Tenth International Conference on Maharashtra

[Christian Lee Novetzke]

I am forwarding this Conference Announcement on behalf of Professor
Rajendra Vora.  Please respond directly to him with questions.

Christian
______________________


Tenth International Conference on Maharashtra
16-18 August, 2003
University of Pune

Paisa  (Money)

I am indeed happy to invite you to the Tenth International Conference on
Maharashtra to be held on 16-18 August, 2003 at University of Pune.  The
theme chosen for the tenth conference is paisa (money).  The venue
(including lodging and boarding) of the conference will be Hotel Swaroop,
Prabhat Road, Lane No. 10, Pune 411-004 (Telephone: 020- 5672662/3).

Paisa need not be seen as a theme in which only economists should be
interested.  In our endeavor to understand culture and society of
Maharashtra, certainly we have come across issues that involved economic
questions.  The tenth conference will give us an opportunity to
collectively discuss those issues.  In this conference we will ask
ourselves the question 'How does paisa figure in Maharashtrian culture?,'
and work out plausible answers to it from the perspectives of our
respective academic disciplines.  We conduct this exercise in a time when
cultural studies are acquiring center-stage in social sciences and humanities.

Some of the topics and questions that we might take up for discussion could
be: Goddess Laxmi; grants to temples; economic dimensions of religious
festivals and pilgrimages; depiction of economic conditions in literature
and art; religious/cultural views of economic and material matters;
attitude and values regarding business; trading castes and communities;
caste-based professions; village craftsmen and balutedary system; barter
exchange; land as property; currency, wealth, and poverty; urban and rural
economy; capitalism and caste-class relation; taxation; money lending;
begging; philanthropy; co-operatives; labor, trade unions, and professional
associations; economics of performing arts and music; proverbs and phrases
about money; hedonism nad consumerism; the Bhishi system; robbery;
baksheesh; political economy; corruption; dowry and stree-dhan; daughter's
claim on inherited property; and women in business and employment, to name
a few.

Sincerely,

Rajendra Vora

Email Address: vora at unipune.ernet.in
Phone Nos.  Home:  020-5651476; Office: 020-5690815
Home Address: Vijayashri Apartments, 15th lane, Prabhat Road, Pune 411
004  India.




Phone number in Delhi: 91-0-9818048892

Christian Lee Novetzke
Assistant Professor                                     820 Williams Hall,
UPenn
South Asia Studies                                      36th and Spruce Streets
University of Pennsylvania                              Philadelphia, PA
19104-6305
                                                         Tel: (215) 898-7475