Yaaminey Mubayi is a historian who has worked in the area of cultural heritage and community development over the past 20 years. Her work includes studies of craft, local histories, community memories, traditional knowledge and indigenous ecologies. She has published widely in these areas, and her previous book, Altar of Power – The temple and the state in the land of Jagannatha, came out in 2005. She lives with her family in New Delhi, India, and, in recent years, has focused her energies on teaching, research and writing.