Fieldwork in South Asia: Memories, Moments, and Experiences PDF
Preview Fieldwork in South Asia: Memories, Moments, and Experiences
Fieldwork in South Asia Fieldwork in South Asia M E M O R I E S , M O M E N T S , A N D E X P E R I E N C E S Edited by Sarit K. Chaudhuri Sucheta Sen Chaudhuri Copyright © Sarit K. Chaudhuri and Sucheta Sen Chaudhuri, 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. First published in 2014 by SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B1/I-1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India www.sagepub.in SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320, USA SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP, United Kingdom SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 3 Church Street #10-04 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483 Published by Vivek Mehra for SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 10/12 pts Adobe Garamond Pro by Diligent Typesetter, Delhi and printed at Saurabh Printers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fieldwork in South Asia : memories, moments, and experiences / edited by Sarit K. Chaudhuri and Sucheta Sen Chaudhuri. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Ethnology—Fieldwork—South Asia. 2. Ethnologists—South Asia—Anecdotes. 3. Anthropologists—South Asia—Anecdotes. 4. Historians—South Asia—Anecdotes. 5. South Asia—Social life and customs. I. Chaudhuri, S. K. (Sarit Kumar) II. Chaudhuri, Sucheta Sen, 1963– GN635.S57F48 306.0954—dc23 2014 2014022713 ISBN: 978-81-321-1742-1 (HB) The SAGE Team: Supriya Das, Vandana Gupta, Nand Kumar Jha, and Dally Verghese This book is dedicated to Prof. A.C. Bhagabati, Prof. T. Mibang, and Prof. T.B. Subba whose works and interactions have always inspired us. Thank you for choosing a SAGE product! If you have any comment, observation or feedback, I would like to personally hear from you. Please write to me at [email protected] —Vivek Mehra, Managing Director and CEO, SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi Bulk Sales SAGE India offers special discounts for purchase of books in bulk. We also make available special imprints and excerpts from our books on demand. For orders and enquiries, write to us at Marketing Department SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B1/I-1, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, Post Bag 7 New Delhi 110044, India E-mail us at [email protected] Get to know more about SAGE, be invited to SAGE events, get on our mailing list. Write today to [email protected] This book is also available as an e-book. (cid:90)(cid:89) Contents List of Abbreviations xi Foreword by Felix Padel xiii Preface xvii Introduction: Evolving Concerns of Fieldwork 1 Sarit K. Chaudhuri and Sucheta Sen Chaudhuri SECTION I Experience of South Asian Nations CHAPTER 1 A Historian/Anthropologist amongst the Garos of Bangladesh 19 Ellen Bal CHAPTER 2 Power and Authority in the Field 31 Ali Khan CHAPTER 3 Story of My Research in Bhutan 70 A.C. Sinha CHAPTER 4 Remembering Fieldwork Histories 88 Mandy Sadan viii Fieldwork in South Asia CHAPTER 5 Fields of Working Knowledge 106 Ben Campbell CHAPTER 6 Reflections on Fieldwork in Three Cultures 122 Arjun Guneratne CHAPTER 7 Return to Rengsanggri 145 Robbins Burling SECTION II The Indian Experience CHAPTER 8 Researching Garo Death Rites 167 Erik de Maaker CHAPTER 9 Memories and Reflections on Ethnographic Fieldwork in ‘Conflict’ Setting 186 Debojyoti Das CHAPTER 10 In Search of Storytellers among the Khiamniungan Nagas 220 Anungla Aier CHAPTER 11 Experiencing Mortuary Practices in an Anthropological Journey 233 Gautam Kumar Bera CHAPTER 12 Making Senses of the Organizations and the Experiences of Anthropological Practices in a University of India 241 Arnab Das CHAPTER 13 Tales of Everyday Politics in West Bengal 262 Suman Nath and Bhaskar Chakrabarti Contents ix CHAPTER 14 Doing Fieldwork and Discovering Harijan Art in Madhubani 276 Neel Rekha CHAPTER 15 Memories of My Third Visit to the Nicobar Archipelago 295 Vijoy S. Sahay CHAPTER 16 Discovering the Self and Others in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh 321 Abeer Gupta CHAPTER 17 Dialogue on Indigenous Studies and Fieldwork in India 339 Daniel J. Rycroft and Ganesh Devy Glossary 361 About the Editors and Contributors 365 Index 371
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