This is the first book which provides an engaging and insightful narrative on the life of a geographer in India. The author introspects on her own experiences and engagements with the discipline and explores the life and works of twenty-four other geographers from India. The volume documents and acknowledges the commitment of geographers to life, teaching, and the subject of geography. Collectively these provide an insight into the growth and expansion of the discipline in the country. The book offers critical perspectives on the changing disciplinary practices within the field of geography by highlighting the major achievements and teaching methods of geographers. It highlights the diverse interests, themes, and problems in geography which these geographers pursued while also influencing the lives of other researchers and professionals. This book will be of immense interest to students, teachers, and researchers of geography and social anthropology and readers interested in the lives of these influential educators and academicians.

This is the first book which provides an engaging and insightful narrative on the life of a geographer in India. The author introspects on her own experiences and engagements with the discipline and explores the life and works of twenty-four other geographers from India. The volume documents and acknowledges the commitment of geographers to life, teaching, and the subject of geography. Collectively these provide an insight into the growth and expansion of the discipline in the country. The book offers critical perspectives on the changing disciplinary practices within the field of geography by highlighting the major achievements and teaching methods of geographers. It highlights the diverse interests, themes, and problems in geography which these geographers pursued while also influencing the lives of other researchers and professionals. This book will be of immense interest to students, teachers, and researchers of geography and social anthropology and readers interested in the lives of these influential educators and academicians.

This book is the first of its kind to chart the terrain of contemporary India's many place names. It explores different 'place connections', investigates how places are named and renamed, and looks at the forces that are remaking the future place name map of India. Lucid and accessible, this book explores the bonds between names, places and people through a unique amalgamation of toponomy, history, mythology and political studies within a geographical expression. This volume addresses questions on the status and value of place names, their interpretation and classification. It brings to the fore the connections between place names and the cultural, geographical and historical significations they are associated with. This will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of geography, law, politics, history and sociology, and will also be of interest to policy-makers, administrators and the common reader interested in India.

What makes Darjeeling tea, Pashmina shawl, Monsooned Malabar Arabica coffee and Chanderi saree special? Why is it that some goods derive their uniqueness through their inherent linkage to a place? In a pioneering study, this book explores this intriguing question in the Indian context across 199 registered goods with geographical indications, linked with their place of origin. It argues that the origin of these goods is attributed to a distinctive ecology that brews in a particular place. The attributes of their origin further endorse their unique geographical indications through legal channels. Drawing from a variety of disciplines including geography, history, sociology, handicrafts, paintings, and textiles, the author also examines the Geographical Indications Act of 1999, and shows how it has created a scope to identify, register and protect those goods, be they natural, agricultural, or manufactured. The work presents a new perspective on the indigenous diversities and offers an original understanding of the geography and history of India. Lucid and accessible, with several illustrative maps, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers in the social sciences, environmental studies, development studies, law, trade and history.

This book is the first of its kind to chart the terrain of contemporary India's many place names. It explores different 'place connections', investigates how places are named and renamed, and looks at the forces that are remaking the future place name map of India. Lucid and accessible, this book explores the bonds between names, places and people through a unique amalgamation of toponomy, history, mythology and political studies within a geographical expression. This volume addresses questions on the status and value of place names, their interpretation and classification. It brings to the fore the connections between place names and the cultural, geographical and historical significations they are associated with. This will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of geography, law, politics, history and sociology, and will also be of interest to policy-makers, administrators and the common reader interested in India.

What makes Darjeeling tea, Pashmina shawl, Monsooned Malabar Arabica coffee and Chanderi saree special? Why is it that some goods derive their uniqueness through their inherent linkage to a place? In a pioneering study, this book explores this intriguing question in the Indian context across 199 registered goods with geographical indications, linked with their place of origin. It argues that the origin of these goods is attributed to a distinctive ecology that brews in a particular place. The attributes of their origin further endorse their unique geographical indications through legal channels. Drawing from a variety of disciplines including geography, history, sociology, handicrafts, paintings, and textiles, the author also examines the Geographical Indications Act of 1999, and shows how it has created a scope to identify, register and protect those goods, be they natural, agricultural, or manufactured. The work presents a new perspective on the indigenous diversities and offers an original understanding of the geography and history of India. Lucid and accessible, with several illustrative maps, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers in the social sciences, environmental studies, development studies, law, trade and history.

"Disasters freely roam and reign in India. This is no longer the country where its people can claim a safe living. What is the aetiology that brews disasters? Which are the processes that perpetuate this rude stream of life? Who are at the sharp edge of disasters? What explains the spatial manifestation of disasters? Addressing these and similar other issues, the studies in this book demyth the popular belief that disasters are acts of nature. Mapping the space of disasters the book lays its foundation on a bedrock of facts that includes over 50 maps and almost 100 tables. Responding to a felt need to reach out to the victims of disasters in India, the studies take on the city and its dweller, the industry and its worker, the rail network and its passengers. The book does not claim that every Indian is a victim of disaster but it does reiterate the strong potential and eventuality of their becoming one. The grim reality exposed is that we the people of India have converted India into a land ensnared with disasters. CONTENTS 1. A Grim Reality 2. Delhi: A Disaster Prone National Capital 3. Greater Mumbai: Teaming with Disasters 4. Kolkata: A City on the Brink 5. Bhuj Earthquake: Rural-Urban Differentiation 6. Problematic City Space: Relocation of Hazardous Industries 7. Indian Railways: On Wheels of Death"