Relationships of chance: Friendships in a gambling setting of urban India

TY - JOUR

T1 - Relationships of chance

T2 - Friendships in a gambling setting of urban India

AU - Puri, Stine Simonsen

PY - 2016/1/2

Y1 - 2016/1/2

N2 - This paper examines male friendship at the Delhi racecourse as an example of a sociality amidst an urban South Asian setting defined by uncertainty and the absence of fixed identities. It argues that such friendships are 'relationships of chance', embodying and reflecting the contingency of the gambling arena, rather than sociological or ritual notions which may condition friendship in other settings. This hyper-competitive and hyper-social space configures both the possibility and impossibility of friendship. The paper thus provides insights into how relating to others happens in a heterogeneous, fluid context that is over-determined mainly by a shared passion for self-enrichment.

AB - This paper examines male friendship at the Delhi racecourse as an example of a sociality amidst an urban South Asian setting defined by uncertainty and the absence of fixed identities. It argues that such friendships are 'relationships of chance', embodying and reflecting the contingency of the gambling arena, rather than sociological or ritual notions which may condition friendship in other settings. This hyper-competitive and hyper-social space configures both the possibility and impossibility of friendship. The paper thus provides insights into how relating to others happens in a heterogeneous, fluid context that is over-determined mainly by a shared passion for self-enrichment.

UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/csas20/39/1

U2 - 10.1080/00856401.2016.1123832

DO - 10.1080/00856401.2016.1123832

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0085-6401

VL - 39

SP - 109

EP - 125

JO - South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies

JF - South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies

IS - 1

ER -