Finnian Moore Gerety is a doctoral candidate in the department of south asian studies. His main research interest is the interplay between text and performance in historical and contemporary Hindu traditions. His current film project charts the transformations in the culture of the Chakyars, a caste of actors and storytellers from central Kerala. Their traditional vocation has been to enact stories from the Indian epics inside Hindu temples; in recent years, their art has found new life and a new audience in a very different context: high school youth competitions.