This book examines the new orientations in the writing of cultural histories of India from the pre-colonial and early modern period to the postcolonial and contemporary era. It analyses the 'materialist' turn through wide-ranging textual, visual, aural, ritual, and spatial resources like eighteenth-century scribal literature in western India, art deco architecture in twentieth century Calcutta, circulating heads in Naga hills, and Mayawati's monuments in Lucknow.

• List of Illustrations


• Preface


• Acknowledgements


• Introduction: New Cultural Histories of India: Materiality and Practices by Partha Chatterjee, Tapati Guha-Thakurta, and Bodhisattva Kar


• PART I: THE TEXTUAL








• PART II: THE VISUAL








• PART III: THE AURAL






• PART IV: THE RITUAL








• PART V: THE SPATIAL








• Notes on Contributors