Rhythms of Life and Wives of the God King by Frédérique Apffel-Marglin: Goodreads Review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3420639082?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

“Rhythms of Life” and “Wives of the God King” (another book by the same author, also available on Goodreads) are the two foremost scholarly books on India’s devadasis, generally translated as temple dancers, although their job description is much deeper and more complex than that moniker conveys. Professor Marglin’s credentials are impeccable; she holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, spent many years in India doing research, which included countless interviews with former devadasis, and enjoyed a long teaching career at Smith College. Her studies include work on Amazonian spiritualitity as well as various cultural anthropological trends in Bolivia, Peru, and elsewhere. Moreover, she also studied Oriyan dance in India and truly embodies the spirit of the tradition.

Even though these two books are scholarly, they are written in a plain English without the pretentious jargon that so often characterizes academic writing. Professor Apffel-Marglin always presents her material without judgement or Western bias that so often accompanies such anthropological works. In writing my own novel, “A Nest for Lalita,” I leaned heavily on “Rhythms of Life” and had the pleasure of discussing the devadasi rituals with the author. Whether you’re looking to know more about devadasis for your scholarly work or just want to deepen your knowledge about India’s sexualized temple rituals, these books will not fail to enrich you and, I dare say, provide the emotional excitement of entering a bygone world that is otherwise inaccessible.