Table of contents
Undertaking i
Acknowledgments v
Abstract vii
Table of contents ix
List of figures xi
1.Introduction 1 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.1.1 The Ganpati Festival and the Mandal as an Association 2
1.1.2 Civic engagement and the Political Nature of Mandals 4
1.2 Framing the research 6
1.3 Locating the research within broader discourses – Literature Survey 7
1.4 Need for Study 10
1.5 Aims and Objectives 11
1.6 Locating the Mandals within the City - Site of Study 12
1.7 Methodology 15
1.8 Scope of the Study 16
1.9 Mapping the thesis – Overview 17
2.The Mandir and the Mandal – Locating the Locality 19
2.1 Appropriation of an existing mandir 19
2.2 Legitimacy to set up a mandir 25
2.3 Negotiating public worship and private use of the mandir 29
3.Festivals and Public Culture Entrenched within the Locale 33
3.1 Religiosity and Celebrating Festivals 34
3.2 Non-religious events of the Mandal 43
3.3 Vargani (Donations and contributions asked for the festivals) 45
3.4 Symbiotic Association between Mandals and Local Politicians 49
3.5 Negotiating PMC Policies 54
4.Markers of Claiming Urban Space 59 4
4.1 Appropriating Streets through Everyday Use 60
4.2 Privatized Identity Markers in Public Places 66
5.Conclusion 73
6. Bibliography 78
Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms 82