DR. SUSHMA JANSARI
Tabor Foundation Curator of the South Asia Collections, British Museum

Books for sale following lecture:
The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra by Vᾱtsyᾱna, edited by Lance Dane
Art and Archaeology of Ancient India: Earliest Times to the Sixth Century by Naman P. Ahuja

It’s not what you think! Two thousand years ago, the Kama Sutra, a Sanskrit work on an idealized way of life was written, containing advice ranging from friendship and equality of women to decorating tips as well as…sex. To cast the Kama Sutra as merely a sex manual is to miss the point of the text–it is one of the world’s best-known but most misunderstood works.

While dispelling misinterpretations, Dr. Jansari will place the Kama Sutra in context and show how it has influenced Indian culture through the centuries. Specifically, she will explore the role, agency, and representation of women in ancient India by looking at, and decoding, some of the most important and beautiful surviving sculptures and reliquaries discovered by archaeology in South Asia. The truth is far more intriguing than the cliché.

TICKETS
Admission: $5.00 – Member. $10 – General.

Tickets available by phone at 713-639-7771, online at www.mfah.org/ArchNow, or at MFAH box office.
Use the code AN5OFF to obtain member pricing.

Reception, 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm, Just outside Brown Auditorium, the Caroline Wiess Law Bldg
Celebrate South Asia with small bites from Pondicheri.