“Courting Desire offers an unusual mix of ethnographic perspectives, exploring the pursuit of love and the critical role played by legal institutions in changing times. Srinivasan presents a rich canvas of messy human realities, while making a persuasive argument for the stable yet transformative value of law.”
— Ann Grodzins Gold, author of Listening to the Heron's Words: Reimaging Gender and Kinship in North India
“With captivating stories of love and elopement, Rama Srinivasan offers readers a refreshing new view of shifting paradigms on marriage and consent in North India. While elopement challenges both patriarchy and kinship, the courtroom offers young couples a legal validity and a new sense of personhood. This richly woven account mixes the interplay of changing gender roles, political economies, Bollywood films, and the democratic state for a delightful, intimate read into modern India.”
— Erin Patrice Moore, author of Gender, Law, and Resistance in India
— New Books Network: New Books in Gender
“Courting Desire offers an unusual mix of ethnographic perspectives, exploring the pursuit of love and the critical role played by legal institutions in changing times. Srinivasan presents a rich canvas of messy human realities, while making a persuasive argument for the stable yet transformative value of law.”
— Ann Grodzins Gold, author of Listening to the Heron's Words: Reimaging Gender and Kinship in North India
— New Books Network: New Books in Gender
“With captivating stories of love and elopement, Rama Srinivasan offers readers a refreshing new view of shifting paradigms on marriage and consent in North India. While elopement challenges both patriarchy and kinship, the courtroom offers young couples a legal validity and a new sense of personhood. This richly woven account mixes the interplay of changing gender roles, political economies, Bollywood films, and the democratic state for a delightful, intimate read into modern India.”
— Erin Patrice Moore, author of Gender, Law, and Resistance in India