Owners of the Kama Sutra ought to hold onto their copies — the world's most famous guide to sex is getting a makeover and will no longer include the, err, instructional illustrations.
A new edition of the ancient Hindu guide will be a pocket-sized "lifestyle guide for the modern man and woman", with a focus on love and relationships and there are definitely no pictures.
"Until now the Kama Sutra has always been presented as a scandalous, '60s, hippie-influenced pornographic sex book," said Alexis Kirschbaum, editorial director at publisher Penguin Books.
"But it was originally written as advice to a courtly gentleman on how to live a well-rounded life, not just a passionate life.
The book is being written by Indian scholar and translator AND Haksar.
"The common perception of the Kama Sutra is that it is only about sex, but any honest reading of the book shows that it is about lifestyle and social relations between human beings," Haksar said.
"My effort with the new translation has been to stay as close as possible to the original text but to present it in a contemporary language which reflects the contemporary issues within the book."
The new edition will be published in February next year.
HOME