Disciplinary Divisions in Social Sciences

How would we distinguish the various disciplines within social sciences? What qualifies someone as an Anthropologist and the other as a Sociologist, though they pursue the same academic training in the same department? Do the old disciplinary boundaries still determine the division between disciplines? The difference between disciplines, as I feel, do not exist any more in social sciences. The whole of social sciences could be regarded as one single discipline taking into account the inter-disciplinary approach that have dominated the social science research today. There existed differences in the way we looked at social phenomena. The approach and methodology of the various social scientists were different and that created compartmentalization among disciplines. However, I am not arguing that this difference in approach in social sciences do not exist anymore. It certainly does. But the research in social sciences has become more inter-disciplinary. It freely borrows from other disciplines where the individual disciplines lose their separate identity and create a shared social science discipline. Earlier, Anthropology was considered as the study of culture and primitive (village/tribal) communities/ societies. It followed a very unique tradition of fieldwork and ethnography (qualitative description) and asked micro level questions. In contrast, Sociology was the study of social structures, human interactions, and order & change in society (Auguste Comte). It asked broad and macro level questions and followed a more quantitative approach. Sociology was distinguished from Anthropology in terms of its focus and specialization on modern and industrialized society. As is the case in India, if Anthropology was introduced by the British to civilize the tribes, Sociology, not only in India but also world over, was introduced to understand the problems of modern industrial society.

Similar, is the case with other disciplines. The primacy of ‘space’ is emphasized in Geography. The primacy of economy is emphasized in Economics. Psychology studied the behavioral and attitudinal aspect of human beings. Political Science dealt with the study of power and politics in society. It specialized in the study of state, political parties, elections and political behavior of the people in society. But today, Sociologists also study the state, civil society, electoral politics and forms of government and state-building which used to be considered as the purview of Political Scientists. Similarly, political scientists also study the social structures and their implications for the state and power structures in society. The sociologists also have developed sub-disciplines like ‘political sociology’, ‘economic sociology’, ‘urban sociology’, ‘cultural studies’, ‘political economy’, etc. The study of ‘Space’ is no longer the specialization of Geography. Similarly, ‘social structure’ is no longer the arena of enquiry of Sociology, or ‘power’ and ‘politics’ of Political Science, and ‘culture’ of Anthropology. Anthropologists now without restraint use the political economy approach to study the micro social phenomena in the community level. What now brings the Sociologist and Geographers together is the idea of ‘social space’ – a physical territory that determines human interaction. In this sense, there is nothing today which is the sole domain of a particular discipline within social sciences. Same issue is being approached differently by different disciplines. The water tight divisions/ compartmentalization between different disciplines, though there exist many (subtle) differences, do not exist anymore within social sciences. It would be wise, as I feel, to call the whole social science as one single shared discipline.

Caging the Wandering Heart

What a wonderful Life in Udaipur? I miss it dude!!!!! The Place, the People and the friends. They are simply great!!!!!!! Nomadic life......Wandering feelings ....exciting tours and finally the erosion of erotic experices.......Weather changes; life turns upside down and the most sacred feelings of life go unrecognised or meet shocking news....This is life!!! We learn to live our life through our experinces and move on....Its not always a rosy day my dude...There is a shift - from the old experiences to new uncertainties and finally to future shocks.
After a long six months of leave from the scheduled and organised life Singapore, I am back again here. Life here in Singapore is alrite. Business here is as usual. Nothing has changed. Its exactly the same. I think I liked Udaipur a lot where life may be slow but brings different things everyday. It keeps changing there in every passing moment. Life here in the advanced cities like Singapore is very fast but is stagnant. Life has almost stopped experiencing the newness. Everyday is the same old thing. The place may have changed here with new infrastructures and buildings but life is as usual. Life here is predictable with the same pattern. There are no surprises.

Simplicity and calmness of life loses its charm in the metros. The deep dark nights in Kotra, the fear of ghosts, the sounds of the river and the chirpings of the birds, the narrow dirty streets, the stray cows, the red trucks, and the roadside tea stalls...Not here dude. What you have here is....tall sky scrappers, shopping malls, multiplex and the artificial wonderlands..Last weekend, I, along with some good old friends visited a new and much talked Shopping mall besides the Sentosa Island. We wached the movie called "The Freedom Writers Diary".
The view from the Mall was great. Wish you were there with me.....but you were not there, and will not be there anymore. This was a wakeup call to the subconscious human dreams.....that was the tragic end of the purity of a heart. "Freedom of human being is necessary, but have no idea about the effects of the freedom of human hearts". It really hurts....Cage it, confine it.....Its time for the wandering tribes to settle down.

Kapilash Shiva Temple

It is situated in the north east corner of Dhenkanal town at a distance of 26 Km from the district head quarters.The temples is situated in about 2239 feet from the sea level.The temple is 60 feet in height .
there are two approaches for the temple.One is through climbing 1352 steps and the other is ‘Barabanki’ or the travel twisting way.NarasinghdevaI constructed the temple for Sri Chandrasekhar in 1246AD indicated in the Kapilas temples inserption .In the left side ‘Payamrta kunda’and in the right side ‘Marichi kunda’ exists.
The temple has a wooden Jagamohana.Sri Ganesh,Kartikeya,Gangadevi,etc are found in the temple.Patita pavana Jaganath also remain in the temple as ‘Parsa deva’.Lord Biswanath templ is also situated in Kapilas .
According to some scholors this temple is older than the Chandrasekahr jew temple,hence it is known as ‘Budha linga’ .
There are many legends about kapilas pitha and its significance.History says it was the ashram of Kapila muni,to some scholars it is the second Kailash of Lord Siva.
Dridhar swami who wrote commentary on Srimad Bhagavatham stayed ther .There are some monastries in the premises.Lord chandra sekhara worshipped by the chintapatis.

Holi - The Festival of Colours

As the brief spring warms the landscape, northern India cuts loose for a day of hijinx and general hilarity. The festival of Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year.

Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi is now a symbolic commemmoration of a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story centres around an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son but fails each time. Finally, the king's sister Holika who is said to be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.

This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha, and hence, Holi is spread over 16 days in Vrindavan as well as Mathura - the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. Apart from the usual fun with coloured powder and water, Holi is marked by vibrant processions which are accompanied by folk songs, dances and a general sense of abandoned vitality.

Today Holi is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun. Teenagers spend the day flirting and misbehaving in the streets, adults extend the hand of peace, and everyone chases everyone else around, throwing brightly colored powder (gulal) and water over each other.

The festival's preamble begins on the night of the full moon. Bonfires are lit on street corners to cleanse the air of evil spirits and bad vibes, and to symbolize the destruction of the wicked Holika, for whom the festival was named. The following morning, the streets fill with people running, shouting, giggling and splashing. Marijuana-based bhang and thandai add to the uninhibited atmosphere.

Promptly at noon, the craziness comes to an end and everyone heads to either the river or the bathtub, then inside to relax the day away and partake of candies. In the afternoon an exhausted and contented silence falls over India. Although Holi is observed all over the north, it's celebrated with special joy and zest at Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, and Barsnar. These towns once housed the divine Krishna.

Each area celebrates Holi differently; the Bhil tribesmen of western Madhya Pradesh, who've retained many of their pre-Hindu customs, celebrate holi in a unique way. In rural Maharashtra State, where the festival is known as Rangapanchami it is celebrated with dancing and singing. In the towns of Rajasthan — especially Jaisalmer — the music's great, and clouds of pink, green, and turquoise powder fill the air. The grounds of Jaisalmer's Mandir Palace are turned into chaos, with dances, folk songs, and colored-powder confusion.


N.B: Top Picture - My Dad posing for a Picture during Holi
Middle one - Rubbing the Monkey Face
Last One - My brother, causin and uncle during the Holi in my village

Source: The Indian Express