ISBN: 8171696600 Publisher:Commonwealth Book Format: Hard Bound Language: English Physical Description: 344pages Year of Publication: 2001
The Ambasthas constitute one of the twelve sub-castes of Kayasthas of the country. They are numerically small and mostly confined to the ertwhile state of Bihar. However, many people do not know the history that the Ambastha Kayasthas were found at various parts of the country but perhaps they have got assimilated with the local people. This study deals with the search of the genesis and development of a particular branch of Ambastha Kayastha family with Puraiyaras Khasghar, which is a family (lineage) of the founding ancestor, Sri Mangal Singh of village Nejatpur under Nawadah district in Bihar. It covers seven generations from the end to eighteenth century to the present time. It is a journey from the rural to the urban way of life. The events of the intervening period have a large range of interesting and penetrating socio-cultural aspects, decadant Kaithi script of the Kayasthas, some fascinating life-styles and dynamics. Anthropology has a tradition of life-history but this study covering about two hundred years is certainly unique. It was narrated by Sri Sheo Nandan Sahay (Lawyer) and completed over a prolonged period (1952-75) but his long indulgence was well worth as he could go into the depth very leisurely and retrieve valuable materials. The author helped in the narration and subsequently he reorganized the script, modified it, abridged at some places, added supplementary and fresh information, comments and finally reinterpreted it on an anthropological level. This book has bearing with sociological, historical and psychological dimensions of the study and Ambastha Kayastha family in particular and Kayasthas in general.
K.N. Sahay Dr. K.N. Sahay did his M.A. in Anthropology from Bihar University and was awarded Ph.D. by Ranchi University. Earlier, he was awarded a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Inc., New York, to conduct his field-worl for the Doctoral thesis. at the moment, Dr. Sahay is Professor of Social Anthropology in the U.G.C.'s Centre of Advanced Study in Anthropology, Ranchi University. He was invited to Tokyo to join a orientation course in film-making by Nippon Audio-visual Production (NAV). Earlier, he edited and published a bioannual Visual Anthropology Bulletin (1972-82), and is still editing the Journal of social Research. Dr. Sahay is the author of more than seventy research papers published in various professional journals of India and abroad.
Current Reviews: 1
by Kumar Jitendra Jyoti
Date Added: Friday 13 March, 2009
As written about this book in brief, I wish to know about the cost and process to buy the same.
Search: 
[5 of 5 Stars!]
