Through their diaries, letters, missionary reports, novels, autobiographies, paintings and photographs, unique perspectives emerge of an enchanting and dynamic culture underpinned by a vibrant spiritual tradition. From their attempts to understand the universal teachings of the Sikh Gurus and the experience of visiting the Golden Temple of Amritsar to the mysteries of colourful turbans bound over uncut hair and the impact of conflicts both against and for the British Empire, the personalities, prejudices and enthusiasms of female writers and artists during 200 years of social transformation are revealed.

Author Biography

ELEANOR NESBITT is Emeritus Professor at the University of Warwick. Her career specialism was the ethnographic study of the UK's Hindu and Sikh communities. She has written numerous scholarly books, monographs and journal articles and has spoken at conferences in Europe, Africa and North America on the subject. She often features on BBC radio and also acts as consultant for radio and television programmes, publishers and solicitors. She is on the editorial board of the journals Fieldwork in Religion and Religions of South Asia, is a founder member of the Punjab Research Group, and is co-editor of Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism.