Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: February 3, 2021 at 9:57:07 PM EST > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Asia]: Lucia on Whitmore, 'Mountain, Water, Rock, > God: Understanding Kedarnath in the Twenty-First Century' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Luke Whitmore. Mountain, Water, Rock, God: Understanding Kedarnath > in the Twenty-First Century. Oakland University of California > Press, 2018. 278 pp. $34.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-520-29802-6. > > Reviewed by Amanda Lucia (University of California) > Published on H-Asia (February, 2021) > Commissioned by Sumit Guha > > Lucia on Whitmore, _Kedarnath_ > > Writing about a specific place invites the potential danger of > limiting readership, crafting a narrative that only those invested in > that particular place will read. But with Luke Whitmore's most recent > book on Kedarnath, such an assessment would be a grave error. For not > only is Kedarnath an inherently fascinating place, but Whitmore's > erudite and interdisciplinary analysis brings this specific place and > the events that inform it into conversation with important topics in > anthropology, religious studies, environmental studies, and public > policy, not to mention, of course, South Asian studies. > > Many locals will tell you that a successful arrival at Kedarnath > necessitates an invitation from the gods. Roads are perilous, > landslides are frequent, and the weather is unpredictable. At an > elevation of 3,500 meters above sea level, it is a precarious journey > to make it to this famed sacred geography, and, of course, the temple > therein. As Whitmore relays with a description from a friend in this > ethnographic field, "taking a bus ride in Garhwal [is] a 'game of > destiny' (Hindi: _kismet ka khel_)" (p. 99). > > And such a comment reveals one of the most wonderful aspects of this > book, that Whitmore's ethnographic descriptions often invoke the > intimate feeling of conversing with _pahari log_ (mountain people) of > the Kedarnath region. While much of the ethnographic account consists > of their accounts and stories retold in Whitmore's own language, the > author often keeps just enough of their Hindi (in brackets as above) > to relay the affect and intent in the vibrant storytelling of his > numerous interlocutors. Through his descriptions, readers come to > imagine waiting out the weather in cramped chai stalls, and engaging > therein alongside pilgrims and locals in heated conversations of > "chai-shop controversy" (p. 198). Whitmore's evocative prose conveys > the "pain (Hindi: _kasht_) of waiting in line for a little while" to > make one's way up the mountain pass, the endurance necessary to "come > on foot" (p. 127), and the related resentment directed toward those > upper-class travelers who occupy the helicopters flying low over the > heads of the weary climbers. > > The ethnographic account is deeply evocative and Whitmore bridges > genres, shifting from ethno-history to conventional ethnography, > netnography, and autoethnography with literary agility and skillful > prose. Methodologically, he also displays provocative and innovative > choices as he tests his analytical theories among his interlocutors. > In one of my favorite passages of the book, he writes, "I attempted > to test my understanding of this conceptual complex [Nature's > _Tandava_ Dance, the title of chapter 6] on my journey back down to > Gaurikund on May 5, 2014. This was difficult because I spent most of > the walk focused on my own physical ordeal. It started to rain soon > after I left Kedarnath, which meant that many parts of the path, > which was still under construction, became coated with mud. Around > Linchauli the soles of my boots separated from the rest of the boot, > so I switched to sandals.... I did manage to have an important > conversation. I spoke with a group of five men from Delhi ... [and] I > asked the one who came every year why he thought this had happened" > (p. 181). Whitmore then goes on to relate how the pilgrim interlaced > both dharmic and scientific explanations to explain the reasons for > the catastrophic effects of the 2013 floods. > > Such analysis forms the foundation of Whitmore's overarching argument > that Kedarnath is a system that can be characterized as an > "eco-social system," a notion that holistically recognizes the > "intersubjectivity that is at the root of being in the world [and] > includes many different kinds of subjects, of which humans are but > one subset" (p. 23). Both the introduction and the final chapter of > the book (the latter offered in lieu of a conclusion) are > analytically and theoretically astute and bring together contemporary > theory in the social sciences with environmental studies and public > policy to shed light on Kedarnath, and most importantly, why this > story matters in the broader global context of the ecological > disaster of 2013 and the more gradual forms of climate catastrophe. > Whitmore's argument calls for contextual, networked, eco-social > systemic approaches, in efforts to "offer a portable holistic model > for thinking about how religious worldviews inform conceptions, > experiences, and practices connecting to the natural world that can > be deployed across multiple scales" (p. 12). He expands further on > the work of Adrian J. Ivakhiv (who is building on the work of > Isabelle Stengers, Bruno Latour, and Philippe Descola), to think > through how a place like Kedarnath, and its eco-political > disaster-relief responses to the debris-floods of 2013, must be > situated within the "cosmopolitical," a reference to the "way that > religion, science, nature, and politics (all at multiple scales) are > dynamically interdependent, and the way that the world may be moving > toward this realization" (p. 203). In light of the complexity of > entanglements of various forces at Kedarnath, such an argument is > extraordinarily convincing--though potentially all the more difficult > to address for lack of a clear and singular solution to a looming > crisis. > > In both the first and second chapters, Whitmore provides readers with > a thorough analysis of the variety of Hindu mythologies that inform > this auspicious territory. Their strength lies in the ways in which > Whitmore places the tale of the Pandavas from _The Mahābhārata_, > the mythological stories of the Purāṇas, and the local accounts of > deities, _bhut _(ghosts), and other supernatural beings (such as > _acheri_) alike, in the mouths of his interlocutors, listening and > relaying multiple interpretations of the textual sources. Chapter 3 > traces literary and governmental accounts of Kedarnath as it is > represented in accounts ranging from "Ebar Kando Kedarnathey" ("Crime > in Kedarnath"), a short detective story written by Satyajit Ray in > 1984, to Sister Nivedita's account from 1928, wherein she blends > together "her wonder at the natural environment, her Orientalist and > religious wonder at the ancient richness of Indic pilgrimage > traditions, her early nationalist sentiments, and a scholarly > interest in the history of Indian religions" (p. 96). In this > chapter, Whitmore also introduces the political landscape of the > region, including the creation of the new state of Uttaranchal (which > would later become Uttarakhand), which "was premised on the > commitment to greater sensitivity toward the local living conditions > of hill peoples (Hindi: _pahari_)" (p. 100). > > Chapter 4, "The Season," in somewhat of an omniscient foreshadowing, > narrates the new forms of spiritual tourism, trekking, and outdoors > recreation popularized among the devout and the upper and middle > classes that situated Kedarnath close to the height of its tourist > capacity during Whitmore's initial research period of 2007-08. > Whitmore tacks deftly between the narrative accounts of pilgrims, > _purohits_ (priests), and local merchants, focusing sections on > weather, tensions, labor, livelihood, and trekkers. In a fascinating > analysis, he offers a final story of a youth killed by helicopter > blades who became the principal character in several ghostly > incidents during the season of 2007. He writes how his ghostly > appearances "occasioned an active nostalgia" (p. 143) for a time when > Kedarnath was filled with far fewer lodges and lights, and the > immanent presence of fearsome supernatural beings (forest-mountain > spirits) encouraged villagers to stay within the lit boundaries of > the humble village. > > Inevitably, because of its extreme subject matter, chapter 5 > unwittingly dominates the book. It tells the sordid tale of the > violent, and by now infamous, floods of June 16-17, 2013. Although > Whitmore was not in Kedarnath that season, he recounts the terrifying > events and devastating aftermath through his connections on social > media, conversations with his friends and interlocutors from previous > field research, news media accounts, and local and national > governmental responses. He employs the existential concept of "the > situation" to attempt to unfurl the multilayered events that abut and > extend beyond what the anthropologist Michael Jackson's terms "the > limits of language" and "the limits of our strength" (p. 145), both > of which are painfully evident in description and experience of the > deluge. In this section, I was most taken with Whitmore's admirable > caution against any attempt "to beguile the reader with gripping, > sensational accounts of disaster survival" (p. 152). Instead, he > narrates, but leaves poignantly situated absences that evoke the > gravity of death and destruction that his interlocutors endured, or > did not survive. As massive amounts of mud, dirt, debris, and icy > waters cascaded in a torrential glacial flood, he writes, "You either > moved or did not. I was like this: _____" and "some strangers and > loved ones saved each other in that moment of _____ and others could > not" (p. 152). Such innovative use of silence (here indicated by > _____) evokes not only what which cannot be conveyed in language, but > also absence and death. It also reveals Whitmore's proximity to his > informants and his deep respect for their enduring loss. > > The final two chapters provide an analysis of the aftermath alongside > varying interpretations of the events of 2013, which often revealed > an intertwined understanding of both scientific and religious causes > of the flooding. Whitmore then concludes with a gaze into the future > as to what will become of the balance between aggressively expansive > tourism and the environmental--and ultimately, human--costs inherent > in such potentially profitable desires. He argues that the religious > dimensions of place and region "are very much bound up with the > political, economic, and environmental considerations that can be > used to construct durable, beneficial frameworks" (p. 204), and as > such cannot be excluded from the broader contextual web of > significance. > > Whitmore situates his tale as an intimate, embodied experience that > is deeply engaged in the local context, while simultaneously > demonstrating his intellectual acumen as one who is as comfortable in > the Sanskrit narrations of _The Mahābhārata_ and Purāṇas as he > is in modern-day environmental policy and Hindutva politics. While I > personally was enthralled by this story because of my love for the > Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand, trekking, Kedarnath, and my friends > among the _pahari log (_mountain folk) Whitmore supplies readers with > much more than a love story about a particular sacred place. His > account is both theoretically astute and transferrable, and, most > importantly, he tells a persuasive story of the import, efficacy, and > role of material religion in confronting what are certain to be > increasingly destructive effects of climate catastrophe. > > Citation: Amanda Lucia. Review of Whitmore, Luke, _Mountain, Water, > Rock, God: Understanding Kedarnath in the Twenty-First Century_. > H-Asia, H-Net Reviews. February, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54070 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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