Inthisinnovativestudy,GitaV.PaitracesthehistoryofthePuduMandapam(Tamil,’newhall’)-aHindutemplestructureinMadurai-throughtheriseandfallofempiresinsouthIndiafromtheseventeenthcenturytothepresent.Thiswide-rangingworkillustrateshowsouthIndiantemplesbecameentangledinbroaderconflictsoversovereignty,fromearlymodernNayakakings,toBritishcolonialrule,tothepost-independencegovernmenttoday.Drawingfrommethodologiesinanthropology,religiousstudies,andartandarchitecturalhistory,theauthorarguesthatthesmalltemplesiteprovidesprofoundinsightintotherelationshipbetweenaesthetics,sovereignty,andreligioninmodernSouthAsia.
