Mother of my heart, daughter of my dreams
Subtitle: Kālī and Umā in the devotional poetry of Bengal
By: Rachel Fell McDermott.
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2001
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 437
Subjects: Devotional poetry, Bengali -- Translations into English.; Kālī (Hindu deity) -- Poetry.; Uma (Hindu deity) -- Poetry.
Description: "This book chronicles the rise and subsequent fortunes of goddess worship, or Saktism, in the region of Bengal from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present. The primary documents are lyrics directed to the goddesses Kali and Uma, beginning with those of the first of the Sakta lyricist-devotees, Ramprasad Sen (ca. 1718-1775) and Kamalakanta Bhattacarya (ca. 1769-1821), and continuing up through those of the gifted poet Kaji Najrul Islam (1899-1976).

Rachel Fell McDermott has used extensive research from primary historical texts as well as from secondary Bengali and English source materials. She places the advent of the Sakta lyric in its historical context and charts the vicissitudes over time of this form of goddess worship, including the nineteenth-century resurgence of Saktism in the cause of Nationalist politics. The main theme of the book is the way in which the images of the two goddesses evolved over the centuries. Kali is sweetened and democratized over time.

Much of her fierce, wild, dangerous, and bloody character disappears, as she is increasingly seen as a compassionate and loving divine mother to her children. Uma, for her part, is gradually transformed from the gentle and remote wife of Shiva to the adored daughter of Bengali parents, increasingly humanized and colored with regional Bengali characteristics."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 411-422) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Part I The Lives and Contexts of Sakta Poets; title: 1. The Historical Background in Bengal 15; title: The Rise of Zamindaris in Late Mughal Bengal 17; title: The Maratha Raids 20; title: The Expansion of British Power 22; title: The Famine of 1770 25; title: Zamindaris and British Policies in the Late Eighteenth and Early; title: Nineteenth Centuries 26; title: Zamindari Patronage of Religion and the Arts 28; title: Why Sakta Poetry, Now? 31; title: The Nouveaux Riches of Calcutta and the Place of Sakta Poetry 33; title: I Building Fences with Kali: Ranprasad Sen and the Popularization; title: of the Tantric Goddess 37; title: Searching for Ramprasid 37; title: Manuscripts and Monuments: The History of Ramprasad's "Recovery" 40; title: Creating the Composite Portrait:Three Case Studies 63; title: Making Inferences 78; title: 3. "Born in Ranprasad's Line to Revive Bhakti": Sadhaka; title: Kamalakanta 84; title: Ambushed by Dacoits with Kamalakanta 84; title: Rajas, Citizens, and Devotees Unite: Preserving Kamalakanta; title: for Posterity 85; title: Charting Kamalakanta's Changes:Three Case Studies 107; title: Historical Judgments Revisited 122; title: 4. Inheritors of Tradition: Floating in the Sakta Stream 128; title: Wigs or No Wigs? The Guises of Kial's Bards 128; title: "Like Ramprasid and Kamalakanta": Literary Heirs 131; title: More Moons and Meat:The Legacy of Bengali Sikta Sadhakas 145; title: Where are Kl5's Daughters? 147; title: Selecting the Best Representatives of Sakta "Pastness" 154; title: Part II The Changing Genre of Sfkta Poetry; title: 5. Setting the Literary and Religious Scene in Eighteenth-Century; title: Bengal 161; title: On Whose Shoulders? Textual Precedents for Eighteenth-Century; title: Innovators 162; title: Temples, Pijas, and Image Veneration: Ritual Resources 172; title: 6. Dancing on the Heart-Lotus: Kili and the Ramprasads of; title: Bengali Literature 176; title: Texts, Editions, and Musical Notations 176; title: The KalT-centered Poetry (Syimi-safigfta) 178; title: The Uma-centered Poetry (Uma-sangita) 200; title: A Mellowing Poet? 202; title: 7. Keeping the Legacy Alive: Kamalakanta Bhattacarya and the; title: akta Padavali Tradition 204; title: Texts, Editions, and Musical Notations 204; title: The Kail-centered Poetry (Syaim-safigfta) 205; title: The Umi-centered Poetry (Umi-safgita) 224; title: Ramprasid and Kamalakinta: Evolving Trends in the Genre 230; title: 8. "Ma, Come and Stay Awhile": Kall and Uma in Eighteenth-; title: to Twentieth-Century Bengali Poetry 232; title: The Intersection of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Bengali Literature; title: with Interest in the Goddess 232; title: Carrying the Tune: NewVoices for Kai 237; title: Pining for Uma, Bringing Her Home: Songs to the Mountain's; title: Daughter 275; title: Conclusion: Bhakti's Balm in Bengal 286; title: Tantra and Bhakti:The Pendulum Swings 286; title: Interpreting Bhakti's Role 292; title: The Changing of the Gods in South Asian Religious Traditions 298; title: GLOSSARY 305; title: NOTES 317; title: BIBLIOGRAPHY 411; title: INDEX 423.