Anthropology and Anthropologist

Poem written by

Dr. Geetika Ranjan

Professor, Department of Anthropology,

North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong.

I am Anthropology

I have been walking through the years

in quest of the human and his peers

Traversing times and places from the yore

The myriad human, I endeavor to explore

Called a colonial hand maiden in the bygone days

I steadfastly steered my way

From verandah Anthropology to a barefoot one

I arise from the clouds like a bright, determined sun

Attacks make me grow more

Labels make me stronger

For I know my assets and my essence

To name a few – holism, comparison and relativism

I have silently carved my own niche

Which others also now believe

They take from me and call it their own

Unfettered, undeterred, my skills- I continue to hone

Who is this walking on the muddy road?

Oh, there’s the Anthropologist

battling storms and weather jolts

to talk, to see and hear those fellows out there

in villages and cities, in festivals and fairs.

I am Anthropology

Walking with empathy in heart

To serve them in the course that I chart.

Science and humanism blend here with a smile

And Anthropology goes mile to mile

mile to mile

mile to mile.