PERFORMANCE IN A WORLD OF PAPER: PURANIC HISTORIES AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION IN EARLY MODERN INDIA.

The article discusses the use of paper for social communication in early modern India, with focus given to the circulation of puranic manuscripts, or Hindu religious manuscripts. The author demonstrates how paper influenced communication and helped develop an Indian public sphere in spite of a lack of Indian print culture in the early modern period. Particular focus is given to the movement of texts within the Brahman social networks of Maratha, India, as well as the Maratha state's efforts to regulate communication deemed subversive to Brahman elites.