Geetha Govindam Book

The marriage of rhythm and meaning that Jayadeva achieves in his poetry is unparalleled. Owing to its deep foundations in devotion and its exquisite intrinsic beauty, the Gitagovinda is very popular in music and dance of India. But its technical brilliance and literary perfections are not so well known. Since the grasp of Sanskrit language is rare in modern society, the sweetness of expression and richness of meaning is lost to most people. This book attempts to bring Jayadeva's composition closer to enthusiasts of classical music and dance, devotees of Sanskrit literature, scholars and artistes. With enhanced understanding of the text, it is hoped that there will be heightened enthusiasm in its performance, among artistes and audience. The first two chapters give a brief exposition of India's aesthetics in literature and the performing arts.The third chapter gives a background to the Gitagovinda in terms of its historical context, time, cultural influences and relevance in the arts. The fourth chapter addresses each verse, with translation and notes; the words are shown split individually with hyphens for greater clarity. The fifth chapter presents the uninterrupted text in Devanagari and Romanized transliteration. The Appendix presents the list of the verses arranged alphabetically for ready reference and the modern botanical names of the plants mentioned in the text. Dr. Sharda Narayanan holds Master's Degrees in Physics and Sanskrit from Bangalore University and Doctorate in Sanskrit Studies from JNU, New Delhi. Dr. Sujatha Mohan holds Master's Degrees in Sanskrit (Madras University), Fine Arts - Bharatanatyam (SASTRA University) and Doctorate from SCSVMV, Kanchipuram. Both are faculty at Dept. of Natya, Dr MGR-Janaki College for Women, Chennai.