KALYANA MITRA: A Treasure House of History, Culture and Archaeological Studies (Festschrift to Prof. P. Chenna Reddy), 2023
The vowel system of Avesta presents many irregularities. In several Avestan words, the vowels are... more The vowel system of Avesta presents many irregularities. In several Avestan words, the vowels are very different from those of cognate words in related languages, even when the consonant structure is identical. In this paper, we suggest that several difficulties with the Avestan vowel may stem from irregularities in the graphic system. In particular, we suggest that when vowels where incorporated into the Avestan script, they were modeled not only on existing alphabets like Greek, but also on syllabic writing systems. Some of the irregularities in Avestan vowel orthography may be vestiges of a syllabic writing system, which may have been the common source of the Avestan vowels, the Old Persian script, and the Indian syllabic scripts.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country by population (next to Indo... more The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country by population (next to Indonesia), but for the larger part of its history it has been inhabited by Hindus and Buddhists. When India was partitioned in 1947, into a residual India (with a Hindu majority) and Pakistan (with a Muslim majority), the fate of the minorities in the two countries took very different turns. India turned into a secular democracy, with a Muslim population that has increased in percentage. The population of Hindus in Pakistan, however, declined precipitously, and has now reached demographically insignificant proportions. With the physical disappearance of the Hindus in Pakistan, the memory of their residence as autochthons throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan has also begun to fade. This process has been consciously accentuated by the educational policies of the establishment, and even the work of otherwise responsible historians. Unlike the situation in neighbouring India, the voices of the minorities are not heard clearly, even in the rare cases when they are not actively suppressed. This paper is a study of the difficulties that bedevil the historiography of the Hindu period of Pakistani history.
In this article, we attempt to resolve only one of the many controversies centered round Muhammad... more In this article, we attempt to resolve only one of the many controversies centered round Muhammad Ali Jinnah – one involving his last name. (page nos.520-526, Reddy smriti: exploring the Indian past (commemoration volume in honor of Dr.Y. Gopal Reddy). P. Chenna Reddy, ed., B R Publishing Corporation, New Delhi)
In this paper we attempt the beginning of a critical study of Amir Khusrau’s contributions to Ind... more In this paper we attempt the beginning of a critical study of Amir Khusrau’s contributions to Indian music. A very important book Hazrat Amīr Khusro kā ‘ilm-e-musīqī (The Music of Amir Khusrau), by Rashid Malik, exists in Urdu, which deals extensively with this subject. Unfortunately it is still unavailable in English. This paper draws heavily on Janab Rashid Malik's work, but also includes some original arguments.
This is the original paper, which was edited slightly and renamed as: India: One Nation or Many N... more This is the original paper, which was edited slightly and renamed as: India: One Nation or Many Nationalities – Ancient Sources and Modern Analysis, History Today, Journal of the Ind. History and Culture Society). New Delhi, No. 7, 2006-07 (pp. 1-11).
The Debate regarding the Appearance of the Oboe in India
In this article we propose to reignite ... more The Debate regarding the Appearance of the Oboe in India In this article we propose to reignite a debate regarding the origin shawm (śahnāī or surnā) that had been started by Nazir Jairazbhoy in 1970 , and taken up by him again in 1980, in response to interesting suggestions by Deva and Dick.
The paper is about the Rigvedic Motif of Soma in the form of a bird in a vessel as a marker of mi... more The paper is about the Rigvedic Motif of Soma in the form of a bird in a vessel as a marker of migrations of bearers of Rigvedic culture from India to the Aegean. This motif appears in the objects of worship or in the material culture, it serves as a marker of the appearance of, and as an indicator of the traces of migrations of tribes bearing elements of Rigvedic cultural elements, out of the Indus Valley. Vessels for the Soma-bird are consistently described as being wooden in the Rigveda, whereas beyond South Asia, they are found exclusively in stone, ceramic or metallic form. This indicates the chronological (or stage-wise) anteriority of Rigvedic cult of Soma as a bird in a vessel, as compared to the analogous cults of Indo-Europeans of Iran, Central Asia, Central Anatolia and the Aegean.
KALYANA MITRA: A Treasure House of History, Culture and Archaeological Studies (Festschrift to Prof. P. Chenna Reddy), 2023
The vowel system of Avesta presents many irregularities. In several Avestan words, the vowels are... more The vowel system of Avesta presents many irregularities. In several Avestan words, the vowels are very different from those of cognate words in related languages, even when the consonant structure is identical. In this paper, we suggest that several difficulties with the Avestan vowel may stem from irregularities in the graphic system. In particular, we suggest that when vowels where incorporated into the Avestan script, they were modeled not only on existing alphabets like Greek, but also on syllabic writing systems. Some of the irregularities in Avestan vowel orthography may be vestiges of a syllabic writing system, which may have been the common source of the Avestan vowels, the Old Persian script, and the Indian syllabic scripts.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country by population (next to Indo... more The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country by population (next to Indonesia), but for the larger part of its history it has been inhabited by Hindus and Buddhists. When India was partitioned in 1947, into a residual India (with a Hindu majority) and Pakistan (with a Muslim majority), the fate of the minorities in the two countries took very different turns. India turned into a secular democracy, with a Muslim population that has increased in percentage. The population of Hindus in Pakistan, however, declined precipitously, and has now reached demographically insignificant proportions. With the physical disappearance of the Hindus in Pakistan, the memory of their residence as autochthons throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan has also begun to fade. This process has been consciously accentuated by the educational policies of the establishment, and even the work of otherwise responsible historians. Unlike the situation in neighbouring India, the voices of the minorities are not heard clearly, even in the rare cases when they are not actively suppressed. This paper is a study of the difficulties that bedevil the historiography of the Hindu period of Pakistani history.
In this article, we attempt to resolve only one of the many controversies centered round Muhammad... more In this article, we attempt to resolve only one of the many controversies centered round Muhammad Ali Jinnah – one involving his last name. (page nos.520-526, Reddy smriti: exploring the Indian past (commemoration volume in honor of Dr.Y. Gopal Reddy). P. Chenna Reddy, ed., B R Publishing Corporation, New Delhi)
In this paper we attempt the beginning of a critical study of Amir Khusrau’s contributions to Ind... more In this paper we attempt the beginning of a critical study of Amir Khusrau’s contributions to Indian music. A very important book Hazrat Amīr Khusro kā ‘ilm-e-musīqī (The Music of Amir Khusrau), by Rashid Malik, exists in Urdu, which deals extensively with this subject. Unfortunately it is still unavailable in English. This paper draws heavily on Janab Rashid Malik's work, but also includes some original arguments.
This is the original paper, which was edited slightly and renamed as: India: One Nation or Many N... more This is the original paper, which was edited slightly and renamed as: India: One Nation or Many Nationalities – Ancient Sources and Modern Analysis, History Today, Journal of the Ind. History and Culture Society). New Delhi, No. 7, 2006-07 (pp. 1-11).
The Debate regarding the Appearance of the Oboe in India
In this article we propose to reignite ... more The Debate regarding the Appearance of the Oboe in India In this article we propose to reignite a debate regarding the origin shawm (śahnāī or surnā) that had been started by Nazir Jairazbhoy in 1970 , and taken up by him again in 1980, in response to interesting suggestions by Deva and Dick.
The paper is about the Rigvedic Motif of Soma in the form of a bird in a vessel as a marker of mi... more The paper is about the Rigvedic Motif of Soma in the form of a bird in a vessel as a marker of migrations of bearers of Rigvedic culture from India to the Aegean. This motif appears in the objects of worship or in the material culture, it serves as a marker of the appearance of, and as an indicator of the traces of migrations of tribes bearing elements of Rigvedic cultural elements, out of the Indus Valley. Vessels for the Soma-bird are consistently described as being wooden in the Rigveda, whereas beyond South Asia, they are found exclusively in stone, ceramic or metallic form. This indicates the chronological (or stage-wise) anteriority of Rigvedic cult of Soma as a bird in a vessel, as compared to the analogous cults of Indo-Europeans of Iran, Central Asia, Central Anatolia and the Aegean.
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(page nos.520-526,
Reddy smriti: exploring the Indian past (commemoration volume in honor of Dr.Y. Gopal Reddy).
P. Chenna Reddy, ed., B R Publishing Corporation, New Delhi)
In this article we propose to reignite a debate regarding the origin shawm (śahnāī or surnā) that had been started by Nazir Jairazbhoy in 1970 , and taken up by him again in 1980, in response to interesting suggestions by Deva and Dick.
(page nos.520-526,
Reddy smriti: exploring the Indian past (commemoration volume in honor of Dr.Y. Gopal Reddy).
P. Chenna Reddy, ed., B R Publishing Corporation, New Delhi)
In this article we propose to reignite a debate regarding the origin shawm (śahnāī or surnā) that had been started by Nazir Jairazbhoy in 1970 , and taken up by him again in 1980, in response to interesting suggestions by Deva and Dick.