Dr Lawrence A. Babb is currently Professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies at Amherst College, Massachusetts, where he has spent most of his career. His previous books are."The Divine Hierarchy: Popular Hinduism in Central India "(1975)", Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition "(1986) and "Absent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture "(1996). He has also co-edited "Media and The Trans- formation of Religion in South Asia "(1995) [with Susan S. Wadley] and "Multiple Histories: Culture and Society in the Study of Rajasthan "(2002) [with Michael Meister an...