Palashda,Here is the info..ThanksAnnuDear Friends,Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts presents a book reading session with Annu Jalais on the 16th of December 2009. All details have been attached for your kind perusal. You are cordially invited. The evening, surely promises to be an intellectually stimulating one. Look forward to seeing you.Please forward the mail to like minded people.
Venue: 94, Ballygunge Place, Kolkata-19
Date: Wednesday, 16th December 2009
Time: 6-30pm to 7-30pm
Contact: 24613145
Thank you & Best Regards,
Nandita Dasgupta,
Programme Director,
Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts
Back cover:
Acclaimed for its unique ecosystem and Royal Bengal tigers, the mangrove islands that comprise the Sundarbans area of the Bengal delta is the setting for this pioneering anthropological work. The key question that the author explores is: what do tigers mean for the islanders of the Sundarbans? The diverse origins and current occupations of the local population produce different answers to this question; but for all, 'the tiger question' is a significant social marker. Far more than through caste, tribe or religion, the Sundarbans islanders articulate their social locations and interactions by reference to the non-human world – the forest and its terrifying protagonist, the man-eating tiger.
The book combines rich ethnography on a little-known region with contemporary theoretical insights to provide a new frame of reference to understand social relations in the Indian subcontinent. It will be of interest to scholars and students of anthropology, sociology, development studies, religion, cultural studies, as well as those working on environment, conservation, the state and issues relating to discrimination and marginality.
Inside flap blurb:
What do tigers mean? Environmental activists tend to overlook the fact that tigers are a significant threat to human life in the Sundarbans islands. Yet, for the inhabitants of those islands, tigers also offer a potent source of identification as they are seen to be sharing a harsh environment and a common history of displacement. This book examines the ways in which different social groups – from wealthy landowners and government job holders to lowly forest workers, poachers and prawn collectors – map their social locations.
This study is also an exploration of the history of the encounter of Islam and Hinduism in the region, expressed through tiger-charming practices, the legacy of Sufi pirs and the worship of forest deities such as Bonbibi and Dokkhin Rai. With the recent arrival of the prawn industry, the products of which are sold to a global market, the marginal workers of the forest, especially women, are beginning to shift their religious allegiances. What is driving the displacement of the traditional forest deities by the more powerful, more 'global' figure of Kali?
As environmentalists highlight the unique biodiversity of the Sundarbans ecosystem and push for greater conservation, the author revisits the islanders' memories of the Morichjhanpi massacre and their uneasy engagements with statist politics. These provide the critical background for the present-day dilemmas which emerge regarding the perceived unjust allocation of resources between humans and wildlife in a region better known as 'tiger-land'.
Blurb for author
Annu Jalais is currently researching an Arts and Humanities Research Council project on the Bengali Muslim Diaspora led by Joya Chatterji and Claire Alexander. She is also currently Post-doctoral Associate at the Agrarian Studies Program at Yale University. She has taught and lectured at the Departments of Anthropology, London School of Economics, Goldsmiths College and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Her specialisation is modern South Asia, particularly Bangladesh and West Bengal. Her research has appeared in academic journals and edited volumes. This is her first book.
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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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