenshaw University in 2017 after pursuing PG Diploma in Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology, ASI, New Delhi in 2011.

Preface

Writing History is a continuous process. The anxiety and interest for reading of History are the causes of the outcome of new researches and theories. Besides politics, geography, economy, society, culture, science, mathematics, chemistry etc are the subject matter of history. The present work is the reflection of scholastic mindset through recent researches by the erudite scholars of Odisha and throws light into the prehistoric traditions as well as the art traditions along with modern traits which have characterised and enlivened the culture and history of the state.

In 1875 A.D. Valentine Ball had picked up the first stone implements from four different places in Odisha are Dhenkanal, Kudabaga (Sambalpur), Harichandanpur and Kaliakata. After this interesting discovery, a dozen of scholars have undertaken serious attempt to define, classify and highlight the Stone Age cultures of Odisha; namely R.D. Banerjee, P. Acharya, Worman, N.K. Bose, D. Sen, G.C. Mohapatra, B.K. Thapar, K.C. Tripathy, R.N. Dash etc. At present K.K. Basa, P.K. Behera, D. Sahoo, S. Chakravarty, M. Chauley, T. Pradhan and several others are working in this field. Their explorations, field surveys and excavations yielded tremendous archaeological materials and are quite helpful in reconstructing the activities of prehistoric man in Odisha As far as India is concerned the raw materials used to manufacture the stone artefacts during lower Palaeolithic were basically quartzite, for which cause the primitive man of this period is called as the quartzite man. But later on that has been changed to semi-precious stones during Mesolithic period, dolerite, diorite, basalt and bones in Neolithic phase and at last the copper along with dolerite like stones were inhabited during Chalcolithic phase.

Similarly the early works by P. Acharya in field archaeology as well as in Historical perspective attracted scholars to through ample light on the art traditions and iconography along with architecture and field archaeology. Scholars like N. K. Sahu, K. C. Panigrahi, K. S. Behera, T.E. Donaldson, A.N. Parida, S. Pattanaik, S. Khamari, U. Mishra etc. contributed much and there are so many works on this field at present too. In the field of Modern History of Odisha, M.N. Das, K.M Patra, A.C Pradhan have enriched our knowledge. Day by day new horizons are coming in the field by enriching our knowledge regarding cultural heritage of Odisha.

The evidence of Stone Age cultures found from almost every districts of Odisha (from Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic period) throws ample light to on the culture through the material evidences. Early History and Maritime activities of ancient Odisha can be studied from various evidences.Ancient and Medieval period witnessed the cultural trend in the form of Art and Architecture, Philosophical upliftment, establishment of various spiritual centers and foreign iconoclastic invasion and destruction. Similarly modern history witnessed the freedom struggle, the forcible suppression, superstitions, reformation movements, displacements, migration problems, social inequality issues, political barriers, educational backwardness and so on. History writing cannot solve each and every problem, but can assure to take the scholar to its root.

The present work is devoted to the problems of the history related to the oldest working tools by human to the contemporary problems which persist in Odisha. Systematically the articles have been arranged into four categories as per every phase of human development related to the historicity.

In the first category contains eight number of the research articles named as the Prehistory and Early History, deals with the Prehistoric researches as well as few newly discovered important sites in Odisha which have been discussed vividly and to some extent the study focused on the material cultures in India as well.

The second category named The Architecture and Art History bears seven research articles which describe about the Architectural conservation of famous Jagannath temple and monuments in Kendrapara district as well as the iconographic details of Jaina images, Saptamatrikas and Karitkeya.

The third category Socio-cultural History contains six articleswhich deals with the cultural heritage of the state. Tribal culture to Vaisnava traditions, Mughal Tamsa to medieval caste rigidity also have been reflected trough the recent researches carried in recent time. Famous travel accounts also been discussed to point out the socio-cultural traits of modern Odisha.

Fourth or the last category, Modern History, contains nine articles, which deal with the Paik rebellion, Colonial currency system and notable personalities etc. Again, the representation freedom movement, women health workers during Colonial period, Nationalist movement and literary works, modern day drama and its progress everything are being added into this phase to enhance the knowledge of the researchers.

The present publication will bring new facets of Odishan History in to limelight. It is based on latest research and in some articles, certain original sources are used by which new interpretations can emerge. It will add a new dimension to the field of historical research in Odisha.

Foreword

It is my great pleasure to write a foreword for this felicitation volume titled Reflections on Odishan History, Culture, and Archaeology, which has been compiled to celebrate the academic and scholastic contributions of my old friend and colleague Dr. Prafulla Kumar Mohanty. This volume, edited by the brilliant trio of scholars, Dr. Arabinda Bose, Dr. Rudra Prasad Behera and Dr. Soumya Ranjan Sahoo, has anthologized a series of articles representing various facets of cultural history, archaeology, and heritage of Odisha, ranging from the prehistoric to the colonial and postcolonial times. I felt delighted when I was approached to write this foreword, since I have always known Dr. Mohanty not only as a brilliant academician and thinker, but also as a successful teacher, who has guided innumerable students and shaped their academic trajectories, and now they have united to pay tribute to the life and work of their teacher through this volume. Dr. Mohanty has made a long journey in the academic world as a faculty member of prestigious government colleges in Odisha like the NC College in Jajpur, the Government College in Phulabani, the MPC (A) College in Baripada, before retiring as the Principal of the SCS (A) College in Puri. Besides mentoring his students, he also authored a number of important books, like State Formation in Ancient Odisha (Kolkata, Punthi Pustak, 2002), Exploring Odisha's Past: Historical Issues and Dimensions (Delhi, 2023), among others, along with numerous articles on art, archaeology, and iconography, which are indeed important contributions towards the reconstruction of the cultural and material past of Odisha. I fondly cherish the memories of the days I spent with this humble scholar who bears an honest and sincere personality, and I am constantly reminded of them as I sit down to write this foreword.

While exploring the contents of this volume, I observed that this book provides a chronological phases of development of the Odishan history and culture, as well as its geographical niches. The articles on Prehistory and Protohistory certainly enrich our knowledge of these phases of Odishan past, on the other hand, the discourse on temples, sculptures, religious ethos of the state, with special reference to Vaishnavism, undoubtedly fine tunes the existing scholarship on these issues. Besides, the articles discussing the Medieval and Modern periods of Odisha carry the historical trajectory forward and highlight some important aspects of the colonial and postcolonial transformations in Odishan history.

I sincerely believe that the readers of this volume will be enriched by the vibrant range of articles and hope that a wide circulation of this volume will entail its publication. The commitment and perseverance of the scholars, who have contributed to this volume need to be remembered as this book enters the printing press, it is to be learnt by all how they have paid guru dakshina to their teacher. I pray to Almighty to give a long and healthy life to Dr. Mohanty, may he continue inspiring his students and friends to achieve goals in life not for narrow selfish purposes, but for the betterment of all and sundry.

Frequently Asked Questions
  • Q. What locations do you deliver to ?
    A. Exotic India delivers orders to all countries having diplomatic relations with India.
  • Q. Do you offer free shipping ?
    A. Exotic India offers free shipping on all orders of value of $30 USD or more.
  • Q. Can I return the book?
    A. All returns must be postmarked within seven (7) days of the delivery date. All returned items must be in new and unused condition, with all original tags and labels attached. To know more please view our return policy
  • Q. Do you offer express shipping ?
    A. Yes, we do have a chargeable express shipping facility available. You can select express shipping while checking out on the website.
  • Q. I accidentally entered wrong delivery address, can I change the address ?
    A. Delivery addresses can only be changed only incase the order has not been shipped yet. Incase of an address change, you can reach us at help@exoticindia.com
  • Q. How do I track my order ?
    A. You can track your orders simply entering your order number through here or through your past orders if you are signed in on the website.
  • Q. How can I cancel an order ?
    A. An order can only be cancelled if it has not been shipped. To cancel an order, kindly reach out to us through help@exoticindia.com.
Add a review
Have A Question
By continuing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Book Categories