Through its engaging ethnographic writing and sharp theorization of questions of gender, caste, and class, this book is an insightful study of youth culture and student aspirations in a private engineering college in Tamil Nadu and constitutes an important contribution to the sociology of post-liberalization India. Hebbar skilfully uncovers the ways in which young women students negotiate with gendered norms of 'respectability' imposed by their families, communities, and the college itself, and portrays with sensitivity their hopes, dilemmas, and disappointments. * Carol Upadhya, Honorary Visiting Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru * Nandini Hebbar's book is a fascinating exploration into the world of private engineering education in South India. Based on intensive fieldwork, it unveils the connections between the interests of 'big men' who control such education and the social mobility desires of families that drive gendered investments in children, the aspirations of girls, and the role of gender, caste, and class in shaping their educational outcomes. * Ravinder Kaur, Emerita Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi * Through a study of young women in an engineering college in Tamil Nadu, Nandini Hebbar weaves together a range of critical issues to tell a story about contemporary India -- about caste and higher education, the aspirations of young women, of caste identities and pride, of familial anxieties, restrictions, and control. Written in a highly readable and clear style, this rich ethnography should be taught in undergraduate and postgraduate social science programmes in India and abroad. * Janaki Abraham, Professor, Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi *
