HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE: Revisiting Professor G.C. Pande’s Thoughts and Works

Endowed with multifaceted intellectual prowess, Prof. G.C. Pande ranks among the foremost original Indological thinkers of this century. Almost all the branches of Indology, history, culture, art, philosophy, poetics and aesthetics have become richer by the touch of his creative and sharp intellect. The scope and scale of his output have no doubt been encyclopedic, but the word ‘encyclopedic’ does not say all about the nature of his works. Several minds expressed in several themes make an encyclopedia; in the case of Prof. Pande, however, there is no mistaking the same mind expressing itself in the several themes he takes up. Extraordinary range and diversity are not the most important aspects of his contributions; more significant is the basically unified outlook or vision that he brings to bear upon the diverse fields of his studies. Most of Pandeji’s works despite covering various areas seem to be parts of a larger whole. And from that point of view, he may be regarded as a system builder. This raises him to the rank of a thinker, a philosopher with a certain point of view besides that of a great scholar. The present collection of essays will serve as a reasonable introduction to Prof. Pande’s interest and expertise and will provide useful insights into his mind and thoughts. The range and depth of Prof. Pande’s scholarship reflected in a variety of works covering widely diverse fields are truly remarkable. The present volume, we hope, will offer a fair glimpse of the wide reach of his interest and the value of his works. pp. x + 282.