Anthrophile

“Man not only survives and functions in his environment, he shapes it and he is shaped by it.” —     Renè Dubos My first venture into the rural outskirts of Bengal was during my undergraduate days in 2017, when I visited Susunia, in Bankura, for my first formal ethnographic fieldwork. Living in the concrete jungle of Kolkata and belonging to a rural community in Kerala, Susunia gave me a sense of belonging as well as a cultural shock. I suppose the former came from the environment — the beautiful terrain, the pollution-free air, provided a warm welcome to my urban self. The shock probably came from the people — the variety of cultures in a one-kilometre (~0.6 mile) radius, and their way of life was totally foreign. Although I could imbibe the new cultural traits of the people, I felt the need to preserve the environment in my own way — photography. Today being World Environment Day ­2021, I will be providing a few of my most favourite captures of Susunia in this post.            

"We are a way for the universe to know itself. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can, because the cosmos is also within us.” — Carl Sagan      These famous words uttered by the late Carl Sagan, may be considered to be the precursor of numerous enthusiasts to understand the universe and in turn to understand ourselves. The discipline of Archaeoastronomy does exactly this, it tries to understand how early humans made sense of the sky and the cosmos , and in turn decode certain secrets of our evolution.      Humans are inherently curious beings. We try to make sense of whatever is observed and try to explicate in terms that are acceptable by the masses of the time. Scientific and technological advancement today, has helped us understand a myriad of phenomena which were once totally inexplicable. During a time when our world was devoid of man-made illuminations, the night sky would’ve truly been a sight to behold, one that could h