Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-329) and index.

First impressions, and further -- The headless horseman of central India : sovereignty at varying thresholds of life -- Mitra-Varuna : state power and powerlessness -- The coarse and the fine : contours of a slow-moving crisis -- Contracts, bonds, and bonded labor -- Erotics and agonistics : intensities deeper than deep play -- Divine migrations : neighborliness between humans, animals, and gods -- The waxing and waning life of Kalli -- Bansi mahatmaya (the greatness of Bansi), an erotic ascetic -- Departure, and marriages and deaths -- The quality of life : a daemonic view.