This book is a study of the Bharata Natyam dance genre "padam" and focuses on its patrons and composers and its formal structure, texts, and music. It examines the "rewriting" of South Indian dance and the decades-long debates over the classicization and ownership of South Indian music.

Matthew Harp Allen is Professor Emeritus of Music and Asian Studies at Wheaton College (Massachusetts, USA). He was a long-time student of South Indian vocal music with T. Viswanathan, with whom he co-authored Music in South India (Oxford University Press). He has written several articles on the social history of Bharata Natyam dance and the classicization of music in South India in the 20th century.