Performers and Their Arts

Simon Charsley taught Anthropology and Sociology at Glasgow University, Scotland for over twenty years. Author of several books on East Africa, Scotland and India, his current research is on performing artists of Andhra Pradesh (India) and their cultural significance. Laxmi N. Kadekar teaches Sociology at the University of Hyderabad, India. His research interests, which are the subject of the books and articles he has authored, include urban sociology, rural development, the Indian diaspora, and demographic change.

Introduction Part 1: Caste, Community and Performance 1. A Ritual Performance of Kerala 2. The Patuas of Bengal 3. Bards and Goddesses: The Pombalas in Tirupati 4. Explorations in the Art Forms of the Cindu Madigas in Andhra 5. Caste Identity and Performance in a Fisher-Village of Assam Part 2: Performance Beyond Caste 6. Telugu Pady Natakam in Andhra: Performance Dynamics 6. Modernising Tradition: The Yaksagana in Karnataka 7. Kalarippayatt as Aesthetics and the Politics of Invisibility in Kerala 8. India People’s Theatre Association in Colonial Andhra 9. Gaddar and the Politics and Pain of Singing 10. Reviving Moghal Tamsa in Orissa Part 3: Classical Dance and its Successors 11. New Directions in Indian Dance 12. Transpositions in Kuchipudi Dance 13. The Impact of Commercialization in Dance 14. Art Addressing Social Problems