Nityasumangali

by Saskia C. Kersenboom

The phenomenon of the devadasi has suffered greatly from faulty, culture-bound evaluations. The present monograph does not aim at judging these earlier evaluations, nor does it claim to give a truly objective description of what the devadasi tradition was; it rather tries to follow the inherent mode of thought, namely, what the devadasi tradition meant within the frame of Hinduism and its transformation into a living cultural phenomenon functioning significantly in the context of the Hindu tradition.

AUTHOR:

Saskia C. Kersenboom, studied Indology at the University of Utrecht (Holland). She obtained her Ph.D. in Dravidology under the guidance of Prof. Dr. K.V. Zvelebil. She is trained in Classical Bharata Natyam by Smt. Nandini Ramani (Smt. T. Balasarasvati School, Madras) and studied Karnatic vocal music with Sri B.Krishnamoorthy. From Smt. P. Ranganayaki Cunnan she inherited the repertoire of songs and dances as practiced by the devadasis of the Sri Subrahmanya Temple at Tiruttani.