India's Middle Class

Christiane Brosius is Professor of Visual and Media Anthropology at the Cluster of Excellence ‘Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows’, Heidelberg University.

• List of Plates List of Abbreviations Preface Introduction : India Shining Part I. Belonging to the World-Class City 1. The City Fantastic 2. The Enclaved Gaze: Living Abroad in India 3. ‘Insulate!’ The Celebration of New Gated Habitats 4. Taming the Public City and other Colonial Hangovers 5. Ordering the City and its Citizens Part II. A Spiritual Mega-Experience: The Akshardham Cultural Complex 6. Who is Who at ACC? 7. A Question of Authenticity 8. A Hierarchy of Ritual Performances 9. Theme Park Antecedents and Indigenous Concepts of Leisure Religion 10. Code-Switching and Code-Clashing 11. Critics and Sceptics Part III. ‘Masti! Masti!’ Managing Love, Romance and Beauty 12. ‘For Whom the Bell Rings’: Arranging Marriage 13. ‘All You Need is Wellness’ and a Good Body Conclusion: ‘Indianising’ Modernity Glossary Bibliography About the Author Index

‘Offering a wealth of data on visual, cultural and spatial practices in urban India . . . [this] is a valuable addition to works on globalisation in India.’ — Economic and Political Weekly‘[A] book of extraordinary depth and range.’ — Biblio‘[Brosius] takes us beyond the frequently-discussed role of electronic mass media and Bollywood and analyses quotidian encounters in urban spaces, billboards and popular performances as sites for the production of the "new India".’ — South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies‘An insightful and well-written account of an under-researched topic.’ — International Quarterly for Asian Studies‘[T]he book is an enriching and enjoyable ethnographic reading, especially due to the lucid and fluid quality of writing.’ — Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology