This article presents an organized group of middle-class, multicaste Hindu housewives living in the suburbs of Madurai, Tamil Nadu—the Śrī Maṅkala Vināyakar Satsaṅg (SMVS) Group. Hindu satsaṅg groups are common throughout India and revolve primarily around devotional singing, although the word satsaṅg also denotes a grouping/community specifically organized around a guru and their students. Using my experiences participating in and observing this specific satsaṅg group and its practices, I demonstrate how caste, class, and Hindu religious practice intersect in contemporary urban Tamil Nadu. Through an examination of how religious knowledge is shared and learned in the SMVS Group, I show that what are viewed as high-caste Hindu performances of piety (for example, Sanskrit recitation) are formative in many Hindu women’s perceptions and constructions of their middle-class identities. Further, I highlight the study of multicaste women’s social networks, both urban and rural, as a nuanced and valuable lens through which to study middle-class identity in India.

中文翻译：

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The Śrī Maṅkala Vināyakar Satsaṅg Group：印度南部泰米尔纳德邦的宗教实践和中产阶级地位

本文介绍了居住在泰米尔纳德邦马杜赖郊区的一群有组织的中产阶级印度教家庭主妇——Śrī Maṅkala Vināyakar Satsaṅg (SMVS) 集团。印度教 satsaṅg 团体在整个印度都很常见，主要围绕着虔诚的歌唱，尽管 satsaṅg 这个词也表示一个专门围绕大师及其学生组织的团体/社区。利用我参与和观察这个特定 satsaṅg 群体及其实践的经验，我展示了种姓、阶级和印度教宗教实践如何在当代泰米尔纳德邦城市中相互交织。通过对 SMVS 集团如何分享和学习宗教知识的研究，我展示了被视为高种姓的印度教虔诚表演（例如，梵文背诵）在许多印度妇女对其中产阶级身份的看法和建构中形成。此外，我强调对城市和农村多播女性社交网络的研究，作为研究印度中产阶级身份的一个细致入微且有价值的镜头。