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Civilization encompasses a complex tapestry of traditions, both grand and modest, including tribal, rural, and urban cultures. Early civilizations, such as those in ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and China, flourished in fertile river valleys conducive to agriculture. Similarly, Indian civilization saw the rise of settlements around the Gangetic delta during the Vedic and post-Vedic eras. Over time, Indian society absorbed influences from Roman, Persian, Mughal, and British rulers, yet managed to retain a degree of cultural continuity. This resilience has made India a focal point for Historians, Archaeologists, and Anthropologists, intrigued by its linguistic, geographical, and cultural diversity. This study reevaluates Indian civilization through an anthropological lens, delving into its historical stages and the emergence of diverse human settlements. It explores the factors contributing to the plurality, diversity, and unity of India's population. Furthermore, it highlights how ethnicity, religion, politics, economic interdependence, and social interactions have helped maintain the core structure of Indian civilization. By employing the historical methods of anthropology, the study reconstructs the evolution and persistence of Indian civilization. It concludes that Indian society offers vast cultural autonomy and adaptability, maintaining its foundational values while integrating various global principles. Thus, the interplay of continuity and change has been a hallmark of Indian civilization's enduring legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the distinct marriage customs of two Hindu Bengali communities in West Bengal: the Brahmins and the Poundra-Kshatriyas. It delves into the rituals, actions, and symbols integral to the marriage processes of these groups in Kolkata. The Brahmins, at the top of the caste hierarchy, have specific marriage rituals that affirm their caste status. In contrast, the Poundra-Kshatriyas, who are at the lower end of the hierarchy, follow different practices. The study compares these rituals and the significance of various traditional actions and changes, drawing on memoir interviews, genealogies, and case histories. It interprets these actions within the context of traditional activities, local terminology, rituals, beliefs, and marriage symbols. The research indicates that the observed differences in marriage customs between the two communities are historically rooted and reflect their social interactions and the material and symbolic aspects of their relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on fieldwork experiences is not something new to the discipline of Anthropology. However, undergraduate level ethnographic fieldwork training programs in India as a research area still remained unexplored. The purpose of the study described in this paper was to explore the proceedings of undergraduate level ethnographic fieldwork training programs in India. This article uses the authors’ own recollections regarding an undergraduate level ethnographic fieldwork training program carried out by a college affiliated with the University of Calcutta. All four authors along with their 21 fellow students have participated as trainees in this fieldwork training program. Through a qualitative analysis of these recapitulated events involving the acts of “preparation before the field trip,” “doing fieldwork” right up to “writing of field reports,” the study stresses one of the less emphasized and methodologically significant issues of education and the socialization process the trainee fieldworkers pass through while doing fieldwork. This article illuminates how the real-time field exposure guides naïve students to realize the utility of different research tools, techniques, methods, and some of the true requirements of an ethnographic fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present ethnographic study of Zari embroidery in a multi-caste village of West Bengal focuses on both (a) the knowledge about the craft among the villagers and (b) the categories of zari work (zardosi) in the informal economy. The zardosi work, previously identified with Muslim community, was not an acceptable means of earning by the caste people. But the entry and prosperity in the embroidery works of the lowly ranked castes of the landless, marginal farmers and those in other marginal source of livelihood changed the local scenario. The case studies and the interviews of the elderly key informants made it clear that the villagers of all castes like Brahmans, Rajbanshi, Gaila, Mahishya, Bagdi, Kayastha, Sodgope, Pode, Baishnab, Keora, Dome, Hari, Muchi, Kamar, Kumor, Napit, Tati, Jele and Kolu have gradually been involved in zari embroidery since last seventeen years. The purposes, which emerged from the study of the village, include Zari/aari embroidery as the market-dependent organisation of trans-local knowledge of the craft, informal occupations, migration, acquisition of skill, entrepreneurial capability and economic mobility across boundaries of caste/community, age, gender, home and industry, village and city. Yet they are controlled by the demand and competition of the market and governed by the consensual rules of informal economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]