The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India is a four-volume ethnological study of the caste system written by Robert Vane Russell. The book is the result of the arrangement made by India's Government for the preparation of an ethnological account, dealing with the inhabitants of each of the principal Provinces of India. Although being a four-volume study, the study is basically divided in two parts. The first part, consisting of volume one, contains articles on the religions and sects of the people of the Central Provinces and the glossary of minor castes and other articles, synonyms, subcastes, titles and names of exogamous septs or clans. The second part, consisting of volumes two, three and four, contains descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the Central Provinces.

Excerpt from The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Vol. 1 of 4 Soat/iern India, and Mr. Ananta Krishna Iyer's volumes on Cochin, while a Glossary for the Punjab by Mr. H. A. Rose has been partly published. The articles on Religions and Sects were not in the original scheme of the work, but have been subsequently added as being necessary to render it a complete ethnological account of the population. In several instances the adherents of the religion or sect are found only in very small numbers in the Province, and the articles have been compiled from standard works. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

In 1902 The Gramophone Company in London sent out recording experts on "expeditions" across the world to record voices from different cultures and backgrounds. All over India, it was women who embraced the challenge of overcoming numerous social taboos and aesthetic handicaps that came along with this nascent technology. Women who took the plunge and recorded largely belonged to the courtesan community, called tawaifs and devadasis, in North and South India, respectively. Recording brought with it great fame, brand recognition, freedom from exploitative patrons, and monetary benefits to the women singers. They were to become pioneers of the music industry in the Indian sub-continent. However, despite the pioneering role played by these women, their stories have largely been forgotten. Contemporaneous with the courtesan women adapting to recording technology was the anti-nautch campaign that sought to abolish these women from the performing space and brand them as common prostitutes. A vigorous renaissance and arts revival movement followed, leading to the creation of a new classical paradigm in both North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) classical music. This resulted in the standardization, universalization, and institutionalization of Indian classical music. This newly created classical paradigm impacted future recordings of The Gramophone Company in terms of a shift in genres and styles. Vikram Sampath sheds light on the role and impact of The Gramophone Company’s early recording expeditions on Indian classical music by examining the phenomenon through a sociocultural, historical and musical lens. The book features the indefatigable stories of the women and their experiences in adapting to recording technology. The artists from across India featured are: Gauhar Jaan of Calcutta, Janki Bai of Allahabad, Zohra Bai of Agra, Malka Jaan of Agra, Salem Godavari, Bangalore Nagarathnamma, Coimbatore Thayi, Dhanakoti of Kanchipuram, Bai Sundarabai of Pune, and Husna Jaan of Banaras.

This book provides an account of the organisation, practices and history of the Daśanāmī-Saṃnyāsīs, one of the largest sects of sādhu-s (‘holy men’) in South Asia, founded, according to tradtion, by the legendary philosopher Śaṅkarācārya.

Excerpt from The Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Vol. 4 of 4 Mughul, Mughul. - One of the four great Muhammadan sub divisions known in Europe under the form Mongol. Mr. Ibbetson, ' writing of the panjab, does not attempt to touch upon the much debated question of the distinction between the Turks and Mughuls. In the Delhi territory, indeed, the villagers accustomed to describe the Mughuls of the Empire as Turks, used the word as synonymous with official, and I have heard my Hindu clerks of Kayasth class described as Turks, merely because they were in Government employ. On the Biloch frontier the word Turk is commonly used as synonym ous with Mughul. The Mughuls preper probably either entered the Paujfib with Babar, or were attracted thither under the dynasty of his successors; and I believe that the great majority of those who have returned themselves as Mughuls in the Eastern Panjab really belong to that race. In these Provinces they say that they take their name from their ancestor Mughul Khan. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.