Book Talk: The Archives and Afterlives of Nautch Dancers in India
Welcome to a mini-seminar in English with Dr Prarthana Purkayastha, who will present her book The Archives and Afterlives of Nautch Dancers in India.
In The Archives and Afterlives of Nautch Dancers in India, Dr Prarthana Purkayastha examines how the gestures of often marginalised “nautch” dancers have challenged and disturbed racist, casteist and patriarchal regimes of thought.
The nautch dancers’ significance is brought to light across multiple locations, materials and timelines. The study moves from colonial human exhibits in London to open-air concerts in Kolkata, from heritage Bengali bazaar art to cheap matchbox labels and frayed scrapbooks, and from the late nineteenth century to our world today.
During the seminar, the author will share excerpts from the book and engage in a conversation with the audience.
About Dr Prarthana Purkayastha
Dr Prarthana Purkayastha is Reader in Dance and Performance Studies at Royal Holloway University of London. She is the author of Indian Modern Dance, Feminism and Transnationalism (2014, Palgrave Macmillan), which won the de la Torre Bueno Prize and the Outstanding Publication Award from Dance Studies Association.
She is co-editor, with Anurima Banerji, of the Oxford Handbook of Indian Dance (2026, OUP New York). Her second monograph, The Archives and Afterlives of Nautch Dancers in India (2025), is published by Cambridge University Press in its Studies in Modern Theatre Series.
The seminar is presented in collaboration with the Carina Ari Library.
Practical information
- Free admission, no booking required.
- The seminar will be in English.
- Wheelchair accessible venue; lift available. Read more about accessibility at the Music and Theatre Library of Sweden.
Image: To the left: Front cover of The Archives and Afterlives of Nautch Dancers in India. To the right: Atmadarshan at Minerva, Bhramar, Phool and Prajapati. Courtesy of Natya Sodh Sansthan, Kolkata, India.