This ethnographic study is an empirical exploration of caste through the story of Indian potters who have transformed caste into a marketable brand in the business of selling sculptures. To these contemporary potters, caste is in their blood, caste is about being a creative and independent artist, and caste is about business, as they engage in a competitive market to sell their artworks.
List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Transliteration and Terminology; Prologue: The Durga Puja Business; 1. On Kumars, Modernity, Caste and Commodification; 2. The Civilized Potters and Their Neighbourhood; 3. Birth of Tradition, Coming of Modernity; 4. Ancestral Homes - East versus West; 5. Turmoil and Economics; 6. Accumulated Value: Education and Caste as Assets; 7. Commodification of Caste; References; Index.