The Wrestler’s Body

  Note on Translation
  Preface

 collapse section1. Search and Research
 Overview
 Purpose: Why Wrestling?
 The Fieldwork
 Methods and Routine
 Research Techniques
 Popular Literature
 Historical Texts and the Problem of History
 The Wrestler’s Body: Identity, Ideology, and Meaning
 Body Discipline: The Mechanics of Reform
 collapse section2. The Akhara: Where Earth Is Turned Into Gold
 Aesthetics
 Daily Routine
 Akhara Membership and Affiliation
 Akhara Demographics
 Age and Education
 Akharas and Bodybuilding Clubs
 collapse section3. Gurus and Chelas: The Alchemy of Discipleship
 Guruship
 The Character of a Guru
 collapse section4. The Patron and the Wrestler
 Royal Patronage
 Government Patronage
 Nationalized Services and Government Boards
 collapse section5. The Discipline of the Wrestler’s Body
 Introduction
 collapse sectionExercise
 Yoga
 Vyayam
 Surya Namaskar
 Dand-Bethak
 Jor
 Joris and Gadas
 Dhakuli
 Shirshasan
 Nals
 Gar Nals
 Other Exercises
 Ban
 Massage
 collapse sectionDiet
 Milk and Ghi
 Almonds
 Chana
 Fruits and Juices
 Regular or Common Food
 Volume: Ghi, Milk, and Almonds
 Seasonal Variation
 Dietary Prohibitions
 Brahmacharya
 collapse section6. Nag Panchami: Snakes, Sex, and Semen
 The Celebration
 Nag Panchami at the Akhara
 Rain and Water
 Snakes
 Milk
 Ghi
 Almonds
 Earth
 Trees
 Exercise
 Conclusion
 collapse section7. Wrestling Tournaments and the Body’s Recreation
 Introduction
 The Weekly Bout
 Dangal Organization and Sponsorship
 Swagat
 Nam Kamana
 Intermediary Conclusions: From Thick to Thin
 The Art of Wrestling
 Naturalization and deification
 The Dangal as Cultural Critique
 Conclusion
 collapse section8. Hanuman: Shakti, Bhakti, and Brahmacharya
 Hanuman: An Overview
 Shakti
 Bhakti
 Brahmacharya
 collapse section9. The Sannyasi and the Wrestler
 Sannyasi
 The Sannyasi and the Wrestler
 Akharas and Akharas
 The Wrestler in the World: Contradiction and Paradox
 Exemplary Lives
 Conclusion
 collapse section10. Utopian Somatics and Nationalist Discourse
 The Enemy Within
 The Body and Civic Duty
 The Rhetoric of Somatic Reform
 Government Patronage: The State as King of Kings
 The Utopian Vision
 Ascetic Wrestlers: Agents of Utopian Reform
  11. The Individual Re-Formed

  Plates
  The Nature of Wrestling Nationalism
  Glossary
  Bibliography

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