Spirit of the Kikar Trees

I decided then and there that I would go and visit the Mangar Bani. 

Mangar Bani is among the few remaining pristine forest areas left in the Aravali hill ranges around Delhi and Haryana, in the misst of which the Delhi-Faridabad-Gurgaon highways also run. It is also a sacred grove and a Paleolithic archeological site, that has remained relatively untouched over the years. Villages do exist close to this eco-sensitive area. Despite its sensitive and important significance, governments in the past have not done enough to protect it. As it fell under the villages' jurisdictions, as common land or Panchayat land, the locals took some care till some decades ago, but slowly with increasing commercial activity, the area began to get affected. Environmentalists who are trying to protect the Aravalis from illegal or even legal mining, various forms of development and dangers have been concerned about it. 

I knew nothing about this place till very recently. Why suddenly then did I become interested in this place? Mangar Bani entered my imagination in the past weeks because of various things that occurred around me.

Painful romance with Sociology

An old Piece from 2007. 

Sociology...

The past 6 months have messed up my brain. literally. the only time I can think clearly is when I'm not really thinking. and the rest of the time I'm reading laborious writings in which some other very thinking people are thinking. And I used to think I was a thinking person. Now I no more know what I think.

Welcome to my life-world (a sociological term) of a masters in sociology.

I have wanted to write my first blog entry for so long, but my brain has been too cluttered. So without putting all that down, I really cannot move forward. To throw it all out is my intention, but that may not be the end I reach. For as sociology teaches us (oh for christ's sake!) life hardly works by a means and ends logic, and a lot of sociology is the study of the unintended consequence [Hence perhaps ur Chattis ka aankda with the model -loving economics dept!!!].

The original beauty of sociology is undeniable. You see so much of your own thinking, existence, mundane and special activity in such novel ways. Also gratifying in many ways is to see theorists talking of things you have observed from time to time.

But then the texts!