Cult, Religion and Society: Polyandrous People of Western Himalaya

This anthropological study is an outcome of the author's lifelong involvement with the people and culture of Rawain-Jaunpur in India. The book not only studies the religious phenomenon of the Mahasu from a sociological perspective, but also beautifully highlights the life of the ordinary man of the region, as it is woven in and around their Devta - the Mahasu. Cult, Religion and Society brings out the continuity and deep-rootedness of the Indian cultural stream. It highlights the linkage between the local beliefs and practices with the Sanskritic tradition. The book describes heritage and identity through the concept of unity in diversity, underlying the main idea that unity is attitudinal but diversity is real. Thus, it provides a seasoned reorientation to many methodological issues associated with sociology of religion.