Pura-Pralekh-The Felicitation Volume of Dr. Shashi Bala Srivastava

This Felicitation Volume honouring Dr. Shashi Bala Srivastava contains forty-eight papers both in English and Hindi languages that have been organised into two major sections-Art and Architecture and Miscellaneous.

Section -A, comprises of Art and Architecture that includes several distinguished papers related to her. It has the description from the rise of Indian Art and Architecture upto the Medieval period. It has the research work that involves the wrath and warp of novel elucidations of Brahmanism, Jain and Buddhist art, architecture, temple, Sculpture, Iconography, new interpretations on different themes of art and the testimony of architecture in Vedic literature etc.

Section-B forms Miscellaneous. It has an incorporation of the in-depth study of distinctive research papers on various aspects based on archaeology and literature be it Geo-historical Study, Pre-history, Chalcolithic culture, cultural Landscape, Medieval sage revolution, Sociological exposition of religion, Conservation, Preservation, Glimpses of Jainis in Vietnam, History and Culture of Cambodia etc.

Dr. Shashi Bala Srivastava (1948) completed her B.A. (1967) and M.A. (1970) from the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur. She was conferred the degree of Ph.D. of the same University for the thesis entitled VASTUSHASTRIYE SANDARBHA MEIN DEVA MURTIYON KA ADHAYAYAN (1980). Beginning her career as a lecturer in the department of Ancient History in Madan Mohan Malviya Post Graduate College, Bhatpar Rani, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh and rose to the position of senior fellow. She continued her many researches even after retirement.

Dr Shashi Bala Srivastava has been a great teacher loving the students and equally loved by them for her sincerity and affection. She is a great scholar who has enriched the field of Art and Architecture by her incessant field work and publications. Apart from her numerous research papers on Art and Architecture, she has to her credit such important books- BHARITYE MANDIR EVAM DEV MURTIYAN, BHATRIYE SANSKRITI KE HEERAK TEMPLE, IMAGE OF OSIA, ODISHA MANDIRON KA VASTUSHASTRIYE ADDHYAYAN and SCULPTURES LEGACY OF POORVANCHAL. Besides American Institute of India Studies„ Ram Nagar, Varanasi provided her senior fellowship on INTRODUCTION OF DIVINE IMAGES IN TEMPLE ARCHITECCTURE and visited Kathmandu (1992) and Toronto for academic purpose.

Dr. Shashi Bala Srivastava is a distinguished personality in her field. Her workplace was rural area, and during that contemporary phase there remained the inadequacy of the basic necessity like that of books for study and teaching, library and electricity. In spite of all these Dr. Shashi Bala through her novel research work not only brightened her name but also the name of her institution. Through Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Commission, Allahabad, she began her career as a permanent lecturer in the department of Ancient Indian History, in Madan Mohan Malviya Post Graduate, Bhatpar Rani, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh (1980). Since then till date Dr. Srivastava has performed various research works in the field of Art and Architecture, Bhartiya Mandir evam Dev Murtiyan, Bhartiya Sanskriti ke Heerak, Temple and Images of Osia, Odisha Mandir ke Vastusahastriya Addhyayan and sculptures Legacy of Poorvanchal etc. In addition to these has also delivered numerous papers of both national and international levels, published and has taken up the academic tour of Kathmandu and Toronto.

In this Felicitation Volume there are forty four papers which have been organised into two major sections. Most of the papers are on the various facades of Art and Architecture. It has the collection of papers dealing with art and architectures related to the periods belonging to Vedic, Sungas, Gandharas, Kushanas, Guptas and Medieval phase. Some distinguished papers on various aspects of Prehistory, Chalcolithic Culture, historical archaeology, history and culture are also included in it. Along with it papers of scholars from Israel, United States of America and papers (antique documents) based on archaeology and history of Vietnam, Cambodia and Tibet enhances the twofold significance of the PURA-PRALEKH.

This Felicitation Volume honouring Dr. Shashi Bala Srivastava comprises of forty five papers both in Hindi and English Languages that have been organised into two sections namely- Art and Architecture and Miscellaneous