Oxford University Press India announces the launch of Memory, Metaphor, Mutations: Contemporary Art of India and Pakistan. At a splendid release function of the book, Smt. Gursharan Kaur said, 'I am delighted to have this opportunity to release this book on contemporary art of India and Pakistan. I congratulate the authors and also Oxford University Press for putting this collection together. I have greatly enjoyed looking through this impressive volume... .'

The richly illustrated volume, Memory, Metaphor, Mutations, reveals the contemporary art of India and Pakistan in all its vitality. It looks at the historical background and the development of art in both nations, with an emphasis on post-Partition trends in Pakistan, and the emergence of the Progressive Artists’ Group in India in the fifties. The work of women artists provides a counterpoint to authority and the established societal norms. Emerging artists with hybrid styles, blending traditional methods with contemporary trends are also highlighted. The authors, leading art experts in their respective countries, have put together this elegant and informed volume for the benefit of art connoisseurs, critics, and collectors worldwide.

Manzar Khan, Managing Director, Oxford University Press India, adds, 'As head of OUP India, I am filled with a deep sense of achievement and pride that we have published probably the first book of its kind on Indo-Pak art. I hope that this timely book will go a long way in fostering cultural ties between the two countries.'

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Ravi Dayal died suddenly on June 3 this year, at the age of 68. He worked with OUP India for 25 years. Ravi joined the Press in 1961, soon after his degree from University College, Oxford, as an editor and then was chief editor. He became General Manager in 1976 and continued in this role till his voluntary retirement from the Press in 1987.

During this period, he laid the ground for much of the Press’s Academic and Scholarly publishing in the 1970s and 1980s. Building on the work done by one of his predecessors R.E. Hawkins (who introduced Jim Corbett and Salim Ali to the Press), he expanded the Natural History list in collaboration with the Bombay Natural History Society. His most outstanding contribution was, however, in scholarly publishing where his insistence on quality and originality led to the development of distinctive lists in History (his own discipline) as well as in Sociology.

He also introduced the publishing of new drama and poetry in English and can be credited with adding several prominent 20th century poets and dramatists like Girish Karnad and Nissim Ezekiel to the OUP list. Distinguished academics who signed on during his tenure, including M.N. Srinivas, André Béteille, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and Ashis Nandy, continue to be OUP authors to date.

Even after leaving OUP to set up his own imprint for new fiction, Ravi Dayal Publisher, he continued to take an interest in the Press’s academic publishing and was often seen at OUP book launch parties in deep discussions with authors, old and new. In a conversation with me just before his passing he said with rare candour “OUP will always be my first love”.

Those who knew him at the Press will remember him as a highly passionate and painstaking editor who raised the standard of scholarly publishing in India. — Manzar Khan