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Center for South and Southeast Asia Studies, UC Berkeley
The Remembered Village
Sketching an ethnographic portrait of the village ion its own terms, and as an integral part of larger political and historical institutions, The Remembered Village is an exhaustive and detailed description of village life and the complexities of inter- and intra-caste relations. The author's fieldwork was based in the village of Rampura, a multi-caste village in South India. First published in 1976, this book is the first detailed ethnographic village study that narrates in minute detail the day-to-day social relations between members of diverse castes living in a small community, and has been acknowledge as a classic ever since. Srinivas' representation of Rampura's unforgettable inhabitants and their relationships has informed and delighted numerous students, scholars, and interested readers for many years.
The Second Edition comes with a new Introduction by Andre Beteille.
The Second Edition comes with a new Introduction by Andre Beteille.
392 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
24 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
About the author
M.N. Srinivas
47 books21 followersMysore Narasimhachar Srinivas (aka M.N. Srinivas) was born on November 16, 1916 in Mysore, although his parents were from Arakere, a village 20 miles (32 km) away. Srinivas, the youngest of four sons, studied in Mysore. He took an honours degree in social philosophy from My sore University, "an ambitious programme, covering an immense variety of subjects, which would have daunted any undergraduate anywhere" he recalled in his interview to Fuller. Srinivas has written about how, as an "overprotected Brahmin boy", he experien ced his first "culture shocks not more than fifty yards from the back wall of our house... The entire culture of Bandikere was visibly and olfactorily different from that of College Road. Bandikere was my Trobriand Islands, my Nuerland, my Navaho country and what have you. In retrospect, it is not surprising that I became an anthropologist, an anthropologist all of whose fieldwork was in his own country."
From Mysore, Srinivas moved to Bombay and later to Oxford University. He did his Masters under G.S. Ghurye, during which he did a dissertation he later published as Marriage and Family in Mysore (1942). Srinivas would later recall that the seeds f or his ideas on sanskritisation were sown during his fieldwork for his M.A. dissertation. At Oxford, Srinivas worked under the two leading anthropologists of the day, A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and E.E Evans-Pritchard. In his interview to Fuller, Srinivas spea ks of this period as one of both intellectual excitement and growth.
Srinivas returned to India in 1951, and joined the Department of Sociology of M.S. University, Baroda. He formulated a new syllabus for the department and built it into a reputed centre of socio-anthropological teaching and research. In February 1959, h e was invited to Delhi University to establish and head the Department of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, which was recognised as a centre for advanced study in 1968. Srinivas attracted the best talent to the department and built it into one of the leading departments in the country in the field, combining sociology with social anthropological approaches. Its competitor at the Delhi School was the Economics Department which had an array of distinguished economists such as K.N. Raj, Amartya S en, Pranab Bardhan, Mrinal Dutta Chaudhuri and others on its faculty. In his interview to Fuller, Srinivas hints at the competition and tension between these two strong departments. "Marxism was the dominant ideology of the economists - Marxism and macro -economics. They laughed at the kind of things we were doing. We were studying kinship, caste, villages, religion, and they looked upon us as backward people," Srinivas told Fuller.
In 1972, Srinivas returned to his home State and joined the Institute for Social and Economic Change set up by V.K.R.V. Rao in Bangalore as Joint Director, a position he gave up in 1979. He joined the National Institute of Advanced Study (NIAS) as the J. R.D. Tata Visiting Professor in 1992 and started a unit of sociology and social anthropology in 1997. He and R.L. Kapur set up the Women's Policy, Research and Advocacy Unit at the NIAS. His interest in issues relating to gender began with his participat ion in the Status of Women in India Report, 1975.
After shifting to Bangalore, Srinivas continued to write on those themes that flowed from his early anthropological work - caste, modernisation, sanskritisation, social change, gender, the practice of social anthropology, and so on. His most recent publi cation, Indian Society through Personal Writings (1998), dedicated to his old friend, novelist R.K. Narayan, is a collection of essays - some biographical, some on caste disputes in Rampura, an account ("idiosyncratic, if not capricious") of Banga lore, and so on. Interestingly, in the book Village, Caste, Gender and Method (1998), he also included two short stories.
From Mysore, Srinivas moved to Bombay and later to Oxford University. He did his Masters under G.S. Ghurye, during which he did a dissertation he later published as Marriage and Family in Mysore (1942). Srinivas would later recall that the seeds f or his ideas on sanskritisation were sown during his fieldwork for his M.A. dissertation. At Oxford, Srinivas worked under the two leading anthropologists of the day, A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and E.E Evans-Pritchard. In his interview to Fuller, Srinivas spea ks of this period as one of both intellectual excitement and growth.
Srinivas returned to India in 1951, and joined the Department of Sociology of M.S. University, Baroda. He formulated a new syllabus for the department and built it into a reputed centre of socio-anthropological teaching and research. In February 1959, h e was invited to Delhi University to establish and head the Department of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, which was recognised as a centre for advanced study in 1968. Srinivas attracted the best talent to the department and built it into one of the leading departments in the country in the field, combining sociology with social anthropological approaches. Its competitor at the Delhi School was the Economics Department which had an array of distinguished economists such as K.N. Raj, Amartya S en, Pranab Bardhan, Mrinal Dutta Chaudhuri and others on its faculty. In his interview to Fuller, Srinivas hints at the competition and tension between these two strong departments. "Marxism was the dominant ideology of the economists - Marxism and macro -economics. They laughed at the kind of things we were doing. We were studying kinship, caste, villages, religion, and they looked upon us as backward people," Srinivas told Fuller.
In 1972, Srinivas returned to his home State and joined the Institute for Social and Economic Change set up by V.K.R.V. Rao in Bangalore as Joint Director, a position he gave up in 1979. He joined the National Institute of Advanced Study (NIAS) as the J. R.D. Tata Visiting Professor in 1992 and started a unit of sociology and social anthropology in 1997. He and R.L. Kapur set up the Women's Policy, Research and Advocacy Unit at the NIAS. His interest in issues relating to gender began with his participat ion in the Status of Women in India Report, 1975.
After shifting to Bangalore, Srinivas continued to write on those themes that flowed from his early anthropological work - caste, modernisation, sanskritisation, social change, gender, the practice of social anthropology, and so on. His most recent publi cation, Indian Society through Personal Writings (1998), dedicated to his old friend, novelist R.K. Narayan, is a collection of essays - some biographical, some on caste disputes in Rampura, an account ("idiosyncratic, if not capricious") of Banga lore, and so on. Interestingly, in the book Village, Caste, Gender and Method (1998), he also included two short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 19, 2018
Warm, in-depth portrait of a Karnataka village in 1948
Neither anthropologists nor men come much better than M.N. Srinivas, who passed away in the 1990s. One of the first Indians to write on the ethnography of his own country, he studied in England with both Radcliffe-Brown and Evans-Pritchard, now deities in the hagiography of Anthropology. Back in 1948, Srinivas studied a village in what was then Mysore state, investigating everything he could, from agriculture to caste relationships, from religion to village politics. It was the classic style of field study. In succeeding years, Srinivas published a large number of important articles and several books, including "Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India", "Caste in Modern India and other essays" and "Social Change in Modern India". He never actually got around to writing up his old village study. In 1970, he was a fellow at Berkeley and finally was about to finish the work. An arsonist burned his office and all three copies of the work. THE REMEMBERED VILLAGE, then, is literally "remembered" because the bulk of the work went up in flames, though some notes were saved and the original data was in Delhi. What emerges is a wonderful portrait of an Indian anthropologist's time in the field, his relationship with the various villagers, and a lovingly detailed picture of the village itself, covering all the usual aspects of an anthropological study. Perhaps adversity and misfortune combined to produce a greater work. As an anthropologist who has worked on India for many years and as a person who was impressed with the warmth and humanity of Prof. Srinivas (though I only met him briefly many years ago in Australia), I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the feel, the look, and the inner workings of an Indian village back in the days before the Green Revolution, television, and globalisation. This is Anthropology without jargon, India from the inside.
Neither anthropologists nor men come much better than M.N. Srinivas, who passed away in the 1990s. One of the first Indians to write on the ethnography of his own country, he studied in England with both Radcliffe-Brown and Evans-Pritchard, now deities in the hagiography of Anthropology. Back in 1948, Srinivas studied a village in what was then Mysore state, investigating everything he could, from agriculture to caste relationships, from religion to village politics. It was the classic style of field study. In succeeding years, Srinivas published a large number of important articles and several books, including "Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India", "Caste in Modern India and other essays" and "Social Change in Modern India". He never actually got around to writing up his old village study. In 1970, he was a fellow at Berkeley and finally was about to finish the work. An arsonist burned his office and all three copies of the work. THE REMEMBERED VILLAGE, then, is literally "remembered" because the bulk of the work went up in flames, though some notes were saved and the original data was in Delhi. What emerges is a wonderful portrait of an Indian anthropologist's time in the field, his relationship with the various villagers, and a lovingly detailed picture of the village itself, covering all the usual aspects of an anthropological study. Perhaps adversity and misfortune combined to produce a greater work. As an anthropologist who has worked on India for many years and as a person who was impressed with the warmth and humanity of Prof. Srinivas (though I only met him briefly many years ago in Australia), I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the feel, the look, and the inner workings of an Indian village back in the days before the Green Revolution, television, and globalisation. This is Anthropology without jargon, India from the inside.
October 12, 2016
Having grown up in an Indian village, I can testify that this book one of the most accurate account of rural Indian socio-economic structure- put together in a really educational and entertaining fashion. It is an immensely enjoyable read!
April 21, 2021
A Phoenix from Memory
In the wake of Gandhi’s Assassination in 1948, India was still mourning the loss of the Mahatma while also being joyous of newfound independence, and the immediate challenges of governance that it had given birth to. This was in very brief the larger context in which MN Srinivas’ Remembered Village, a canon in Indian Sociology and Anthropology. Rampura, a village near Mysore in Karnataka, is the remembered village out of memory. It's field notes had been burnt in a bizarre arson in a study center in Palo Alto. It was an absurd twist of faith; the “messiness” of social life as Srinivas himself says gave rise to this widely acclaimed book.
The detailed ethnographic work is meticulous to say the least. With each character being brought to life with the amount of information about them flowing nonchalantly, idiosyncratic to the authors style of writing. Although bearing a Brahmanical vehicle in understanding and studying the village, the author does concede of his apprehensions in weighing not compromising field work for more in dept participation in the subaltern. One important observation from the very initial point would be the change of emphasis from Tribal populations to Rural Indian Villages, counter currenting the traditional trend of Anthropologists vastly arranging studies in Tribal areas.
The author at first sets up the setting of the bullock house, where he is to reside for 11 months, before going back to Oxford on a teaching post. The initial part describes his coming to speed with rural life, his struggles against finding the balance between being a participator of the village; being agreeable to the village folks’ opinions and holding up his own refined views. He later understands that one has to compromise one’s sophistication in order to build a rapport in a setting such as that of the Village. Otherwise there would be not a great deal of genuine flow of information. As seen in his attempts to break the ice between him and the surrounding villages, he isn’t shy in running a shop by himself just so that he could engage in conversations and gossips, which even if unscrupulous, are valuable for his yearlong study.
He also collected Genealogies in order to find out more about the socio-political functionalities between the different families, and the amount of land they owned and what their implications were. His studies permitted him to say that there existed two hierarchies in the village, one that depended on the amount of land one owned and the other being that of ritualistic varna system. The widely held belief of the caste system being entirely rigid was not true in all instances, to cite one instance, there were some upper caste households that had Harijans looking after the children, at times the seemingly “untouchable” even manhandling reluctant children to school. Moreover, there were also means to move up the hierarchies through Sanskritization, although the castes attempting to sanskritize had to be affluent, in order to dilute the stigma attached. One example was that of the Smiths, who were of the lower castes, but in some neighbouring centers and villages were Vishwakarma Brahmins, who also wore the sacred thread.
The Book also provides an inside on the Patriliny and Patrimony and the power relations of both the sexes in the household. It is found out by the author that although men are traditionally given to make decisions on behalf of the whole family, women also wield some iota of influence over the decisions made. Especially true for the single old mother, who is always seen propagating traditional values of preservation of purity and the fending off of pollution. Insider knowledge on the relations between mothers and daughters are also mentioned, and the dynamics under which there might be tensions between a sister-in-law and brother with the sister of the family.
The prospects of a widow remarriage and the rituals accompanying it are also mentioned to immaculate detail. The village is booming with knowledge about agriculture and the author manages to capture all the processes of the growth of crops, the tilling of soil and irrigation.
Moreover, the sexual life of the village is also focused on, with infidelity among the village being nutshelled when one villager says that there is only one couple who are above 60s that are faithful to each other. The rural worldview of a bachelor not engaged has a promiscuous secret life, and not marrying is deviant behavior is thoroughly outlined in the book. The contradictions are given tacit consent to say the least.
The author also sheds light on the harmony existing between the Hindu and Muslims. Karim for example was the most trustworthy aide that the headman had. This had wider implications at a time when the whole country was torn apart in partition, this part of the country seemed oblivious to the communalism and hatred that places such as Delhi and Kolkata were experiencing. However, it was cited that there were supporters of the neighboring Nizam of Hyderabad, whose insurmountable wealth was supposed to mobilize an army that would fend off the Indian Army.
Although on closer inspection the bias of Muslim communities being free of Jati differentiating broke, as one could see it permeate from Hinduism into Islam, creating the beef eating Dayire, a low caste, inferior to Sayyads and Sheiks.
The remembered village can be seen as a Microcosmic study of what villages in India looked like at the time of Independence. His functionalist approach in understanding “Social Messiness” is depicted in the book that rose out from the ashes of an arson, resembling a modern day phoenix.
In the wake of Gandhi’s Assassination in 1948, India was still mourning the loss of the Mahatma while also being joyous of newfound independence, and the immediate challenges of governance that it had given birth to. This was in very brief the larger context in which MN Srinivas’ Remembered Village, a canon in Indian Sociology and Anthropology. Rampura, a village near Mysore in Karnataka, is the remembered village out of memory. It's field notes had been burnt in a bizarre arson in a study center in Palo Alto. It was an absurd twist of faith; the “messiness” of social life as Srinivas himself says gave rise to this widely acclaimed book.
The detailed ethnographic work is meticulous to say the least. With each character being brought to life with the amount of information about them flowing nonchalantly, idiosyncratic to the authors style of writing. Although bearing a Brahmanical vehicle in understanding and studying the village, the author does concede of his apprehensions in weighing not compromising field work for more in dept participation in the subaltern. One important observation from the very initial point would be the change of emphasis from Tribal populations to Rural Indian Villages, counter currenting the traditional trend of Anthropologists vastly arranging studies in Tribal areas.
The author at first sets up the setting of the bullock house, where he is to reside for 11 months, before going back to Oxford on a teaching post. The initial part describes his coming to speed with rural life, his struggles against finding the balance between being a participator of the village; being agreeable to the village folks’ opinions and holding up his own refined views. He later understands that one has to compromise one’s sophistication in order to build a rapport in a setting such as that of the Village. Otherwise there would be not a great deal of genuine flow of information. As seen in his attempts to break the ice between him and the surrounding villages, he isn’t shy in running a shop by himself just so that he could engage in conversations and gossips, which even if unscrupulous, are valuable for his yearlong study.
He also collected Genealogies in order to find out more about the socio-political functionalities between the different families, and the amount of land they owned and what their implications were. His studies permitted him to say that there existed two hierarchies in the village, one that depended on the amount of land one owned and the other being that of ritualistic varna system. The widely held belief of the caste system being entirely rigid was not true in all instances, to cite one instance, there were some upper caste households that had Harijans looking after the children, at times the seemingly “untouchable” even manhandling reluctant children to school. Moreover, there were also means to move up the hierarchies through Sanskritization, although the castes attempting to sanskritize had to be affluent, in order to dilute the stigma attached. One example was that of the Smiths, who were of the lower castes, but in some neighbouring centers and villages were Vishwakarma Brahmins, who also wore the sacred thread.
The Book also provides an inside on the Patriliny and Patrimony and the power relations of both the sexes in the household. It is found out by the author that although men are traditionally given to make decisions on behalf of the whole family, women also wield some iota of influence over the decisions made. Especially true for the single old mother, who is always seen propagating traditional values of preservation of purity and the fending off of pollution. Insider knowledge on the relations between mothers and daughters are also mentioned, and the dynamics under which there might be tensions between a sister-in-law and brother with the sister of the family.
The prospects of a widow remarriage and the rituals accompanying it are also mentioned to immaculate detail. The village is booming with knowledge about agriculture and the author manages to capture all the processes of the growth of crops, the tilling of soil and irrigation.
Moreover, the sexual life of the village is also focused on, with infidelity among the village being nutshelled when one villager says that there is only one couple who are above 60s that are faithful to each other. The rural worldview of a bachelor not engaged has a promiscuous secret life, and not marrying is deviant behavior is thoroughly outlined in the book. The contradictions are given tacit consent to say the least.
The author also sheds light on the harmony existing between the Hindu and Muslims. Karim for example was the most trustworthy aide that the headman had. This had wider implications at a time when the whole country was torn apart in partition, this part of the country seemed oblivious to the communalism and hatred that places such as Delhi and Kolkata were experiencing. However, it was cited that there were supporters of the neighboring Nizam of Hyderabad, whose insurmountable wealth was supposed to mobilize an army that would fend off the Indian Army.
Although on closer inspection the bias of Muslim communities being free of Jati differentiating broke, as one could see it permeate from Hinduism into Islam, creating the beef eating Dayire, a low caste, inferior to Sayyads and Sheiks.
The remembered village can be seen as a Microcosmic study of what villages in India looked like at the time of Independence. His functionalist approach in understanding “Social Messiness” is depicted in the book that rose out from the ashes of an arson, resembling a modern day phoenix.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2017
The Book explains the quintessential way of how a typical South Indian village functioned before the liberalization. The author though is Indian has written it largely as a professor from the USA, hence lot of finer details emerge. This book is a treat for all who have lived around the area of Mysore, wherein they can relive the days of yore and also for others who would want to get a glimpse of lifestyle of villages.
November 7, 2020
The Remembered Village by M.N. Srinivas is one of the most important Indian anthropological text. It is an ethnographic study of Ramapura Village in Mysore (Karnataka). It gives a complete sketch of Ramapura in terms of their livelihoods, religions they follow, how people of different economic, social strata formed a society and lived together. What were their rituals, common practices, how they used to think and live their daily lives? It's a great example of how an ethnography is conducted and presented to the readers.
November 24, 2025
This book is an example of what to do and what can be avoided in the field; what to write and what should be written; what can be added as in terms of maps and diagrams as we are in the age where we are witnessing integration of geospatial mapping in research is encouraged; for me, one of many fundamental texts when it comes to Village and participant observation. A lot of points in criticism as well but definitely a fundamental read in Indian Sociology.
March 11, 2025
Even though a work of the 1950s, the sociological analysis in the book is still relevant to this day. That says how extremely static and unchanging Indian society is.
October 23, 2016
MN Srinivas gives an unforgettable view of a rural village in Karnataka. Being an anthropologist, he unsurprisingly, does this with a critical eye. But I was unprepared for his wry humor and a genuine empathy. At times, it is virtually indistinguishable from the best fiction on rural Karnataka, from the likes of Tejaswi or Goruru; who incidentally, also lived in villages. A constant theme in all of these authors is the complexity, diversity and depth of seemingly mundane village life. Srinivas explicates these matters with an eye of scientist but a heart of writer. For instance, he freely admits the limits and faults of his approach; he being a Brahmin, had to socialize with the upper caste members of village which yielded largely a top down view of the village. But at the same time, he recognizes the value of these belief systems for villagers and respects them. Personally, being from rural Karnataka, I could relate to many of the practices mentioned in the book, although it has been 70 years since the fieldwork. It also threw light on many overlooked aspects of my own society, such as his insights on sanskritization, sectarianism etc. This has been a master class in critical thinking applied to our own social milieu.
July 31, 2020
Based on MN Srinivas stay in the Rampura village of Mandya district in Karnataka in 1940s. For 11 months he stayed among the villagers as one of their own. During this period came across various aspects of village life ranging from inter-caste, inter-class and power relations, jajmani relations, land disputes, stratification, mobility, religion, festivals, culture and what not. Here he makes interesting observation and intricately analyses various phenomena prevalent in village society. 'Sanskritization' and 'dominant caste' phenomenon are quite evident in this village setting. This book provides a peek into a southern Mysore village at a time when things were beginning to change under a newly independent India.
April 28, 2016
I cannot but thank this book for giving my work such a support. Ethnography is art.
June 13, 2021
This was such a beautiful read! One of the easiest academic books to read. M.N's candid writing and his expertise have woven a beautiful picture of the village of Rampura!
January 31, 2016
I wish I lived in such a lively village though it would have been harsh.
December 12, 2015
A must read for anyone interested in Indian society, specifically caste. A classic read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews