Culture and power in Banaras : community, performance, and environment, 1800-1980

This collection of ten essays on Banaras, one of the largest urban centers in India's eastern Gangetic plain, is united by a common interest in examining everyday activities in order to learn about shared values and motivations, processes of identity formation, and self-conscious constructions of community. Part One examines the performance genres that have drawn audiences from throughout the city. Part Two focuses on the areas of neighborhood, leisure, and work, examining the processes by which urban residents use a sense of identity to organize their activities and bring meaning to their lives. Part Three links these experiences within Banaras to a series of "larger worlds," ranging from language movements and political protests to disease ecology and regional environmental impact. Banaras is a complex world, with differences in religion, caste, class, language, and popular culture; the diversity of these essays embraces those differences. It is a collection that will interest scholars and students of South Asia as well as anyone interested in comparative discussions of popular culture. Annotation. This collection of ten essays on Banaras, one of the largest urban centers in India's eastern Gangetic plain, is united by a common interest in examining everyday activities in order to learn about shared values and motivations, processes of identity formation, and self-conscious constructions of community. Part One examines the performance genres that have drawn audiences from throughout the city. Part Two focuses on the areas of neighborhood, leisure, and work, examining the processes by which urban residents use a sense of identity to organize their activities and bring meaning to their lives. Part Three links these experiences within Banaras to a series of "larger worlds," ranging from language movements and political protests to disease ecology and regional environmental impact. Banaras is a complex world, with differences in religion, caste, class, language, and popular culture; the diversity of these essays embraces those differences. It is a collection that will interest scholars and students of South Asia as well as anyone interested in comparative discussions of popular culture Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 3 ISBN 0-520-08094-7......Page 4 CONTENTS......Page 5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 7 PREFACE......Page 11 NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION......Page 17 INTRODUCTION......Page 19 PART ONE......Page 41 Introduction to Part 1......Page 43 One......Page 52 Two......Page 80 Three......Page 111 PART TWO......Page 133 Introduction to Part 2......Page 135 Four......Page 148 Five......Page 165 PART THREE......Page 189 Introduction to Part 3......Page 191 Six......Page 197 Seven......Page 221 Eight......Page 247 Nine......Page 264 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......Page 287 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 289 INDEX......Page 305 This collection of ten essays on Banaras, one of the largest urban centres in India's eastern Gangetic plain, is united by a common interest in examining everyday activities in order to learn about shared values and motivations.