Reconstructing the Three 'H's of Maharashtrian Culture and Society
House and Home in Maharashtra, edited by Irina Glushkova and Anne Feldhhaus (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998) is the first of two volumes featuring the proceedings of the VIth International Conference on 'Maharashtra: Culture and Society' held in May, 1995, in a picturesque vicinity of Moscow.By Eugenia Vanina
Every one of the past seven Maharashtra conferences was distinguished by a particular theme, or a keyword of discussion. For the Moscow convention it was the 'ghar', a term which in Marathi and many other Indian languages signifies the three Hs: House, Home and Hearth. The choice was made because a great variety of notions, relations, socio-historical processes and ethnocultural phenomena are reflected by, centred around or connected with, the 'ghar' in all three of its manifestations.
The volume is divided into four sections. The first, 'House and Home Reconstructed', begins with an article by Tatyana Elizarenkova, who investigates the Rgveda for the lexical and grammatical implications of the 'house' which was perceived as 'home' by the Vedic Aryans. Analysing the Prakrit anthologies, Victoria Vertogradova reconstructs the structural and spatial types of village houses in different ecological surroundings and correlates these with behavioural patterns of the village women. Vasudev L. Manjul's study reveals philosophical and emotional implications of human shelter as reflected in the Jnaneshvari, the celebrated Marathi commentary on the Bhagavadgita. Irina Glushkova discusses the various emotional, value and behavioural aspects of 'ghar' using Marathi folk sayings and proverbs as source. Narendra Dengle depicts the architectural types of the traditional Maharashtrian residence, as relevant to different regions and ecological conditions of the country and pin-points their peculiarities in connection with the psychological concepts of extroversion and introversion.
Section II embraces papers on 'Women in their Parents' Home and their In-laws' Houses'. This problem, which has such a deep imprint upon the society and culture of India as a whole and Maharashtra in particular, is discussed on the basis of fieldwork and different types of texts. Anne Feldhaus explores the goddesses of Maharashtra, who are in most cases looked upon as married women thus sharing all social and emotional notions of a marital home ('sasar') and maternal home ('maher'). The antithesis of the two stations in female life is an integral part of the women's folksongs either in Maharashtra, or in other parts of India or in the Indian community of Surinam, as shown in the paper by Indira Junghare. The 'sasar-maher' opposition was widely used both in directly physical and in spiritual meaning. However Meera Kosambi in her article based upon the XIXth century life narratives of several distinguished women of Maharashtra who demonstrate that neither 'sasar' nor 'maher' was a woman's own home, but both were places of oppression.
Section III, 'Home and Household' deals with a wide spectre of relations between an inmate and his/her household. James Laine analyses classical and medieval Marathi texts to reconstruct a figure of a male householder and denote his social duties, value system, and role within and without his household. This theme is continued by Mahadev L. Apte whose material is contemporary Marathi biographical literature, which offers an insight into the domestic atmosphere and its role in the genesis of a personality. Philip C. Engblom discusses the difficulties in translating the word 'ghar' as used (and sometimes purposely not used) in different psychological, social and cultural meanings by modern Marathi writers. Suman Belwalkar makes a socio-linguistic survey of Marathi language and its dialects as used inside and outside home, in various social surroundings and life situations. Kalyan Kale's paper on kinship terms in Marathi discloses the intricate web of relationships between the inmates of the house.
Section IV, 'Gods and Devotees at Home' depicts the sphere of religion and devotion inside the house. Mahesh Elkunchwar reflects upon the significance of the 'devghar', the Maharashtrian household shrine, and the diminishing of the house gods' integrative role with the present-day split of the traditional joint family. Tatyana Oranskaya describes the modern religious movement aimed at the reintroduction of the Vedic agnihotra ritual into the modern houses in Maharashtra in order to enforce ecological and spiritual well-being of the family and its integration. Sadanand More expounds the understanding of the 'ghar', both in ideal and practical implications, as dictated by the teachings and social values of the Varkari Panth, Maharashtra's most popular 'bhakti' tradition, which, although of medieval origin, still influences the life of millions. Cornelia Mallebrein in the paper based upon extensive fieldwork among the Maharashtrian tribals, describes the household deities hidden in the baskets inside the house 'devghars' by the Kokna people.
As a whole, the book is featured by a variety of themes, but is not a random selection of papers. All contributions are related to the main topic of discussion and grouped in a logically productive way to present a unified picture of the 'ghar', its spatial dimensions, inside relationships, religious and emotional implications. The authors represent different schools of Indology, specializations and methodological approaches which in this or that way compliment each other and produce a welcome example of multi-disciplinary studies.
The second volume, entitled 'Home, Family and Kinship in Maharashtra' is now in press with the OUP, Delhi, and is expected to be released by the end of this year. It concentrates mainly upon historical, sociological, and political aspects of the problem.
Eugenia Vanina (ivran@glasnet.ru) is the Head, History & Culture Section,Centre for Indian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Russia. The eighth Maharashtra Conference is to be held in Sydney in 1999.