ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns questionable narratives of history and sexuality that underpin contemporary representations of the Kamasutra(s). It argues that these versions are flawed; these accounts rely on the elision of the politics of colonialism and dominant anticolonial nationalisms that are imbricated with hierarchies of gender, race, nation, and sexuality. The chapter focuses on two Kamasutras: the first one is Burton's The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana, which is considered the "original" translation and continues to circulate as the basis for more contemporary versions. It also explores S. C. Upadhyaya's Kamasutra of Vatsyayana: Complete Translation from the Original, which was first published in 1961 and is considered among the best-known scholarly English-language translations in post-independent India. The chapter extends the transnational feminist cultural studies approach by arguing that it is necessary to go beyond unmasking the politics of cultural productions and identifying the linkages between "scattered hegemonies."
