Book chapter
Renunciation and Domesticity
Hinduism in the Modern World, pp.214-229
Routledge
2016
DOI: 10.4324/9780203362037-24
Abstract
When I arrived in the pilgrimage town of Haridwar in 1989, as a graduate
student eager to research Hindu renouncers, or sadhus, I did not grasp why so
many Indians I met were unenthused about my plans. I had prepared for years
in order to conduct this research, learning Hindi, reading scholarship, and
working to obtain research funding. But everyone I spoke with, whether relatives, friends, or the middle-class urbanites I met, wondered why I would want
to come all the way from America to live among Hindu renouncers. Many presumed that sadhus were aged, somber, and just plain boring. Moreover, for me
to conduct research, I would have to live in Haridwar, a pilgrimage town where
people get up at dawn and turn in by 9:00 pm, a place where the sale of alcohol, meat, and even eggs is illegal. Wouldn’t I rather find some research project
in the city and enjoy all its comforts and pleasures, including nightclubs and a
more exciting social life?
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Renunciation and Domesticity
- Creators
- Meena Khandelwal - University of Iowa, Anthropology
- Contributors
- Brian A. Hatcher (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Hinduism in the Modern World, pp.214-229
- DOI
- 10.4324/9780203362037-24
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2016
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology; International Programs; Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9984271555602771
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