Cultural Rhythms in Emotions, Narratives and Dance/Nita Mathur. New Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal, 2002, xii, 225 p., plates, figures, maps, $30. ISBN 81-215-0993-9.

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Setting the scene: the people. 3. The dance: spread and perpetuation. 4. Structure and content of the dance. 5. Dance and lifestyle. 6. Cultural construction of emotions. 7. Reflections. Appendices: 1. The non-Brahmin manifesto. 2. Madras Devadasi act. 3. The picture test. Bibliography. Index.

"Art is a vital component of culture in a generic sense and of being cultured in a specific sense. This book identifies the interplay between dance and lifestyle in the specific context of Tamil Brahmin culture. It sets out an agenda which raises fundamental issues concerning cultural construction of identity in the matrix of symbolic configurations, experience and expression of emotions, rituals, dance, and life philosophy. The rhythms of Tamil Brahmin culture integrate creativity, self-expression and collective identity in various processes of life at one level and merge with the universal rhythm of cosmic order at the other. The concern is with appreciating cultural rhythms that run as an undercurrent throughout the book. The major contribution of this work is in evolving multidisciplinary research methodologies and models for the study of art in living and the art of living in a culture." (jacket)

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