Dipankar Gupta

Three books stand out in my mind from among the few I read in 2020. The contents of each of these surprised me besides adding enormously to my knowledge. Let me begin with Jonathan Parry’s Classes of Labour (Routledge). In this work the author clearly demonstrates how differently permanent and casual workers in the Bhilai Steel factory view their social circumstances. Permanent workers not only seek better education for their children but feel secure enough not to rely excessively on traditional kinship ties. This aspect is also reflected in their marriage choices and inter caste dining practices.

Second in line is Sreedeep Bhattacharya’s book Consumerist Encounters (Oxford University Press). Bhattacharya examines how built-in obsolescence is passé as far as contemporary consumer attitudes are concerned. The accent instead is on a flirtatious connection with commodities highlighted in the extreme by the ephemeral life of a T-shirt whose outstanding feature is its whimsical inscription and not its fabric and cut. Finally, I come to S Giridhar’s volume titled, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers (Westland and Azim Premji University). Giridhar provides a corrective to the negative opinions that are popularly held against government school teachers for being remiss and uncaring in their duties. This book lovingly curates the achievements of a select band of unsung heroes who perform their labour of love, on a routine basis, seeking no other reward but that their students excel academically.

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