Manju Kak

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Manju Kak
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Writer, filmmaker

Manju Kak is an Indian writer, critic, and an art and cultural historian. She is particularly known for her work on the cultural history of Kumaon and the western Himalayas.

Contents

Education and career

Kak has a PhD in Art History from the National Museum, New Delhi, and has been a teacher and Visiting Professor of art history, literature and cultural studies, in Delhi, the UK, and Hong Kong (Centre for Nehru Studies & Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia; National Museum Institute, New Delhi; St. Stephen's College & Open Learning University, Hong Kong; St. Columba's School, New Delhi). She has been a recipient of the Hawthornden and Charles Wallace & Ministry of Culture fellowships. [1]

She has worked as a consultant with the Ministry of Culture (50th Anniversary Celebrations) (1997–98); and INTACH, COHANDS ( Handicraft Board). Currently she is Member in Charge in the all India Women's Conference (AIWC) established in 1927, and Trustee of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Trust. She has served on various NGO committees. [1]

She has also been a volunteer engaged in development issues and women's organizations. [1]

Creative output

Writings

Kak's fiction, essays, critical reviews, and articles have appeared in newspapers, journals, anthologies and magazines in India and abroad since 1990. These include The Hindu , Women's Press, The Times of India , The Westview Press, Katha Prize Stories, Kali for Women, Mail Today, Toronto Review, Hong Kong Standard, Arts of Asia, Little Magazine and Canadian Feminist Studies Journal. [1]

Exhibitions

Kak has been particularly drawn to Himalayan culture, and has researched and curated ethnographic exhibitions on the same. These include ‘A Craftsman and his Craft: Iconography of Woodcarvings of Kumaon’ (1998); The Uttarakhand Development Report—Handicrafts (2003) ‘N. Roerich, Painter of the Himalayas — the Roerich Peace Pact & Banner of Peace’ (2009); Kashmiri Pandits, A Vintage Album: The Making of Modern India (2013). [1] [2]

Documentary

She also directed a documentary film They who walked Mountains (2001), about the erstwhile salt routes from present-day Uttarakhand (India) to western Tibet. [3]

Paintings

As a painter, Kak had a show titlted Ranikhet State of Mind (2016). Some of her art works are in private and public collections in India and Hong Kong. [2]

Awards

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumaon division</span> Administrative division in India

Kumaon is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Nepal, on the south by the state of Uttar Pradesh, and on the west by Garhwal. Kumaon comprises six districts of the state: Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhotiya</span> Tibetic peoples of the Transhimalayan region

Bhotiya or Bhot is an Indian and Nepali exonym lumping together various ethnic groups speaking Tibetic languages, as well as some groups speaking other Tibeto-Burman languages living in the Transhimalayan region that divides India from Tibet. The word Bhotiya comes from the classical Tibetan name for Tibet, བོད, bod. The Bhotiya speak numerous languages including Ladakhi. The Indian recognition of such language is Bhoti / Bhotia having Tibetan scripts and it lies in the Parliament of India to become one of the official languages through Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uttarakhand</span> State in northern India

Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a state in northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the northwest, Tibet to the north, Nepal to the east, Uttar Pradesh to the south and southeast, with a small part touching Haryana in the west. Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,566 km2 (20,682 sq mi), equal to 1.6 per cent of the total area of India. Dehradun serves as the state capital, with Nainital being the judicial capital. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The forest cover in the state is 45.4 per cent of the state's geographical area. The cultivable area is 16 per cent of the total geographical area. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, originate from the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumaoni language</span> Indo-Aryan language

Kumaoni is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by over two million people of the Kumaon region of the state of Uttarakhand in northern India As per 1961 survey there were 1,030,254 Kumaoni speakers in India. The number of speakers increased to 2.2 million in 2011.

Namik Glacier is situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bageshwar</span> Town in Uttarakhand, India

Bageshwar is a town and a municipal board in Bageshwar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of 470 km from the National Capital New Delhi and 332 km from the State Capital Dehradun. Bageshwar is known for its scenic environment, glaciers, rivers and temples. It is also the administrative headquarters of Bageshwar district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almora</span> Town in Uttarakhand, India

Almora is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalaya range. The Koshi (Kaushiki) and Suyal (Salmale) rivers flow along the city and snow-capped Himalayas can be seen in the background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baijnath, Uttarakhand</span> Town in Uttarakhand, India

Baijnath is a small town on the banks of the Gomati river in the Bageshwar district in Kumaon division of Uttarakhand, India. The place is most noted for its ancient temples, which have been recognized as Monuments of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India in Uttarakhand. Baijnath has been selected as one of the four places to be connected by the 'Shiva Heritage Circuit' in Kumaon, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Government of India.

The Katyuri kings were a medieval Hindu ruling clan of Khasha origin that ruled over the regions in Uttarakhand in India and western Nepal from 700 to 1200 CE. The founder of this dynasty, King Vasu Dev was originally a Buddhist ruler, but later he started following Hindu practices sometimes attributed to a vigorous campaign of Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shekhar Pathak</span>

Shekhar Pathak is a historian, editor, publisher, activist, and traveller from Uttarakhand, India. He is known for his extensive knowledge of the history of colonial and postcolonial social movements and contemporary environmental and social issues in Uttarakhand, and colonial exploration in the Himalayas and Tibet. He has also been engaged in activism for various social and environmental causes since the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Uttarakhand</span> State

Uttarakhand is a Himalayan state in North India, nestled between the Tibetan Plateau and the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The name, which means "northern land" or "section" or "northern part" in Sanskrit was made popular in the 80s as part of the wider statehood struggle within the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garhwali people</span> Indian ethno-linguistic group in the Garhwal region of the Indian state of Uttarakhand

The Garhwali people are an Indian ethnolinguistic group native to the Garhwal, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, who speak Garhwali, an Indo-Aryan language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumaoni people</span> Ethnolinguistic group of India and Nepal

Kumaonis, also known as Kumaiye and Kumain, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak Kumaoni as their first-language and live mostly in Kumaon division in the state of Uttarakhand in India and parts of the Sudurpashchim Province in far western Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Uttarakhand</span>

Uttarakhand has a total geographic area of 53,483 km2, of which 86% is mountainous and 65% is covered by forest. Most of the northern parts of the state are part of Greater Himalaya ranges, covered by the high Himalayan peaks and glaciers, while the lower foothills were densely forested till denuded by the British log merchants and later, after independence, by forest contractors. Recent efforts in reforestation, however, have been successful in restoring the situation to some extent. The unique Himalayan ecosystem plays host to many animals, plants and rare herbs. Two of India's great rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna take birth in the glaciers of Uttarakhand, and are fed by myriad lakes, glacial melts and streams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naukuchiatal</span> Fresh Water Lake in Uttarakhand, India

Naukuchiatal or "lake of nine corners" is a small hill station, near Nainital Town in Nainital district of Kumaon, Uttarakhand, India. The chairman is Devendra Singh chanotiya.

Yashodhar Mathpal is an Indian archaeologist, painter, curator, Gandhian and Rock art conservationist. He is most known for his study of cave art, especially in Bhimbetka rock shelters, Barechhina (Uttarakhand) and Kerala. He founded the Folk Culture Museum in Bhimtal, Nainital district, in 1983.

Devi Dutt Sharma is an Indian scholar and writer of Dogri literature, best known for his writings on Himalayan dialects, culture and ethnic history. The Government of India honored Sharma in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aipan art</span> Kumaoni folk art

Aipan is an established-ritualistic folk art originating from Kumaon in the Indian Himalayas. The art is done mainly during special occasions, household ceremonies and rituals. Practitioners believe that it invokes a divine power which brings about good fortune and deters evil. The art is special as it is done on empty walls, which are brick-red in color, called Geru. The actual art is done with a white paste made of rice flour. The art is frequent to floors and walls of Puja rooms and entrances of homes. It is also practiced mostly by Kumaoni women. The art form has great social, cultural and religious importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tshering Dorje</span> Indian cultural historian

Tshering Dorje was a cultural historian from Himachal Pradesh, India. He was regarded as an authority on the cultural traditions and histories of the Lahaul and Spiti district and some neighboring regions. He also played an important role in bringing about the construction of the 9.02 km-long, high-altitude Atal Tunnel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dodiya, Jaydipsinh (2006). Critical Essays on Indian Writing in English. Sarup & Sons. ISBN   978-81-7625-727-5.
  2. 1 2 "Manju Kak". thepunchmagazine.com. 31 May 2017.
  3. They Who Walked Mountains--Salt Trade with Tibet through Milam, Kumaon Himalayas. Manju Kak, 24 October 2020, retrieved 23 August 2023
  4. Dutt, Nirupama (23 June 2013). "Himalayan Odyssey - Reviewed by Nirupama Dutt". m.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. Alter, Stephen (15 July 2017). "Stephen Alter reviews In the Shadow of the Devi: Kumaon—Of a land, a people, a craft by Manju Kak". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 23 August 2023.