Living Banaras

Bradley R. Hertel is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cynthia Ann Humes is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Claremont McKenna College.

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Bradley R. Hertel and Cynthia Ann Humes

1. Crossing the Water: Pilgrimage, Movement, and Environmental Scenography of the Ramlila of Ramnagar

Richard Schechner

2. Staring at Frames Till They Turn into Loops: An Excursion through Some Worlds of Tulsidas

Linda Hess

3. What's Taking Place: Neighborhood Ramlilas in Banaras

Thomas Parkhill

4. Hanuman and the Moral Physique of the Banarsi Wrestler

Joseph S. Alter

5. Religious Division and the Mythology of the Past

Mary Searle-Chatterjee

6. The Monastic Structure of Banarsi Dandi Sadhus

Dana W. Sawyer

7. The Goddess of the Vindhyas in Banaras

Cynthia Ann Humes

8. Lolark Kund: Sun and Shiva Worship in the City of Light

Ratnesh K. Pathak and Cynthia Ann Humes

9. Language Choice, Religion, and Identity in the Banarsi Community

Beth Simon

Appendices

Cynthia Ann Humes

A. The Thirty-One-Day Program of the Ramnagar Ramlila

B. An Encapsulation of the Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas

C. Major Characters of the Ramayana

D. General Glossary

Bibliography

Contributors

Index