{"product_id":"the-life-of-a-text-performing-the-ramcaritmanas-of-tulsidas-9780520066908","title":"The Life of a Text: Performing the 'Ramcaritmanas' of Tulsidas","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Life of a Text offers a vivid portrait of one communitys interaction with its favorite textthe epic Ramcaritmanasand the way in which performances of the epic function as a flexible and evolving medium for cultural expression. Anthropologists  historians of religion  and readers interested in the culture of North India and the performance arts will find breadth of subject  careful scholarship  and engaging presentation in this unique and beautifully illustrated examination of Hindi culture.  The most popular and influential text of Hindi-speaking North India  the epic Ramcaritmanas is a sixteenth century retelling of the Ramayana story by the poet Tulsidas. This masterpiece of pre-modern Hindi literature has always reached its largely illiterate audiences primarily through oral performance including ceremonial recitation  folksinging  oral exegesis  and theatrical representation. Drawing on fieldwork in Banaras  Lutgendorf breaks new ground by capturing the range of performance techniques in vivid detail and tracing the impact of the epic in its contemporary cultural context.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45651454623797,"sku":"ByrdShop_0520066901","price":70.56,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780520066908.jpg?v=1781834822","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-life-of-a-text-performing-the-ramcaritmanas-of-tulsidas-9780520066908","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}