Prof. Somnath Wakhlu has basically been a teacher of English literature but while working in the Amar Mahal Museum and Library, Jammu for the last two and half decades his mind got yoked to many devotions of Jammu and Kashmir art and architecture, history and culture, mysticism and literature. And he passes from one devotion to the other with athletic ease. The present book is divided into two parts: one is concerned with Jammu and the other with Kashmir. Then each part is subdivided into various sections; first, art and architecture; second, history and third, literature. Essays on art and architecture: this section attempts at a descriptive and critical study of ancient monuments of Jammu and Kashmir. The author has detailed the geographic and scenic beauty of the places with actuality and narrated the historical background in quite a succinct manner. He has examined the religious aspect and then in the case of paintings his analytical faculty marks the critical one. Historical Essays: In this section Prof. Wakhlu writes about the historical personages with vivid dramatic effectiveness without sacrificing the historical accuracy. He has written only about the great and noble historical figures ignoring many others of less significance. Literary Essays: In the domain of literature he indeed has self-confidence and ease. Apart from English he also had the opportunity to study both the Dogri and Kashmiri literature in depth. In this section he has taken care to include only a few chosen representative poets. By a slightest reflection on this work one can feel that he possesses a firm sense of composition, a sweep, and compact and delightful verve and eloquence.
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