Description
Book SynopsisA collection of essays, which considers the meaning and nature of life history narrative in India.
Trade Review"This book serves as a window into the rich and revealing lives and self-representations of the particular individuals who have produced the life histories. In so doing, it makes very important broader points about the use of life histories in social science research in general and in the study of South Asian social-cultural life in particular." --Sarah Lamb
Table of Contents1. Introduction: Life Histories in India David Arnold and Stuart Blackburn
PART ONE: CONFRONTING MODERNITY
2. The Self and the Cell: Indian Prison Narratives as Life Histories David Arnold
3. The Reticent Autobiographer: Mahadevi Varma's Writings Francesca Orsini
4. The Invention of Private Life: A Reading of Sibnath Sastri's Autobiography Sudipta Kaviraj
PART TWO: TRANSLATING TRADITION
5. The Shaik Tells His Own Story: Instruction, Pleasure, and Blessing in Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya's Aap Biitii Barbara D. Metcalf
6. Hamara Daur-I Hayat: An Indian Muslim Woman Writes Her Life Sylvia Vatuk
7. Cowherd or King? The Sanskrit Biography of Ananda Ranga Pillai David Shulman
8. Life-History as Narrative Strategy: Prophecy, Song, and Truth-Telling in Tamil Tales and Legends Stuart Blackburn
PART THREE: SPOKEN LIVES
9. "Honor is Honor, After All:" Silence and Speech in the Life Stories of Women in Kangra, Northwest India Kirin Narayan
10. Beyond Silence: A Dalit Life History Josiane Racine and Jean-Luc Racine
11. The Marital History of "A Thumb-Impression Man" Jonathan P. Parry
