sharadchandra

Sometimes a new book appears on shelves of libraries, a small thin volume or a big tome. It is noticed by some learned readers, if it has been reviewed and discussed some more readers appear. Eventually it may become a reference book for future researchers or it may be forgotten, shining in solitary splendor.

Whether it finds a permanent place of honor or is forgotten one fact always often forgotten is that a human being has struggled for years to give it a shape. There is a whole silent story behind each volume. Since many such well-researched books take a long time to write and good research funds are rare and learned books are not commercial venture, no money is earned by such publications, they get published that itself is a miracle!

Behind such volumes there is a tale of sacrifices and lone struggle. Such work consumes away a lot of scanty personal financial resources of a scholar and much time, talents and energy. There is much hilarious adventure and much despair and many disappointments. It also involves a lot of futile search, then sometimes sudden unexpected discoveries.

All this is often forgotten. Actually unprinted margins of such printed pages are very vast, as vast as the world itself and that is mostly unknown.

It is different when one works in a well-known territory where much work has already been done. When one starts to work in an unknown unchartered territory it is a totally different matter. Records of such journeys rarely exist.

It may even happen that one does not return from such a journey.  As it happens sometimes. I myself once saw an anthropologist walking in the corridors of a university, benignly greeting people with a smile. He was an anthropologist on a tribe of cannibals, he made a few journeys in their regions. They were as curious about him as he was about them. But their investigating methods were different from his. He never emerged from their cooking pot to tell the world what he knew, why the tribe was satisfied with the knowledge it gained.

Again there are others who continued their search and presented the world with the delight of cannibals’ special knowledge. Thanks to such silent efforts and persistence of the anthropologists of kitchen that we now have a certain highly delicious chemical salt, highly prized by gastronomists, authenticity of its exact “taste” was confirmed by taste-buds of cannibals. Had it been invented earlier or later and had been known to cannibals of certain region, any fish, fowl, mammal or even vegetable would have given them that taste and our anthropologist would have survived with his rare knowledge that vanished with him.

Only places where regular records are found about the unusual researchers are in the offices through which grants proceed. Facts, figures are kept there as to how much subsistence was given or withdrawn depending how much work was shown in the stipulated time-frame, etc.

Facts, figures and amount of work in definite time-frame are fine and necessary but the logic of situation, people and places thousand miles away not seen from the window-panes of meticulous offices is a different matter.

Here we come to the anthropology of sudden and gradual. Then anthropology of not finding and then anthropology of finding a lot and in-between you have anthropology of finding very little. In an ambitious project visible results emerge at a later stage while one has gone through much invisible work. It is this invisible work that is very hard to explain on the screens of office-computers.

It is also possible that one finds nothing when one is looking for something almost like dodo but to find nothing after all hard labor, travelling to most difficult areas is not without significance because there is certainty of “No” or “Anthropology of No”.

It happened with an adventurous researcher who went to the Himalayas in search of snow-leopard. After a long and difficult search he found a wise lama and his wisdom but no snow-leopard!

But some years later a wild-life photographer found a snow-leopard on a mountain road and near a tea-shop! Finally the legendary snow-leopard was photographed for the first time in history by a wild-life researcher. Whether snow-leopard like smell of tea is a virgin field (I personally won’t ask for research funds for such a project) but one thing is certain that it is a lot of not finding that leads to finding.

Insistence on stipulated time-frame and amount of work to be shown is well-meant and meant to help and enhance the work to be done. It must be necessary to measure the amount of work done. It becomes necessary to known how much work a scholar or a research assistant has done, how many hours or how much money he spent in a certain place. But it all becomes different when it is not limited to hours, when an idea overtakes you completely, your mind is busy most of the time, even in your sleep and dreams, you are always busy finding links.

Someone is helped by dreams too but that should go unaccounted for it is seriously uncustomary, un-academic. It is anthropology of dreams.

I was once put in a difficult situation by an anthropologist. I had to find out about relationships between two social groups, they were linked by marriages though they belonged to two different traditions. Once a problem arose and matrimonial alliances came to a halt and resumed later once an agreement was reached.

Well, I started to work and the people were angry and suspicious: “why should we talk to you about our personal affairs?” (told in shouts). Work had to be done for the scholar, I was earning insults too! One night a wise man from a far-away place I never met, only had heard of, spoke to me in a dream, though invisible: “I am so and so why don’t you look for such and such person he will tell you everything.”

Well I had never heard of this gentleman before but I enquired to see if he existed! He did, he was a benign old gentleman, some sort of a historian and scholar of his community and welcoming me he said: “I’ll reply to all your questions, what is the problem? Why are people so secretive?”

Of course such things are not for official records. And the visible results was just a few questions and answers but of great importance for the work. And a lot of efforts and difficulties, and despair, you can’t put them in  a report of working hours, that does not count, working right through sleep!

And sometimes one must politely decline outlandish methods for the sake of sanity. Once I went in search of some figures from 19^th century. I went to speak with a scholar who was completely deaf but insisted on talking, not reading my questions. Then there was a clay-figurine of one character from 19^th century, a proof that he lived! The person who possessed it had moved to his country-house.  Always promising to bring photographs. I had seen it earlier but then the figurine had not acquired any importance, I had gone there to have tea with a young lady. It was later when engaged in historical research I realized that this little toy was not a toy but used to be an august presence in his times! It was series of information that led me there. The young lady who once showed this charming doll to me had moved to another place and the new occupant of the house had moved it to his country-house.

Of course not everything can count for working hours, too many hours and days and no results. It can’t be a material for a report. Phone-calls and visits were wasted, photographs never arrived.

Then lastly, I went in search of an ascetic who traveled with a large procession in 19^th century too. Sometimes he appeared in historical records then disappeared with leaving any trace. Well, someone claimed to be from his tradition and was reputed to be a knowledgeable person, at least this is what I was told. I thought he might help, after lot of serious talks the gentleman, a very grave looking person with high reputation in certain circles, suggested: “I will find out with a session of planchette, I promise complete accuracy.”

“You mean table-tapping and ghost, etc., Sir?” Then with a roar of laughter I said: “Thank you Sir but it would be highly un-academic and a scholar with such a reference would lose jobs even if you come with exact facts, which I doubt, excuse-me. A history told by ghost…?”

Then I just wrote to the scholar I was working for: “Sorry, for time being the search comes to an end if it comes down to a completely deaf historian, a clay-figurine and a medium with his planchette-table…”

How many different informants led one to this futile end! Gone many many days work! But one can’t end with a futile note. So now to anthropology of hope, intuition and miraculous logic.

Having being associated with an anthropologist for many years I learnt to see what is the silent history behind the things you see. Earlier one saw only things as they are, it is wonderful too. It all then appears like an entrancing vision. But then you learnt to see the shadows of history they cast, that is very interesting.

One day I saw an interesting old large complex of houses with inner yards and labyrinthine passages. I just happened to go there to see a friend visiting the place. Upon enquiring about the owner the name told me something, could he have been a relative of somebody whose family had migrated to an ex-kingdom, under royal patronage long ago. Yes, that was so!

So there were definite kingdoms with clear borders and “secret kingdoms without borders”, “the kingdoms of migrants”. Relatives living under the royal patronages of different kingdoms had larger spheres of influence. Actually princesses married in different kingdoms would also come under anthropology of migrants, so would mercenaries, business-men and craftsmen, royal concubines and scholars and doctors, and the list is endless.

Finally asked the gentleman of the old records of 19^th century people I was looking for and who were always on move! Many royal heads bowed to them, naturally common heads bowed too whether they liked it or not.

The helpful answer brought me to his neighbor’s house, an ancient labyrinth of housing complex and to big personal archives, to work for as much to twelve to fourteen hours every day in a very dark cold room. So went the beautiful months of golden winter of tropics while people enjoyed the beauty of lakes, gardens and picturesque streets and hills. I would often work till midnight in dark and cold rooms. The kind family insisted that I have lunch, dinner in the house itself and endless teas.

I did not add the bills for food but what amount of any university grant can make up for leaving bright sunny days to others!

Here I have a serious problem with account offices and computers that evaluate work, I agree they serve knowledge and the work with great sincerity and right purpose.

Suddenly great amount of information was so easily available on those lost 19^th century characters thanks to anthropology of hope and intuition. One must never give up!

So it happened once that a rare book remained elusive. Somewhere existed a sole manuscript but difficult to see. Once during my search I was staying in a guest house. It was very cold, seating in the foyer I was grumbling because tea was late by one hour. Then I just noticed a pile of old newspapers and picked up one. There was an article on a scholar and his works, among them there was this rare book in translation and print too! It also spoke of the library where he had donated his collection. I thank the anthropology of miraculous logic! Had the tea come earlier then? I thank the delayed cup of tea.

So a Xerox copy was acquired! Some parts missing were obtained from an old litho-print from another library. The moment the machine spewed out the last page electricity was off for several hours, the shop was closing, next morning I was to leave the town! Perfect!

Now working on a great writer and traveler as a research assistant with  a friend I went to look for the late author’s daughter in a metropolis with no address, no phone number. Really difficult task, a futile search. At the end of a hard day of search I was in utter despair I said: “at least I tried”. Suddenly I noticed an institute of archeology, I just went in and spoke to the director and the mystery was solved, I got the address!

What was really intriguing was that institute was founded by N. who was led into ancient history and archeology by J. and J. was led into history, archeology and study of ancient languages and literature by R. whose daughter I was looking for!

In an actual report of a work neither the difficulties nor the miraculous histories have any place.

No particular research is an isolated phenomena, so many other things want to converge there too while you are engaged in a particular search, well, what could it be called? Anthropology of Unified Field Theory?

In this research about a particular author also came the tsunami, with a legendary Buddhist monk of ancient days and a lots Himalayan bird!

Tsunami waves had carried a basket from South-East Asia to the south of Chennai amidst terrible devastation. The basket carried an image of a Buddhist monk holding his begging bowl and looking skyward. The marine archeologist called it a Buddha figure. I mentioned this mistake to the director of this archeological institute.

“It is not the Buddha, it is Upagupta, the legendary Buddhist monk of ancient times. His legends migrated to South-East Asia, while they vanished in his native lands. Now he returns to India after many centuries looking at us in askance.”

“Do you have any proof?” he asked? I gave the references. The gentleman himself a marine archeologist about to leave for South-East Asia! He asked me to write about it but the subject being too technical I asked him to do it. Anyway right now I was in a different pursuit.

I’ll be happy if venerable Upagupta who lived only in legends for centuries draw attention of archeologist after so many centuries. Archeologists don’t study legends but now they will, thanks to the tsunami wave and my chance meeting with an archeologist. Good luck Venerable Sir Upagupta!

The lost Himalayan bird not seen for a whole century! But what has it to do with my search or rather the work I was doing for my scholarly employer? Nothing really but lost Himalayan bird also just insists to be part of the anthropology of fieldwork. The field is wide open even for birds who claim attention! Anthropology of wide horizons! Yes, yes, why not? After all every study is about life, no?

I went several times to visit an old widely respected journalist! Nearly hundred years old and still a wonderful observer of female anatomy. He would play certain poetic tribute to women he could see walking on the winding mountain roads and supporting his observations with classic Sanskrit poetry.

I visited him to glean some stories about the writer I was working on, this gentleman had known him. He remembered very little but he hoped to remember some more stories later, hence walking up and down several kilometers many times (uncounted as working hours on records since the results were so scanty).

One story constantly remembered was about the egg-pancakes by the writer’s wife. For so many decades the memory of eggs smashed, fried and eaten long ago still persisted.

Just as I was walking down the mountain road thinking about the story of these fortunate eggs still remembered. While memories of so many human lives are lost forever.  And here comes a Himalayan bird not sighted for one hundred years!

A gentleman approaches me with: “Sir, are you an ornithologist?”

“No, Sir, I am a bird watcher, not an ornithologist.”

“A bird-watcher?”

“Yes, when in the woods I watch flying birds and in the streets I watch walking birds.”

“That is funny, really funny. Why I approached you is because Himalayan bird that was supposed to be extinct and not seen for a century has been sighted by me…I have seen the picture and description somewhere and I don’t remember the name though….”

After hearing his story and details I realized that I had seen this bird too sometime but I don’t k now the name either.

“What I am to do about it? I will try to mention it to the bird specialists if I meet them.”

As the luck would have it, the guest-house where I was staying, there were some guests, a young couple, there were family members of a wild-life documentary maker! I learnt this when I mention this story to the manager of the guest house and they were leaving the very next day! I hurriedly wrote a letter and sent it to the celebrated wild-life documentary maker. Asking him to rush with his filming crew I would lead them to secret hideout of the rare bird. They must hurry as the bird was still rarely seen and had appeared after a long time and may disappear again!

No reply! Was it the fear that when they arrived the bird might have disappeared? Or that why would they would have an upstart showing rare bird to wild-life specialists? Or was it that he did not wish to share a piece of the wild-life fund with a stranger and share some of the fame! Whatever the reasons I could only speculate. I ended up spending some of my own feeble resources and waiting for the film crew knocking at my door! Anthropology of futile work of poetic hopes! Actually I had once read that there was a big grant already some years back for well supported mountains journeys for searching this bird.

From a sudden find you cannot make a long documentary and if one cannot have prolonged research funds they would dry up soon!

So why meddle with others’ affairs. That is anthropology of professional intricacies. I was glad that such a beautiful bird exists. If asked I would gladly share psychology of this bird.

More interesting case was, as I read in newspapers already some years back, in US a fabulous grant was obtained by a lucky somebody to do research on some birds’ eggs to find out if birds’ songs already existed in eggs!

But it was completely harmless not charmless surely much less expensive than the search for WMD [weapons of mass destruction] in Iraq and cost not even a single human life!

Sanskrit scholars had a better claim on such a fabulous research grant with their theory of “mayur  and nyaya”, that is that all splendid colors of a peacock already exist in a peacock’s egg. And one need not break an egg for that, fortunately it is a punishable crime because peacock is a protected species.

While working with a scholar on a definite project I cannot go for research into the bird kingdom. I would lose my job if I do though there is little or no money for such a job but at least there is a “status” of having a serious job!

I would gladly go for research on birds if I get a fabulous grant. Since birds don’t ask for money, they give free interviews, I could use all that money to support poor scholars who employ me! Though it would be a scholarly work, results in a book form could be dedicated to the birds even though they don’t read. That is anthropology of woodland.

The remarkable lady who introduced me to the word “anthropology”, when I suggested to her during our very interesting work that: “the most interesting part of research is meeting so many wonderful people who otherwise we would have not met and knowing the places we would have never otherwise known.” Replied: “yes that is the real aim of anthropology.” When I further suggested: “all work in service of knowledge no matter how serious, is not important because of its visible results on records. It is important because all serious work is fertile manure for future.”

She liked it, I was happy, immensely happy.

Anthropology begins as a science and academic discipline but may finally turn into life itself! Now, the office computers, our help towards lofty aims!

The office computers which faithfully keep records of research work, facts, figures, costs and results, may help or hinder our work, bring scanty or generous research funds, may withdraw or release funds like ferocious looking guardians of the threshold one sees at the entrances of the temples in the Far East. They looked ferocious but are benign. Here in a different form they are guarding the secret temples of sophia academica. It is necessary so that undeserving may not enter the sacred precincts. But in some cases undeserving find their way in and walk away with booty and deserving ones are left out despite of all care. One can only pray that deserving ones have their way always.

Let us hope that present office computers soon move towards an era of visionary computers that is the Era of anthropology. Let us humanize them before the computerize us! That is the scope of future, if realized. And the future? It is already here crossing the threshold of present in a most dangerous and promising way!

Note

Thanks to my association with some research scholars as research assistant I was led to write this. I managed to write this piece largely by giving full reign to my poetics and spirit of mirth when I think of how serious and hard working the scholars are, they throw their whole life into their work with missionary zeal. It is a tale of labor and sacrifice. Readers of their works may not know that. I know hence I wrote this partly as my tribute to them and partly to cheer them up with my “anthropology of poetics”, since I am just a poet. Luckily the scholars with whom I worked have always been of very cheerful nature. I hope it will delight them and many other scholars too and their students as well.

© Sharad Chandra 2012