{"product_id":"souls-in-the-kalyug-9781512826647","title":"Souls in the Kalyug","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow migrant workers in contemporary India strive toward, and at times realize, elements of a good life\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe economic development process in India is one that has induced new difficulties and hardships into the lives of poor and working people despite its alleged achievements. In villages, farming families confront an agrarian crisis, with rising costs of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides; low prices for crops in the face of grave indebtedness; and ecological damage to the soil, water, and forests. Due to the scarcity of jobs, many migrate to cities for work. Once in the city, migrants take on and must contend with low-paid, insecure, and hazardous work. And in urban neighborhoods, they deal with congested living conditions; poor qualities of air, water, and sanitation; and separation from their families in the village.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSouls in the Kalyug\u003c\/i\u003e introduces readers to migrant workers who are confronting myriad hardships and asks how it is that these workers create lives that can become less injurious than their circumstances might suggest. Anthropologist Shankar Ramaswami proposes a three-part answer. In a metal factory in Delhi, migrant workers engage in resistance and collective struggle against perceived oppression and injustice. In the city and village, they weave connections to one another, building friendships in empathetic closeness and fellowship. In the metaphysical realm, they attempt to resist soul-distorting processes in our present, decivilizing times, or the \u003ci\u003eKalyug\u003c\/i\u003e. Through these activities, migrant workers strive toward, and at times realize, elements of a good life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSouls in the Kalyug\u003c\/i\u003e ultimately presents a nuanced and intimate portrait of migrant workers through a complex study of entanglement and noncooperation in workers’ worlds, and in its analysis of workers’ politics, within and outside of labor unions, interpersonal relationships, and foundational religious and cosmological worldviews.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shankar Ramaswami","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43356988866678,"sku":"9781512826647","price":64.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_2e83ed27-23c7-4a0d-8062-e1ccbea68af3.jpg?v=1777498882","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/souls-in-the-kalyug-9781512826647","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}