The book, Tarini and Tar-Vir, attempts to analyse the boat motifs found on the unique and exclusive Devi (‘Tarini’) and Vir (‘Tar-Vir’) sculptures located away from the coast, along the banks of River Mhadei, and its tributaries, in the forested, hilly sub-Ghat talukas of Sattari and Sanguem in the Indian state of Goa.

These unique ‘speciality’ Devis of Goa are either standing or seated in a boat, or portray the boat as a howdah or have the boat carved on the pedestal. The sculptures of the Vir, with the boat motif etched on its pedestal, have also been analysed in the book.

The book includes maps, a rare collection of over 170 photographs of the deities and rare cultural forms of Sattari and Sanguem, and also an exhaustive bibliography.

Printed on high quality art paper, this elegantly designed book of “coffee table” looks and rich intellectual merit, will certainly evoke considerable interest in students and researchers of maritime history, in general, and of the history of Goa and India in particular, and will, most definitely, serve as stimulating reading for the general reader.

The book, Tarini and Tar-Vir: The Unique Boat Deities of Goa, deals with an ethnoarchaeological analysis of very unique sculptures of the Devi and the Vir that are not found anywhere else in India, or the rest of the world. Hence, the book would be a must-read for scholars of ancient and early medieval history, history of Konkan and the Belgaum-Dharwad region, maritime history, art history, commercial history, Buddhist and Jaina studies, Hinduism, history of religion, Indian culture, heritage studies, iconography, sculptures, indology, museology, ship-building, navigation and related subjects. It would be a welcome addition to the collections in research centres and institutes of higher learning, University and college libraries, museums and archives, institutes of indological studies and private collections.

Published by Goa Institute for Culture and Research in History (GOINCARH), the book is available at major bookstores (Rs. 500) in Goa, and from the publisher at: goincarh@gmail.com ISBN no. is 978-81-906485-0-9.