Encapsulating the development journey of Hyderabad in great detail, Sharma notes that the Great Flood of Musi on the fateful day of September 28, 1908 is considered a turning point. ‘It attempted to change it from being a late-medieval city to becoming a modern metropolis. The flood was a natural and ecological disaster but it triggered a project of modernisation of the city,’ he observes.
What makes this book truly unique is its blend of personal memory, collective experience, and anthropological insights. Wani’s narrative delves into the evolving identities of Srinagar’s residents, particularly the distinction between the ‘shahri’ and ‘gaam’ identities, showing how class, culture,
At the heart of Patole’s narrative lies the inextricable link between caste and food, a relationship that is inseparable in Indian society. As he insightfully remarks, ‘Just as caste is cemented at birth, so is diet.’ He challenges the pervasive caste and class divisions within Indian food culture, asserting,
For the past one decade in particular, we have started expecting digital and technological solutions to become massively adopted by the masses for doing their day-to-day financial work through mobiles, apps, calls, internet, messages, IVR, touch screens, machine voices, et al. But we are hugely disappointed that people are not adopting. Why are people not doing online transactions? Why are people not paying online? Why are people not selling online? Why are people not receiving and sending money among their peers, and trusted relationships?
Nandi and Saria speak of contexts of proximity and blurring between Hindus and Muslims in the Hijra universe that are similar and yet clearly distinct. In Odisha for instance, Saria observes that ‘their beliefs and practices would often adhere to one while being claimed as characteristic of the other’, necessitating the ethnographer’s ‘fidelity to the way the crossovers between Hindu and Muslim theologies were lived—that is, both as an instantiation and a limit of the notion of religious syncretism’ (Saria, p. 14). Nandi suggests that the kinship hijras in her study in Bengal feel with Muslims is based on the Islamic practice of circumcision—with several hijras converting to Islam after their ritual initiation and constructing the hijra identity within a spiritual framework marked by celibacy and asceticism.
Each chapter posits a clue in the form of a tag line to the name. A short introduction to the individual is followed by the reason for choosing her story. The rest of the chapter is divided into sections that mark the twists and turns of that journey. The stories end by focusing on one dominant norm/stereotype of that life and the ‘hacks’ that the individual exercised to overcome or storm that norm.