Andre Béteille, one of India's leading sociologists and writers, is particularly well known for his studies of the caste system in South India. What is perhaps not much known is that he started writing about his early life some years ago and indeed, four of these pieces - about his two
grandmothers, childhood in Chandernagore, and then schooling in Calcutta (now Kolkata) - have been published. Few academics of his stature have written about their early lives-and yet there are many stories and anecdotes waiting to be told.
This volume of writings on childhood and school
days - subjects close to André Béteille - is a special offering by a few of his friends, colleagues, and admirers to mark his seventy-fifth birthday. The volume, focusing on 'remembered childhood', includes twelve essays by leading sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and literary figures:
Alan Macfarlane, Aparna Basu, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Gurcharan Das, Jan Breman, Malavika Karlekar, Pradip Kumar Bose, Susan Visvanathan, Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Tapan Ray Chaudhuri, T.N. Madan, and Veena Das. Rich in detail and feeling, these real-life stories, told in different styles and registers,
can be read at many levels: at one level, they are entertaining, pleasing, and even amusing; at another, they provide insights into varied childhoods from men and women today aged between the mid-fifties and early eighties. Each essay is also accompanied by 3-4 photographs enhancing the visual
appeal of the book. The volume also includes an Introduction by Malavika Karlekar and Rudrangshu Mukherjee.
Malavika Karlekar and Rudrangshu Mukherjee: Introduction
Alan Macfarlane: 'Of Dragons, Hobbits, and Anthropologists'
Aparna Basu: 'Remembering my Childhood'
Gopalkrishna Gandhi: 'The Supernumerary'
Gurcharan Das: 'Scenes from a Punjabi Childhood'
Jan Breman: 'Life Experiences
in a Comparative Perspective'
Malavika Karlekar: 'Bungalows, Bageechas, and the Babalog'
Pradip Kumar Bose: 'A Short Season'
Rudrangshu Mukherjee: 'The Big Red House and Bits and Pieces'
Susan Visvanathan: 'A Cast of Characters'
Tapan Ray Chaudhuri: 'School Days'
T.N. Madan:
'Between the Braying Pestles and the Examination Blues: Recollections of Early Childhood'
Veena Das: 'Two Plaits and a Step in the World: A Childhood Remembered'
Glossary
Notes on Contributors
There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.
Malavika Karlekar is Project Director, Photo Archive at the Centre for Women's Development Studies, New Delhi. Rudrangshu Mukherjee is a historian and journalist; he is currently running the editorial pages of The Telegraph.
