Caste will continue to influence the SOcioeconomic and political life of India fora long time to come. The conti- nuity of caste and the maintainance of caste identities in the context of the technology based world that India is entering into, is important in its own right. The book further material on caste in the city of old providess Delhi in the 1930's. The broad framework of the theory of transmission of status, a via media between the 'alliance' theory and 'descent theory' is used to organise identity the data. The of the Aggarwals is viewed as interwoven in a particular pattern of which the custom An of marriage is an important part. attempt has also been made to under- stand cultural traits and symbols in terms of ideas. In this genre is the analysis of the customary age at marriage and of the application of vermillion in the parting of a woman'ss hair. Other highlights include a simula- tion model of the difficulty arising from the regulations and exercise of choice in selecting marriage partners basec o simple probability thinking. Also insl ded is a discussion on marriag expenditures and the life histor of a woman.