EDITORIAL - The Kathmandu Post
Kathmandu, Friday October 27, 2000 Kartik 11, 2057.
"Proxemics", History and Culture
By Viraj P. Thacker
“Proxemics” is the interrelated theories of observations of human use of space as a special elaboration of culture. It also suggests a cultural dimension based on the experience of perception. Throughout human history, civilizations have created ideas about space and culture and often imposed them on others deemed to be weaker. In many ways, the one historical and geographical location of the world that seems to both personify and defy the very meaning of "proxemics" is the Indian Subcontinent. From earliest civilizations like Mohenjodaro and Harppa, the invasion of the Vedic Indo-Aryans, the Golden Age of the Guptas, the thousand year Moghul occupation to the British "Raj" and finally Modern India - India with its ancient history has seen definitions and redefinitions of culture and space. As if all this was not enough, the highly multi-ethnic fabric of India represents every race and religion known to man. Differences among the traditions and origins of the North and South make a study in itself. With twenty two culturally diverse states, each with various racial, religious and philosophical orientations and over 675 languages and dialects, the definition of a prototype of Indian culture becomes impossible, and this glorious yet chaotic "melting pot" stands almost in defiance of what common sense would call "overload".
To try and correlate every aspect of Indian history would be an impossibility and it would not be feasible to define the idea of "proxemics" arising from the above mentioned. It may suffice to mention that the course of Indian history has explored and established many combinations of space and culture and rather than stick to common perceptions I will attempt to discuss the unique interactions of the British "Raj" and the concepts of space and culture that were created during this era. By engaging in a description of historical fact specific to time and circumstance, I hope to make my point.
The location I have chosen for our purposes is the town of Darjeeling in northeast India. Located in the lap of the great Himalayas, 700 odd miles from Calcutta, Darjeeling was the summer capital of British India, and a welcome retreat from the oppressive heat of the plains of Bengal. Unlike the plains of Bengal, the inhabitants of this mountainous region were the warlike Gurkhas of Nepal. The East India Company in the early years were overcome by the Gurkhas and made peace by incorporating these fearless warriors of Nepal into the British Army. Darjeeling was presented to the company by the King of Nepal as a returned favour and although now a part of British India, it had a population whose traditions were closely affiliated to the kingdom of Nepal.
Besides being famous for its renowned teas, Darjeeling became the playground and classroom of the "Raj" and a seat of European culture. Situated at an altitude of 7000 feet, with a healthy mist and rain, Darjeeling was reminiscent of a Scottish highland town. This Victorian toy town was (and still is) home to India's oldest and most exclusive British public schools. St Paul's School, founded in 1823 by the British elite has been called the "Eton of the East" and "Eton in the Himalayas", where Sunday suits, boating jackets and blazers are compulsories as are Shakespeare, and "exeats". In a much changed India, St Paul's on the hill continues to epitomize the best of Victorian England, and perhaps continues the long lost tradition at Eton. While the rest of India (with the exception of a few pockets) has progressively erased the last hints of the British Empire, St Paul's and a few others continue to stubbornly exist as the last bastions of a bygone tradition.
What is true of Darjeeling (Queen of the hills) is probably applicable to twenty odd similar resorts called hill stations throughout the "Raj" and the old colonial cities of India. The Indian upper class enjoyed the benefits of this kind of exclusivity, while the rest of India remained rural and poor. In earlier years, the East India company under Robert Clive, gained by incorporating the Indian upper classes into the colonial system and this was related to the forms of discrimination already in place within Indian society. Thus the life style of Maharajas and princes impacted the definition of Anglo-Indian culture as much as the imposition of Gothic architecture on the Indian landscape and in many ways the clash of ancient and progressive redefined British culture in the empire.
In modern India, the definitions of space and culture are largely a function of the same factors as during the "Raj", namely, economics, social class and affluence. Thus, while places like Darjeeling try to preserve the older tradition, cities like Bombay and Calcutta are redefined in terms of the environment built by slums and poverty.
In many ways, the process of redefinition of space and culture has largely been a need to accommodate growing populations and in the process, the concepts of space and urban environment have regressed since the days of colonial rule. Attempts to create new cities have not yielded desired results and any sense of nostalgia attached to the great old cities requires a journey into their colonial past. At the same time, the majority of rural India remains unchanged. So while a minuscule percentage of Indian society continues to defend their premises, the overwhelming majority tries to "make do" with what's left, but in a population that continues to grow at an alarming rate, encroachment becomes a necessity. In terms of culture, the affluent few remain as distanced from the poor majority as the space they occupy.
What is the definition of culture under these circumstances? The concept of proxemics is reduced to a mere terminology and its definition severely challenged in the Indian experience. There may be hope in the form of a growing middle class, but unfortunately a middle class in India suggests need for accumulation rather than redistribution. In the long run, this growing segment of society may prove to be another hindrance to real progress. In my final analysis, to realize the ideas of space and culture in an inclusive manner, Indian society will have to restructure and reform in an unprecedented manner. This is highly unlikely. Even if this was achieved somehow, an overwhelming population would ensure that the idea of space and culture remained a complete dichotomy at best.
Monday, April 7, 2008
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