Encountering the Indian : Contemporary European Images of india/edited Vibha Maurya. 1999, 157 p., $24. ISBN 81-7305-162-3.
Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction/Vibha Maurya. 2. Edward John Thompson: grasping the colony/Shashi Raina. 3. The English curator and Buddhist Doctor: Charles Fabri's identities in India/Margit Koves. 4. India mirrored in contemporary French writings/Radha Sharma. 5. Bridging differences? Translation anthologies: constructing the "Other"/Chitra Harshvardhan. 6. Orientalism redifined; studies of Salaam Bombay and Mississippi Masala/Ranjani Mazumdar. 7. Franz Osten: from Munich cinema to "Bombay Talkies"/Gerhard Koch. (Translated from German by Jyoti Sabharwal). 8. Subjected non-subjects: "Indians" of German cinema and TV screen/Brigittee Schulze. 9. Oriental images in contemporary Spanish writings and politics of publication/Vibha Maurya.
From the Preface: "Encountering the Indian (Contemporary European images of India) is a collection of articles and contributions from different disciplines and different parts of the world and come after several years of debates around the construction of image of the Indian other in contemporary Europe. This volume brings together varied experiences and views bound in a common frame of reference and makes an attempt to reread those cultural texts, which emerged during India's freedom struggle or after the dismantling of the empire. The texts included, are drawn from literary and sociological fields, travelogues and electronic media including films and documentaries. Image is not viewed here in its meaning of representing an object/person as an optical reflection. It may also serve as a theme, motif or symbol and is free from any notable consistency. European Indian images are unstable and anamorphic, therefore seems to consolidate the image of the European self."