For over five decades, Komal Kothari has journeyed through Rajasthan explring its rich cultural and musical traditions and developed an understanding of people's knowledge systems in a manner that is uniquely his own. In this book, Rustom attempts to map Kothari's vast experience, drawing on extended and freewheeling conversations with him. Interconnected reflections on land, water, agriculture, irrigation, livestock, sati and shrines are linked to forms of puppetry and the folk songs of the Langas and Manganiyars to create an epic narrative that celebrates folk culture and life

Rajasthan- the land of rajas and maharajas, forts and palaces, deserts and ballads, the book covers a wide spectrum encompassing the political, socio-culural and economic history of Rajasthan from the earliest times up-to the middle of the twentieth century, in a comprehensive yet easy- to- read text. A History of Rajasthan uses various archival, epigraphical, numismatical, architectural, archaeological and arthistory related information as well as the traditional narratives and oral and written chronicles to provide a general overview of the city

'Cultural History Of Modern India Edited By Dilip M. Menon Definitely Qualifies For Interesting Reading&The Different Approach Attempted Through The Book Indubitably Is A Fresh Endeavour For A Multidisciplinary Approach With Sociologists, Art Historians And Music Theorists Working Within A Historical Paradigm.' The Statesman, 9 December 2006 The History Of Modern India Has Been Narrated Largely In Terms Of The Nationalist Movement, Personalities And What Has Been Seen As The 'High' Politics Of The State. Recent Shifts In History Writing Have Tried To Bring In Subordinated Histories Of Regions And Of Groups. We Are Moving Towards A Wider Understanding Of Politics, History And Of The Ordinary People Who Make History. This Collection Tries To Push The Emerging Paradigm Further By Moving Away From Conventional Notions Of The History Of The Nation And Indeed Of The Political. The Six Essays In This Collection Present Original And Pioneering Forays In The Study Of Cricket, Oral History, Gender Studies, Film, Popular Culture And Indian Classical Music. Whether Looking At Issues Of Caste On The Seemingly Level Playing Field Of Cricket In Early Twentieth Century India; Or How A Nineteenth Century Housewife Comes To Pen The First Autobiography By An Indian Woman; Calendar Art Reflecting Deeper Notions Of Religion And Community; Or How An Idea Of Pure Classical Music Faces The Challenge Of Technology, These Essays Show How Ideas Of Self, Community And Art Are Formed Within A Larger Politics. Moreover, Culture Far From Being A Refuge From The Political Is Also The Space Within Which Politics Comes To Be Worked Out.

Thanks to ever-greater digital connectivity, interest in oral traditions has grown beyond that of researcher and research subject to include a widening pool of global users. When new publics consume, manipulate and connect with field recordings and digital cultural archives, their involvement raises important practical and ethical questions. This volume explores the political repercussions of studying marginalised languages; the role of online tools in ensuring responsible access to sensitive cultural materials; and ways of ensuring that when digital documents are created, they are not fossilised as a consequence of being archived. Fieldwork reports by linguists and anthropologists in three continents provide concrete examples of overcoming barriers -- ethical, practical and conceptual -- in digital documentation projects. Oral Literature In The Digital Age is an essential guide and handbook for ethnographers, field linguists, community activists, curators, archivists, librarians, and all who connect with indigenous communities in order to document and preserve oral traditions.

Heritage is a prized cultural commodity in the marketing of tourism destinations. Particular aspects of heritage are often more actively promoted, with others played down. The representation of heritage in tourism as static and timeless, derived since time immemorial from a distant past, is seductive. In Asia, a major part of the tourism market lies in the sale and consumption of highly orientalized images and versions of culture and history. In India’s marketing discourse, the state of Rajasthan symbolizes the nation in its heritage-laden, traditional and most authentic form. These images draw heavily on the British period in India - the Raj. In one sense, this vision of Rajasthan is ennobling, highlighting moments of cultural pride. In another sense, it demeans, by omitting and obscuring salient features of contemporary life. This fascinating book explores the cultural politics of tourism through interdisciplinary perspectives. Carol E. Henderson and Maxine Weisgrau demonstrate that tourism heritage privileges elite histories that recapitulate colonial relationships, compelling non-elites to collude in these narratives of subordination even as they advance their own alternative visions of history.

The Kaavad of Rajasthan is a portable shrine with multiple doors that fold into themselves. The Kaavadiya Bhat or the storyteller journeys with this brightly painted wooden box to the homes of his patrons, to recite their genealogies and regale them with the stories of the pantheon of deities painted on the shrine. It is a tradition that binds communities in common memory and mythology. Exploring a panel at a time of this curious mnemonic device, Nina Sabnani leads us on a journey to uncover the myths and mysteries of this unique oral-storytelling tradition.