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Book of Memory: Confessions and Reflections
Der große Psychoanalytiker Sudhir Kakar legt in diesem Band sein eigenes Leben "auf die Couch". Die tiefen und bleibenden Eindrücke, die das Leben in eine andere Bahn bringen, die Konflikte in der Familie, das Verblassen mancher Gefühle und die ständige Suche nach einem Ausgleich zwischen inneren Gewissheiten und äußeren Notwendigkeiten verwebt er zu einem beeindruckenden Selbstporträt.
Wir verfolgen den Weg aus der Geborgenheit einer indischen Mittelschichtsfamilie im Punjab, damals noch Teil des britischen Kolonialreichs, sehen die seelischen Verwerfungen, die die gewaltsame Ablösung Pakistans hinterließ, erreichen das Deutschland der 1960er Jahre in Hamburg, Mainz und Mannheim und verfolgen schließlich die Karriere, die sich anbahnt, als Sudhir Kakar auf Erik Erikson trifft und sich unter seiner Ägide zu einem der großen Kulturvermittler zwischen Indien und dem Westen entwickelt. Sudhir Kakars Erinnerungen und Reflexionen erhellen nicht nur die Entfaltung der inneren Welt eines indischen Psychoanalytikers, sondern gewähren uns auch Einsichten in die tieferen Schichten der Auseinandersetzung zwischen den Kulturen.
Wir verfolgen den Weg aus der Geborgenheit einer indischen Mittelschichtsfamilie im Punjab, damals noch Teil des britischen Kolonialreichs, sehen die seelischen Verwerfungen, die die gewaltsame Ablösung Pakistans hinterließ, erreichen das Deutschland der 1960er Jahre in Hamburg, Mainz und Mannheim und verfolgen schließlich die Karriere, die sich anbahnt, als Sudhir Kakar auf Erik Erikson trifft und sich unter seiner Ägide zu einem der großen Kulturvermittler zwischen Indien und dem Westen entwickelt. Sudhir Kakars Erinnerungen und Reflexionen erhellen nicht nur die Entfaltung der inneren Welt eines indischen Psychoanalytikers, sondern gewähren uns auch Einsichten in die tieferen Schichten der Auseinandersetzung zwischen den Kulturen.
- GenresPsychology
318 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2012
11 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Sudhir Kakar
55 books83 followersSudhir Kakar is a psychoanalyst and writer who lives in Goa, India.
Kakar took his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Gujarat University, his Master’s degree (Diplom-Kaufmann) in business economics from Mannheim in Germany and his doctorate in economics from Vienna before beginning his training in psychoanalysis at the Sigmund-Freud Institute in Frankfurt, Germany in 1971. Between 1966 and 1971, Sudhir Kakar was a Lecturer in General Education at Harvard University, Research Associate at Harvard Business School and Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
After returning to India in 1975 , Dr. Kakar set up a practice as a psychoanalyst in Delhi where he was also the Head of Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology. He has been 40th Anniversary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Study of World Religions at Harvard (2001-02), a visiting professor at the universities of Chicago (1989-93), McGill (1976-77), Melbourne (1981), Hawaii (1998) and Vienna (1974-75), INSEAD, France (1994-2013). He has been a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Study), Berlin, Centre for Advanced Study of Humanities, University of Cologne and is Honorary Professor, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam.
A leading figure in the fields of cultural psychology and the psychology of religion, as well as a novelist, Dr. Kakar’s person and work have been profiled in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Neue Zuricher Zeitung, Die Zeit and Le Nouvel Observateur, which listed him as one of the world's 25 major thinkers while the German weekly Die Zeit portrayed Sudhir Kakar as one of the 21 important thinkers for the 21st century. Dr. Kakar's many honors include the Kardiner Award of Columbia University, Boyer Prize for Psychological Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association, Germany ’s Goethe Medal, Rockefeller Residency, McArthur Fellowship Bhabha, Nehru and ICSSR National Fellowships and Distinguished Service Award of Indo-American Psychiatric Association. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Board of Sigmund Freud Archives in the Library of Congress, Washington and the Academie Universelle des Culture, France. In February 2012, he was conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the country's highest civilian order.
Sudhir Kakar’s twenty books of non-fiction and six of fiction, include The Inner World (now in its 16th printing since its first publication in 1978), Shamans, Mystics and Doctors , (with J.M. Ross ) Tales of Love, Sex and Danger,Intimate Relations, The Analyst and the Mystic, The Colors of Violence,Culture and Psyche, (with K.Kakar) The Indians: Portrait of a People, (with Wendy Doniger), a new translation of the Kamasutra for Oxford world Classics, Mad and Divine: Spirit and Psyche in the Modern world and Young Tagore: The makings of a genius. His fifth novel, The Devil Take Love will be published by Penguin-Viking in August 2015.
Sudhir with Katharina Poggendorf Kakar
Sudhir Kakar is married to Katharina, a writer and a scholar of comparative religions and artist. He has two children, a son Rahul who is in financial services, and a daughter Shveta, a lawyer, both in New York.
Kakar took his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Gujarat University, his Master’s degree (Diplom-Kaufmann) in business economics from Mannheim in Germany and his doctorate in economics from Vienna before beginning his training in psychoanalysis at the Sigmund-Freud Institute in Frankfurt, Germany in 1971. Between 1966 and 1971, Sudhir Kakar was a Lecturer in General Education at Harvard University, Research Associate at Harvard Business School and Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
After returning to India in 1975 , Dr. Kakar set up a practice as a psychoanalyst in Delhi where he was also the Head of Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology. He has been 40th Anniversary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Study of World Religions at Harvard (2001-02), a visiting professor at the universities of Chicago (1989-93), McGill (1976-77), Melbourne (1981), Hawaii (1998) and Vienna (1974-75), INSEAD, France (1994-2013). He has been a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, Wissenschaftskolleg (Institute of Advanced Study), Berlin, Centre for Advanced Study of Humanities, University of Cologne and is Honorary Professor, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam.
A leading figure in the fields of cultural psychology and the psychology of religion, as well as a novelist, Dr. Kakar’s person and work have been profiled in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Neue Zuricher Zeitung, Die Zeit and Le Nouvel Observateur, which listed him as one of the world's 25 major thinkers while the German weekly Die Zeit portrayed Sudhir Kakar as one of the 21 important thinkers for the 21st century. Dr. Kakar's many honors include the Kardiner Award of Columbia University, Boyer Prize for Psychological Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association, Germany ’s Goethe Medal, Rockefeller Residency, McArthur Fellowship Bhabha, Nehru and ICSSR National Fellowships and Distinguished Service Award of Indo-American Psychiatric Association. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Board of Sigmund Freud Archives in the Library of Congress, Washington and the Academie Universelle des Culture, France. In February 2012, he was conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the country's highest civilian order.
Sudhir Kakar’s twenty books of non-fiction and six of fiction, include The Inner World (now in its 16th printing since its first publication in 1978), Shamans, Mystics and Doctors , (with J.M. Ross ) Tales of Love, Sex and Danger,Intimate Relations, The Analyst and the Mystic, The Colors of Violence,Culture and Psyche, (with K.Kakar) The Indians: Portrait of a People, (with Wendy Doniger), a new translation of the Kamasutra for Oxford world Classics, Mad and Divine: Spirit and Psyche in the Modern world and Young Tagore: The makings of a genius. His fifth novel, The Devil Take Love will be published by Penguin-Viking in August 2015.
Sudhir with Katharina Poggendorf Kakar
Sudhir Kakar is married to Katharina, a writer and a scholar of comparative religions and artist. He has two children, a son Rahul who is in financial services, and a daughter Shveta, a lawyer, both in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 3, 2015
Like Sudhir Kakar, I had vision that 'being psychoanalyst' is perfect career even when one is old aged. But when he quits as psychotherapist and retires to forest to spend time for writing, I relate to him as being indian and our roots. After family stage, one goes to woods. Because if person chooses to retire to psychoanalyst then before death there is nothing. Sudhir Kakar's life allows me to see beyond psychoanalysis. what he does at retirement, i try to do the same in my vacations or semester break. With minimal contact and appointment with outside world, i isolate myself in a room and write, fiction and non fiction, and research work.
His reflection on life span includes major theme such as caste system in India, British rule in india, partition of india into india and pakisthan, the loss and love of mother, independency and individuality in indian culture, identity crisis, life in germany as student, and mostly about loves and eros.
This book for everyone who is interested in lives of people, that can provide insights into indian culture through urban upper middle class lens.
His reflection on life span includes major theme such as caste system in India, British rule in india, partition of india into india and pakisthan, the loss and love of mother, independency and individuality in indian culture, identity crisis, life in germany as student, and mostly about loves and eros.
This book for everyone who is interested in lives of people, that can provide insights into indian culture through urban upper middle class lens.
May 15, 2020
3.5 stars
September 1, 2025
I haven't read a memoir in a while, but this one is brilliant to get out of such a rut. A well considered and honest autobiography that is sprinkled with psychoanalytic theory, with historical and mythological reflections
February 5, 2016
I had only vaguely heard of Sudhir Kakar before picking up this book from Lucknow's Ram Advani Bookstore during a recent trip to the city. Kakar is one of India's foremost psychoanalyst and the person responsible for bringing Freud's science to India in the mid 70s.
The memoir was an illuminating read and the most memorable chapters are those dealing with his association with the legendary Eric Ericcson and his influence in shaping Kakar's foray into psychoanalysis. . The Delhi days and the association with JNU, IITD, CSDS etc sparkle with anecdotes and small incidents which in retrospect makes one ponder on the vissicitudes of life.
As expected from a disciple of Freud, considerable amount of space and analysis has been devoted to the influence of his father and other erotic experience of his life.
A fulfilling and enriching read.
The memoir was an illuminating read and the most memorable chapters are those dealing with his association with the legendary Eric Ericcson and his influence in shaping Kakar's foray into psychoanalysis. . The Delhi days and the association with JNU, IITD, CSDS etc sparkle with anecdotes and small incidents which in retrospect makes one ponder on the vissicitudes of life.
As expected from a disciple of Freud, considerable amount of space and analysis has been devoted to the influence of his father and other erotic experience of his life.
A fulfilling and enriching read.
January 3, 2017
took me quite some time to read it...my 1st experience with autobiographies.. but definitely not the last one though!
books like these make me feel amazed and wonder and appreciate the great people and their life journeys!
books like these make me feel amazed and wonder and appreciate the great people and their life journeys!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews