Das 16 August on Singularity

7/26/2019 Das 16 August on Singularity

1/39

On Singularity and the Event: Further Refections on the Ordinary

Veena Das

Caroline Humphrey opens her majestic !!" essay on #Reassem$ling

%ndividual Su$jects& 'reproduced in the present volume( su$se)uent

re*erences as R%S+ $y the classic statement: #Certain ,inds o*

anthropological e-perience seem to re)uire the conceptuali.ation o*

singular analytical su$jects: individual actors /ho are constituted as

su$jects in particular circumstances0 'p0123+& She goes on to

characteri.e these circumstances as *ollo/s 4 #the advent o* ne/

regimes( convulsions /rought $y /ar( schisms o* *ormer social /holes(

and( in general( the overturning o* accepted patterns o* intelligi$ility

and the advent o* radical ne/ ideas0 'p0 123+& 5hese are the ,ind o*

events that % characteri.ed as #critical events& 'Das 6772+ 4

Humphrey8s *ormulations o* /hy such events lead us to singular

analytical su$jects is deeply thought*ul and inspiring0 9s a seminal

contri$ution to the shaping o* these de$ates and( indeed to /hat

Foucault calls e)uipment in the sense o* veridical regimes o*

anthropology 'Ra$ino/ !!7+( Humphrey8s /or, challenges us to thin,

o* the relation $et/een su$jectivation and eventali.ation( at $oth

conceptual and empirical levels0 5he most impressive achievement

here is the manner in /hich Humphrey *ormulates the pu..les that

arise in her ethnography in the course o* her long term engagement


2/39

/ith the ethnography o* %nner ongolia0 % admire the succinct

discussion $ut there is also a thin line o* di;erence in Humphrey8s

reading o* the issue o* singularity( event( and the ordinary( and my

understanding o* these concepts that /eaves itsel* in and out o* our

agreements0 9s the eld locations lead to

di;erent con>gurations o* these concepts0

Humphrey ta,es the French philosopher 9lan


3/39

others $ut also $y onesel*0 9s /e shall see later( the ordinary does not

simply disappear *rom these events as evident in the /ay certain

concepts such as the ,armic conse)uences o* vo/s ta,en $y ancestors

or


4/39

undi;erentiated collectivity such as #a$ducted /omen& or #victims& or

#survivors& Humphrey is care*ul to note that the historical actions she

is tal,ing a$out are not a$out great men versus collective su$altern

su$jects( $ut a$out ho/ 'in my /ords+ might one $e incited or invited

to $ecome a su$ject0 % /ant to as, in response( in /hat manner might

one thin, o* su$jects as singular $ut not sovereign 'though the issue o*

non4sovereign agency does not >gure as an analytical issue in R%S+ or

o* agency and patiency as t/o poles around /hich eventali.ation and

su$jectivation might $e made to turn % /ill o;er some o* my

ethnography *rom the /or, % have done among the ur$an poor in Delhi

to as, ho/ /e might thin, o* the everyday through the opposite

movements o* ascent and descent Could one say that Humphrey

/ants to privilege the *ormer and % am more attracted to the latter

5hese movements o* ascent and descent are not the same as the ideas

o* transcendence and immanence 4 /e can ta,e the *ormer t/o

concepts as possi$ilities o* the everyday rather than thin, o* descent

as immersion and ascent as escape *rom the everyday( % /ant to as, i*

a distinctive anthropological understanding o* the ordinary might $e

generated through such an analysis y o/n refections in this matter

have $een productively challenged $y the continuous attention to the

event and its relation to su$jectivation that Humphrey and others have

dra/n attention to = so /hat % have to say here is a *urther step in my

thin,ing o* the ordinary0


5/39

For starters( let us consider Humphrey8s *ormulation o* the relation

$et/een the everyday and the event and the theoretical sta,es o*

anthropology in this relation0 Humphrey /rites, 9nthropology has

mostly privileged the everyday and the repeated rather than ruptures0

9nd although there is a vast literature on the person and the sel*( it has

only rarely attempted to theori.e the su$ject in situations o* innovation

or improvisation0 'R%S( p0 1?3+(

9lthough Humphrey ta,es the privileging o* the everyday in

anthropology *or granted( this notion /ould only hold i* routines(

ha$its( and traditional maps o* social action /ere seen to $e

unpro$lematic and the everyday /as invested /ith the )uality o* a

#ta,en4*or granted& given entity0 %n such a rendering( the everyday is

opposed to innovations( improvisations and ruptures0 y o/n vie/ o*

the matter( ho/ever( is that anthropology has rather too hurriedly

e)uated the everyday /ith routine and unthin,ing repetition = these

are indeed characteristic o* the everyday $ut much depends on ho/

/e thin, o* these categories( *or neither is routine( a matter o*

mechanical action( nor repetition( the matter o* return to sameness

'Das !6+0 9 di;erent theoretical tradition o* the everyday 'e0g Freud(

Cavell( 9ustin( Aittgenstein+ /ould see the everyday as haunted $y the

possi$ilities o* s,epticism( a scene o* trance and illusion( and( o* the

uncanny or it /ould point to the *ragility o* human action as evidenced

in 9ustin8s discussion o* e-cuses and in*elicities 'Das !6B+0 % have


6/39

tried to capture this idea o* the everyday /hen % say that under many

conditions( maintaining the everyday $ecomes an achievement 'Das

!!3+0 Ahile some might readily concede this point in the conte-t o*

poverty( vulnera$ility and violence( its implications *or our

understanding o* ha$it and disposition as concepts is rarely spelt out0

Ahile the idea o* ha$it as sedimentation o* previous e-perience is /ell

integrated into anthropological theory 4 *ollo/ing especially


7/39

Cavell( the #eventual everyday0& Simultaneously % am interested in

e-ploring the threats to the su$ject through the >gure o* the spectral

/hen it 'the su$ject+ $ecomes a shado/ o* the real or ghost4li,e0

Interrogating theEvent

%n this section % propose to analy.e the particular event a$out

revolution and counter4revolution that produces the theoretical

refections on singular analytic su$jects in Humphrey8s paper and her

analysis o* the un*olding o* the event as a series o* #decisions0& % /ill

then contrast this mode o* reasoning on the relation $et/een the event

and the everyday /ith another mode o* reasoning dra/n *rom my o/n

ethnographic e-perience and as, ho/ the sources /e have access to

a;ect the /ay /e thin, o* the everyday and the event0

5he historical e-ample Humphrey analy.es is ta,en *rom the rad Aest


8/39

propagate revolutionary ideas a$out e)uality and *reedom( contesting

the *eudal hierarchies and entrenched customs0


9/39

attracted the lamas to a ne/ vision o* society Ae /ill leave aside *or

the moment the )uestion o* /hat other *orms o* politics 'e0g0 a$out

ongolian nationalism+ /ere $raided into this moment *or i* the

allegiance to these revolutionary ideas /as as compelling as Humphrey

contends( it is diJcult to see ho/ the revolution could have $een

$etrayed so soon a*ter0 %nstead( let us see /here Humphrey8s

discom*ort /ith


10/39

$ecome so0 5o this end( % ma,e a preliminary proposalL that

individuality as an acta$le4on capacity /hich may $e attained through

decision the Kplumping *or8 a speci>c /ay o* $eing a person( i* only

temporarily( and $y prioritizing the ,eeping at hand o* divergent

multiplicities in an emotionally cogent( internally shuMe4a$le array o*

possi$ilities0 'R%S( p0 1?1+0&

9t one level then Humphrey is content to thin, o* the revolutionary

episode as a


11/39

%t is here that an interesting contradiction reveals itsel*( *or( in o;ering

her ethnographic insights *rom the realm o* divination in /hich to

plump *or a realm o* action is not $ased on reasoning $ut on the *aith

one might put on chance( Humphrey ends up o;ering a *ar more *atal

criticism o* cation o* it0 %n *act Humphrey ac,no/ledges that

there are collective *orces that e-ceed the individual so that the reason

*or a decision might not $e *ound in the individual $ut in the interstices

o* events and individuals as mirrored singularities0 Here /e get to the

notion that the point o* singularity inde-es the *act that % am $oth an

actor and one /ho is acted upon = singularity might then $e thought o*

as the point at /hich multiplicities have $een temporarily recomposed

and resolved into a singularity = $ut *rom /hich ne/ possi$ilities might

emerge0 5his opens the /ay to loo, at everyday li*e as $oth the

ground o* one8s e-perience and that on /hich /or, must $e

per*ormed so that one8s *ull allegiance cannot $e assumed to one8s

culture as it is given0 %n other /ords % am suggesting that su$jectivation

might $e seen as the e;ort to $e a/a,ened to one8s e-istence $ut this

may re)uire a deeper d/elling in the everyday rather than an escape

*rom it0

%t is perhaps /orth spending a little more time on the picture o* the

everyday in the /or, o*


12/39

delity to the event or

you remain in the situation and you are $ut #$ipeds /ithout *eathers(

mere acculturated ants0& '


13/39

language that has $een used to perpetrate enormous violence against

the non$elieversNthose /ho did not $elieve in the miracle o* Christ or

those /ho did not $elieve in the miracle o* the communist revolution(

or even ends up justi*ying it on the grounds that such violence is

necessary *or the higher good0

% have o*4course no diJculty in accepting that /hat % called critical

events 'Das 6772+ cannot $e comprehended /ithin the availa$le

categories at the time o* their occurrence( $ut % am not sure /hy such

events cannot $e negative( as /ere many o* the events % e-amined in

my $oo, Critical Events0 %t is in this conte-t that % thin, gure o* >delity $ut also other

>gures every $it as innovative( al$eit negative( ta,e their place& '!!6:

vii+0

gure o* >delity narrate the event

retrospectively as one in /hich there /as a leap o* *aith /hereas( i* /e

/ere to distinguish $et/een the time o* the event and the time o*


14/39

telling /e /ould >nd much greater hesitation and dou$t that mar,s the

time o* the event0 9 mode o* philosophi.ing that /as not so committed

to the Christian 'especially rotestant+ notion o* the auline moment as

the model *or action that opens up the space *or the ma,ing o* the

su$ject might $e much more receptive to the /ay that even dramatic

events have roots in the everyday0

The Everyday and Modes of ubjectivation

% move no/ to o;er some ethnographic e-amples to as, ho/ this

relation $et/een action and su$jectivation might $e investigated on

the terrain o* the everyday0 %n a recent attempt to see /hat it means to

generate philosophical concepts *rom /ithin ethnography rather than

ta,e concepts to arise *rom some rari>ed *orm o* thin,ing( % too, three

di;erent scenes o* the everyday that % called: ma,ing a /orld

inha$ita$le /hen /ords are li,e /ild horses and /ithdra/ing one8s

/ords *rom the /orld 'see Das !6B+0 u-taposing these three di;erent

scenes in /hich everyday li*e un*olds( my aim /as to capture the

character o* everyday li*e such that its routines and repetitions /ere

sho/n to contain lethal possi$ilities( as /ell as the potential to criti)ue

e-isting institutions and to ma,e one8s /orld inha$ita$le0 %

summari.ed this plethora o* possi$ilities as testimony to the dou$le

character o* the everyday as the site o* routines( ha$its( and

conventions as /ell as the scene o* disorders( dou$ts and despair0 %n


15/39

Cavell8s rendering this dou$le register o* the everyday is e-pressed in

the /ay s,epticism shado/s the ordinary through the most ordinary

idioms o* ,inship and the domestic 4 he contends that the attempt to

reduce s,epticism to an intellectual pu..le constitutes nothing less

than a denial o* the threats contained in everyday li*e 'Cavell 6737(

67""+ 0 Second( $elonging does not mean that /e give allegiance to

our culture as it stands( $ut rather out o* the disappointments o*

everyday li*e arise the la$orious processes o* criti)ue and re*orm o*

everyday li*e0 Finally( % might state that to understand ho/ the

everyday a$sor$s the event is to pay close attention to the manner in

/hich people might engage the open credit o* survival = so that %

strongly contest the idea contained in


16/39

that o* a horse( lies not in its *ragile $ody $ut in his stu$$orn

determination to remain /hat he is: something other than a

mortal $eing0 'ed slums&( #unrecogni.ed slums&( #unauthori.ed coloniesregulari.ed colonies& = each o* these residential categories carriesdi;erent legal guarantees and rights relating to housing( /ater(electricity and se/age removal0


17/39

criminality0 Iet they also have a sense o* the rightness o* their actions(

/hich give them the voice to contest the notion that $y occupying land

illegally or $y getting electricity or /ater through irregular means they

have $ecome #thieves&0 %n a remar,a$le per*ormance in 9ustin8s

'67?+ sense( one o* the leaders( Sanjeev Gupta( /ho lived in a lo/4

income unauthori.ed colony( /as a$le to $ring a$out a shi*t o*

perspective in an oJcial o* the Electricity Company /ho had accused

him o* $elonging to a colony o* thieves0 %n a remar,a$le series o*

meetings Sanjeev Gupta contested the oJcial8s understanding and

declared = #Sir( /e /ill /ipe out this stigma *rom our colony0& 5he

oJcial8s vision changed 4 he could no/ see /hat it /as to $e denied

elemental needs in the ur$an conte-t0 5hrough his interaction /ith

Gupta he /as a$le to conceptuali.e himsel* di;erently *rom an accuser

to an accused = it /as not that #they& /ere stealing electricity( it /as

that #/e = the company& /as not responding to their urgent pleas0

5hus( instead o* his earlier statement that in e;ect stated that the

company could not supply them electricity $ecause they /ere living

on land illegally occupied( and $ecause they /ere #a colony o* thieves&

he came to as, his superiors i* the ethics o* commercial action /ould

re)uire them to create the conditions o* possi$ility in /hich inha$itants

o* unauthori.ed colonies /ho live on occupied land might >nd it

possi$le to trans*orm themselves *rom #thieves& into #responsi$le

consumers0& 9s % sho/ed in my /riting on this issue( even a*ter


18/39

recognition o* their ethical responsi$ilities da/ned on them( the paths

o* e-pression and action that this opened up /ere not simple as each

step in this conversion *rom thieves into responsi$le consumers

re)uired e;orts o* map ma,ing in the area( getting agreements *or

installation o* electricity meters( and literally hundreds o* interactions

/ith government oJcials to get the map o* the area approved 'Das

!6B0+ 5here /as no single decision moment $ut there /as a slo/ shi*t

in understanding o* /ho they /ere and an a/,/ard /a,ing together

$et/een di;erent constituents on the path to a slo/ overcoming o*

many o$stacles0

5he ,ind o* political su$jectivities that /ere produced in the area

through staging o* imaginary dialogues /ith >gures o* po/er as /ell as

through the processes o* engaging state oJcials /ere not o* the

revolutionary ,ind $ut through the /or, on the everyday( the

inha$itants o* these localities sho/ed the a$ility to move *rom seeing

themselves as clients o* po/er*ul patrons /hose votes could $e $ought

*or a $ottle o* alcohol or a *e/ rupees( to political actors0 Even though

their names /ill not $e *ound in the archival records e-cept as

#masses& or #the lumpen proletariat& or the #slum d/ellers& they

achieved something very important *or the li*e o* the neigh$orhood0

Iet( as % argued earlier 'Das !6B+( /ithin these local /orlds the person

himsel* or hersel* creates di;erent versions o* the sel* as he or she


19/39

acts over di;erent terrains0 For instance Sanjeev Gupta could at some

time imagine himsel* telling o; the most po/er*ul politicians and at

another time he ended up see,ing protection through the very net/or,

o* political $osses he despised $ecause as he said /ryly( he had no

desire o* $ecoming a #hero&( re*erring to threats o* violence he had

received0 9s Giovanni da Col '!!3+ /rites o* the


20/39

#decision event& to compose himsel* 'she uses the masculine pronoun

and % thin, /ith reason+ as a ne/ sel* in /hich earlier versions o* the

sel* are completely discarded0 #So /hat % /ould li,e to suggest is a

distinction $et/een the more or less ordinary circumstances in /hich

individual people ,eep a variety o* alternative positions in play( and a

particular moment 'the decision4event+ /hen they open themselves to

a radically di;erent composition o* the sel*( a s/itch that has a lasting

e;ect and involves the most signi>cant = $ut not all = /ays in /hich

that person conceives o* her or himsel*0 Such a jump implies( as %

mentioned earlier( a >ssure( a void( a space o* the un,no/n0 'R%S( p0

136+0&

Clearly *or Humphrey( the ma,ing o* the su$ject can happen only i* the

ordinary is someho/ overcome = as ction or an illusion( that the illusion is


21/39

rather all these tremendous intellectual constructions that ma,e the

/ay /e thin, and live loo, li,e an illusion0 5his is /hat Aittgenstein

/as trying to ma,e room *or. 'as cited in nd several older

concepts such as those o* genealogical connections( ,armic pasts and

*utures( reincarnation( memories o* past $irths and *ul>llment o*

prophecies that re*rame the events o* Shira$8s li*e so that the actions

he too, are seen as not having arisen *rom ' or only *rom+ his o/n

intentions0 Humphrey sees these events as the rise o* #ne/ness&

$ecause though the concepts are old ( she says( they are applied to a

ne/ situation in an innovative /ay0 #Aith the idea o* reincarnation(

Shira$ /as no/ seen as a joint person = Do$don4Shira$ counted as one


22/39

= and his act $ecame the justi>a$le and necessary response to the

,illing o* Do$don ?6 years $e*ore0 9lso( at least *or Shira$ himsel*( the

su$ject created $y the event( a ne/ time /as initiated( regulated $y

the logic o* retaliation and prophecy0 His Kmad8 state o* mind is no/

understanda$le as a state o* utmost dread( since just as he had $een

destined to ,ill Dagdan Da @ama( the lama8s ghost /ould surely ta,e

vengeance on him0 'R%S( p0 131+&

Humphrey leaves us here /ith a very interesting )uestion0 %* the

ma,ing o* the su$ject is so strongly tied to innovation and ma,ing o*

ne/ness( ho/ is one to distinguish $et/een projection o* /ords and

concepts to ne/ situations that is part o* the /ay in /hich /e live our

everyday lives and the rise o* ne/ness

What gives life to our !ords"

Ahat are the ordinary conditions under /hich /ords come to $e

applied to ne/ situations %nstead o* thin,ing o* the ordinary as

unremar,a$le( let us( instead( as,( /hat ma,es it possi$le *or di;erent

conte-ts to $e stitched together: ho/ does ne/ness arise % ta,e t/o

crucial passages *rom Aittgenstein that allo/ us to see these issues in

a di;erent light than that o* the simple opposition o* everyday li*e and

event0


23/39

#So you are saying that human agreement decides /hat is true

and /hat is *alse& = %t is /hat human $eings saythat is true

and *alse and they agree in the language they use0 5his is not

agreement in opinions $ut in *orm o* li*e0 'Aittgenstein 6721(

paragraph B6+ L

Ahat determines our judgment( our concepts( and reactions( is

not /hat one man is doing no!( an individual action $ut the

/hole hurly $urly o* human actions( the $ac,ground against

/hich /e see any action0 'Aittgenstein 67?3( paragraph 2?3+0

5his idea o* a *orm o* li*e has a signi>cant impact on /hat /e might

call Aittgenstein8s picture o* culture $ecause it sees convention as not

something static( merely agreement in opinions( $ut as achieved in the

conte-t o* the hurly $urly o* human actions0 So /e are led to thin, o*

the comple-ity o* the ordinary through the *ragility o* human

agreements to /hich Aittgenstein points0 %n a justly *amous paragraph(

Cavell '67?7+ e-plains /hat it means to thin, o* this *ragility o* the

ordinary:

Ae learn and /e teach certain /ords in certain conte-ts( and

then /e are e-pected( and e-pect others( to $e a$le to project

them into *urther conte-ts0 othing insures that this projection

/ill ta,e place 'in particular( not the grasping o* universals nor


24/39

the grasping o* $oo,s o* rules+( just as nothing insures that /e

/ill ma,e( and understand( the same projections.5hat on the

/hole /e do is a matter o* our sharing routes o* interest and

*eeling( modes o* response( senses o* humor and o*

signi>cance and o* *ul>llment( o* /hat is outrageous( o* /hat is

similar to /hat else( /hat a re$u,e( /hat *orgiveness( o* /hen

an utterance is an assertion( /hen an appeal( /hen an

e-planation = all the /hirl o* organism Aittgenstein calls #*orms

o* li*e&0 Human speech and activity( sanity and community( rest

upon nothing more( $ut nothing less( than this0 %t is a vision as

simple as it is diJcult( and as diJcult as it is 'and $ecause it is+

terri*ying0&0 ' p02+

5he agreement that Cavell then points to sho/s that language and the

/orld are not e-ternal to each other $ut have an internal relation0 5hus

the issue is not /hether /e understand the meaning o* /ords $ut i* /e

understand each othera$out /hen an utterance is a re$u,e or an

assertion or a jo,e0 5his agreement does not arise *rom the *act that

/e share the meanings o* the /ords /e use or have the same opinion

a$out it $ut $ecause in learning a language /e learn a *orm o* li*e0 %t is

this mutual implication o* language and li*e that inducts us into the

unstated criteria that /e can apply to ne/ situations that arise0 5he

*orms o* li*e give the con>dence /ith /hich one can project /ords in


25/39

the *uture /ith some assurance that they /ill $e received in a spirit o*

one8s /anting to $e understood = *or( i* our /ords cannot $e received

$y another they cannot $e understood either0

o/ Humphrey8s point in dra/ing attention to Shira$8s madness is to

say that the e-pected projections did not happen or /ere not received

in the manner e-pected0 9s she says( #Ahy did Shira$ = as the solider

must have e-pected = not calmly inspect the head to chec, it /as

Dagdan8s( pay o; the ,iller( and go a$out his $usiness 5he person's+

he had $een $e*ore as a singular individual = perhaps particularly that

*rom early childhood /hen he had $een $rought up as a


26/39

completely unevent*ul0 9s she moves *rom event /ith a capital E to

/hat she calls a decision event in the ordinary fu- o* li*e( some o* the

dangers o* everyday li*e reveal themselves as in Shira$8s sudden

aversion to violence 'a very nd the e-traordinary idea that

/ords have li*e /hich is /hat allo/s them to e-press thoughts and to

stitch conte-ts $ut that /e might also $e vulnera$le to language( *or

our /ords may $ecome dead shells0

Ae might say: in all cases( /hat one means $y #thought # is

/hat is alivein the sentence0 5hat /ithout /hich it is dead( a

mere se)uence o* sounds or /ritten shapes0 'Aittgenstein

67?3( paragraph 6B1+0

Or suppose /e /ere to spea, o* a something that distinguishes

paper money *rom mere printed slips o* paper and gives it its

meaning( its li*e 'Aittgenstein 67?3( paragraph6B1+0

%t loo,s as i* a sentence /ith e0g0 the /ord #$all& in it already

contained the shado/ o* other uses o* this /ord0 5hat is to say(

the possibility o* *orming those other sentences0 = 5o /hom

does it loo, li,e that 9nd( under /hat circumstances

'Aittgenstein 67?3( paragraph61"+


27/39

5he notion that /ords have li*e then relates to my ac,no/ledgement o*

the presence o* the other 'to /hom does it loo, li,e that+ /ho must

$e a$le to receive my /ords and o* a conte-t that is in place 'under

/hat circumstances+0 Aords might $ecome dead /hen the conte-ts in

/hich they could $e received disappear or they might $ecome( in a

*amous analogy *rom Aittgenstein( li,e /ild horses( /ho have to $e

$rought home0 Aittgenstein and Cavell ma,e us acutely a/are o* the

*ragility o* everyday li*e and its potential *or generating madness( a

state o* vertigo in /hich one might *all as did Shira$0 %n such a state

one might utter the /ords $ut li*e has $een drained out o* them0

Else/here % have e-plored ho/ narration o* events a*ter deadly

violence might carry precisely this a;ect o* /ords $ecoming *ro.en

slides 'Das !!3+0


28/39

over a t/o4year period in Vidya8s li*e $ut % had ,no/n the *amily *or

several years0

Vidya /as the eldest daughter in a *amily composed o* her parents( her

paternal grandmother( and her t/o younger si$lings0 She /as

considered a very $right student and the *amily seemed to have

delighted in her play*ul /ays /hen she /as little0 9round the time she

turned seventeen and /as in eleventh grade( Vidya $ecame the o$ject

o* close surveillance $y her *ather and her grandmother0 % am not sure

i* there /as any particular event that triggered this response0 ant girl /ho ans/ered $ac,( /as secretive( and

resented having to do so many household chores0 % heard *rom

neigh$ors that her *ather /as o*ten $eating her up0 On the sur*ace her

grandmother /as *ull o* pity *or VidyaNpoor girl( her *ather $eat her so

mercilesslyN$ut she /ould simultaneously manage to convey that the

/orld /as a dangerous place *or gro/ing girls /ho hardly ,ne/ ho/ to

distinguish good *rom $ad that the environment o* the neigh$orhood

/as #$ad&N#ahaul $harab haiNand i* a girl lost her *ooting once(

there /as nothing to redeem her 'an o$li)ue re*erence to desire in

young girls and the dangers they pose to *amily reputationNthe stu;

o* soap operas on %ndian television+0


29/39

%t /as true that ahangirpuri ( /here the *amily lived( /as getting the

reputation o* $eing a /ild place0 5here /ere a num$er o* cases o*

elopement( /hich parents o*ten re*erred to as #a$ductions0& Violence

/as al/ays in the air( as >st>ghts could )uic,ly turn into lethal attac,s

/ith ,nives0 Girls o*ten complained to me that the groups o* young

men /ho hung around in street corners passed le/d comments and

that they could not move around *reely *or *ear o* $eing teased or

harassed0

Vidya had $ecome completely /ithdra/n0 5he /omen in the

immediate neigh$orhood /ere very /orried a$out her *ather8s

uncontrolled rage0 Her o/n mother( /hile o*ten visi$ly upset( could not

articulate any opposition to her hus$and or mother4in4la/0 Ahereas a

man might claim rights over his /i*e to even hit her( according to the

norms o* Hindu patriarchy( a daughter must al/ays $e thought o* as a

gi*t( /ho is only temporarily in her *ather8s house( and thus is to $e

cherished and loved0 %t is not that this stated norm is al/ays *ollo/ed0

eglect o* *emale children is common0 ant and /ay/ard $ut that she /as

possessed $y some unnamed spirit /ho made her say things /hich she

/as not in control o*0 5his /as an interesting /ay o* ac,no/ledging the


30/39

*ather8s authority /hile re*raming the event /ithin a di;erent narrative

structure0 5hus instead o* saying that the *ather8s rage /as the sign o*

a demonic possession( it $ecame the daughter8s $ehavior that /as

made to stand in need o* e-planation0 9ccording to the local

understandings o* availa$le trajectories o* healing( local diviners and

e-orcists /ere consulted( $ut these strategies did not /or,( though

they allo/ed Vidya8s *ather8s anger to $e cooled some/hat0 Vidya

agreed that a*ter her school >nals she /ould su$mit hersel* to an

e-orcism at the *amous


31/39

/hen it comes to gendered speech( as % have descri$ed else/here too

'Das !!3+0 % noticed that Vidya8s mother /as not a$le to spea, or

o;er any other version o* the events in the presence o* Vidya8s

grandmother( so dominating /as the voice o* the older /oman0 5here

/as no )uestion o* my $eing a$le to >nd Vidya alone and tal, to her in

the tiny( cro/ded t/o rooms in /hich they all lived0

Right a*ter the state4level school4leaving e-amination /as over( Vidya

/as ta,en to ve minutes in

the doctor8s oJce they came $ac, armed /ith lithium to $e ta,en *or

si- /ee,s( a*ter /hich the #patient& /as to report *or *urther evaluation

and adjustment o* medications0

9*ter the end o* the long summer( the results o* the state4level

e-aminations /ere announced0 Vidya had passed /ith glo/ing results(


32/39

securing a >rst division0 Given the dismal state o* teaching in many

government4run schools( this /as a miracle0 %n a class o* >*ty children

she /as the only one to have passed /ith such high mar,s0 Iet i* she

/anted to continue her studies at a pu$lic university such as the

niversity o* Delhi( she could do so only as a non4collegiate student

since admission to regular classes demands more than "! percent

mar,sNsuch is the discrepancy $et/een demand and supply0 Despite

her success in the e-aminations( the $ureaucratic processes o* getting

*orms and >ling the application /ere too intimidating *or Vidya8s

parents( and they did not trust her to go to college $y hersel*0

Fortunately( they agreed to accept my help( and % /as a$le to get her

admission process as a non4collegiate student completed0 %

accompanied Vidya to the college to introduce her to the college

environment and give her some con>dence that she could navigate the

demands o* the /ee,end classes that /ere o;ered to the students0

On our /ay home % o;ered to ta,e her to a ca* /here /e could have a

snac,( and the girl /ho had avoided me through the last t/o years

$urst out /ith her story in response to a simple )uestion o* /hether

she /as *eeling $etter0 #


33/39

chat /ith a *riend( then % /ould get a $eating0 %* % /anted to study late

at night( then % /as /asting electricity0 %* % /anted to $orro/ a $oo,

*rom a *riend and needed to go to her house( my *ather /ould accuse

me o* $ra.enly trying to meet a $oy*riend0 % /as al/ays the accusedN

no proo* o* anythingNjust suspicion( accusationsN$ut you ,no/ % am

very stu$$orn Pziddi0+ % said /hatever you can do to meNdo itNyou /ill

not $rea, my resolve to study0& % as,ed /hat happened at the


34/39

craved and allowed her to move on with her life. In other cases of mental illness

I have studied it was often the illness that craved recognition, whereas in Vidyas

case mental illness was a fiction created within the network of relations that kept

Vidyas fathers anger in abeyance. Here /e can see that even a ne/

concept such as that o* a psychiatric diagnosis receives li*e( $ecomes

mo$ile through $eing put into play /ith already *amiliar concepts such

as those o* demonic possession( or #tension0& The intensities of the battles

around her education waned as her younger sister grew to a college going stage

showing a much slower shift in subectivities than any dramatic event could

capture.

Clearly neither the notion o* culture nor o* everyday li*e can $e ta,en

as given once and *or all0


35/39

im$i$ed *ully = they gesture po/er*ully to/ard the processes through

/hich % learn to ma,e /ords o* my culture my o/n $ut also to con*ront

/hat % regard as my culture( /ith /hat is my imagination o* my /ords

and my li*e0

For Aittgenstein( the process o* coming to o/n one8s e-perience is

neither a simple act o* resistance to the norms o* one8s culture nor an

act o* simple acceptance = rather it is through an education that one

learns /hat is going to $e the shape o* agreements and attunements

to one8s culture0 %t *ollo/s that against the claims that Aittgenstein

/as a conservative( a deeper reading o* &hilosophical Investigations

suggests that claims to one8s culture rest on $eing a$le to >nd one8s

voice /ithin it $oth as a gi*t and also a re$u,e0 Vidya8s /ords ( #


36/39

anthropological ,no/ledge and the picture o* thin,ing in anthropology0

%* /e thin, o* theory not as a net/or, o* concepts that is put on a fu-

o* data as a >sherman puts his net on the s/irling /aters o* a river( $ut

as generated *rom /ithin our ethnographic engagements( then /e

should e-pect di;erences to arise that cannot $e settled through

criteria o* rightness or /rongness0 %nstead( perhaps our sensi$ilities are

honed( just as those o* our respondents( through the ,notting o* our

auto$iographies /ith those o* the individuals /e come to ,no/ /ithin a

*orm o* li*e0 y sense o* the depths in the everyday encounters in

/hich % s/im and the thic,ening o* concepts through everyday

encounters in my >eld/or, is not unrelated to the succor and threats

in the everyday that made up my o/n sense o* $eing( o* learning ho/

to inha$it the /orld and ho/ to leave it0 From that perspective % am

content to thin, that my picture o* /riting is rather li,e that o* oe8s

declaration that all he is doing is recounting some household events0

Humphrey too participates in this vision o* anthropological ,no/ledge

on and o; in her paper = % dare to suggest then that the higher realms

to /hich she is attracted as going $eyond the everyday might $e

turned around to reveal that they might actually $e seeded in the

everyday

(eferences

0


37/39

9ustin( 0@0 67?0 )o! to *o Things !ith Words0 Cam$ridge( 90

Harvard niversity ress0


38/39

ountain in

Iunnan rovince&0 Inner 'sia7'+: 62=130

Das( Veena0 67720 Critical Events+ 'n 'nthropological &erspective on

Conte#porary

India2 Delhi: O-*ord niversity ress0

Das( Veena0 !!30 Life and Words+ 3iolence and the *escent into the

1rdinary0


39/39

Troubled Times(.Anthropological Theory"Vol. @B0C-

Documents

Das 16 August on Singularity