3S) HSSE- 4th A (18-10-2017) Bharghava Shyam- (B)

Date: 18-Oct-2017

Name: A.N. Bharghava Shyam

Admission Number: MAE15007

Question selected:

“Geography examines where things are and why, the spatial relations between phenomena, and the distinctiveness of place.” A. David Hill. Discuss.

Answer:

Yes, I agree with this David Hill statement “Geography examines where things are and why, it explains spatial relations between the phenomena & the distinctiveness of place”

Geography is the “Study of Place” and also about human interaction and relationship with the environment/nature. Phenomenon is a fact or situation that is observed by any state or process known through senses to exist or happen {Object of being’s perception}. Distinctiveness is the special quality of the place explains its characteristics. “Geography examines two fundamental material dimensions that are time and space”.

“Geography explains spatial relationships on earth surface. Spatial relations will do a vital roles in this complex world (society) in clarifying this complexity of human/ physical features on earth surface.  By naming, arranging, evaluating, predicting, and portraying etc. the spaces (physical features) of earth surface. This will help humans in increasing their capacities and activities for managing the complexity of the physical & human features on the earth surface. From Geographers point of view “Through spatial relationship and context we can understand all elements on earth”’. 

“Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, how they develop and change over time”.

“We can’t understand geography (where things are and why) by particular means and discipline, complete understandings will come from multiple disciplines. Geography allows us to understand and appreciate the world in unique way. This will happens in phenomenon ways and as well as distinctive ways”. (Hill, 1996)

Discussion (Dialogue):

My Parents named me as “Bharghava Shyam”. I feel I am Bharghava Shyam & I use to pretend like a Bharghava Shyam. But in reality Bharghava Shyam is not me. It’s just a name of this body. By seeing my appearance and by hearing my name, it is very much rigorous to define me. If you and I need to know me. First we both need to observe my experiences/interactions with others. Then only it will be comparatively easy to define me. And we need name & body (physical features) for our social purposes. If I/you want to study me, my name and body are required, but my interactions and experiences are much more important to study me. Studying me is about my past, present & beyond this (future) also. And every person will get different experiences and interactions with/from others, it can be easily distinguished between people. It is unique to everyone.

(Names is also required for social purpose because we are living in society, but there is no need of name for psychological purposes; we need to accept sociologically, not compulsory to accept psychologically)

Now place is like my body, it is very difficult to define place by only its name and physical features. We need to know the place easily by its interaction/relationship with humans. Human interactions/relations with nature is beyond past, present and goes towards future.

We all (Most of the people) are in living in a very complex society and I think we are only making/ keeping this world in complex form. In organic life/world most of the things are important, in mechanical world/life most of the things are not important (psychologically). Studying is also comes under psychological thing not a physical thing. But in physical things mechanical life is very much beneficial than organic life. I think most of them (including me) are doing extremely opposite things in their life, that why we (most of the people) feel this as complex life/world.   

Organic life is important because we feel the value of the existing things (psychologically), this make us to utilize in way that that can be helpful to himself and others. If I know value of this body (life), then I use think about what I need to do & how I need to do.

(In mechanical world if I lose anything, nothing will not affect me {but I feel affected} e.g. If lost I lost my phone, my life may not become reverse, but I feel disturbed/reverse, but nothing is might be there & when I get new phone I will forget about old phone after some time. But in organic world (life) if I lose something that affect me a lot e.g. If I lose my hands I feel disturbed/reversed, If I get artificial hand also I feel I really lack something.)

Psychologically we need to maintain our life as organic life (We need to know value of existing internal/innate things such as mind, heart, will, intellect and ego), physically we need to maintain our life as mechanical life. (By this mechanical life, our body will habituated to particular things like maintaining the diet, sleep in proper manner this will help for long life). Studying is also a psychological thing, education is there for getting enlightening experiences like hope, virtues, etc. from self through mediums of the nature (School, home, community, persons, etc.). Education is not completely about getting systematic instructions, information’s from external things like school, if we are getting education mostly for external things we use our education for external world only, not for self, this might makes us slaves. Education is a psychological thing that can be utilized by self for emancipation.

But now our organic life (world) is gradually becoming a mechanical life (world) for studying purposes (Not in physical purposes). Because of mechanical life/world, we are (I am) mostly depend on external things, factors for learning, by that we may not able to find the reality. That why we might feel this world as complex world. For studying purposes we need to go organically to the source not on the final product then only it can be understood, implement for sustainability properly.

This spatial relationship (Geography) includes both phenomenon (psychological) and distinctiveness (physical) of the place.

I want to bring my home town “KADAPA” as an example here. If I say I am from Kadapa in Bangalore, most of the people don’t know about this place in APU (Azim Premji University). Because it just a location, it is meaning less to many people.

So now I need to describe about place by its natural & artificial physical environments and features.  Kadapa is a hilly region in Eastern Ghats, 10 kilometers far from Penna River (Natural features) etc. Near to Sidhavatam fort,

Vontimiita Kodanda ramaswamy temple, etc. (artificial features), in Andhra Pradesh state, middle part of Rayalaseema region, India.

After this the people might ask about Human- environment interaction, in informal terms like food habits, culture, occupation, traditions, etc. (dependency on environment, acceptance and modifications of environment).

Then I need to explain about movement, my surname is ‘Amancharla’ a small rural village in Nellore district A.P, form my great grandfather to my generation there is no connection between them, they lived in a another rural village called Kanupuru in A.P by doing agriculture. My grandfather did a government job and retired in Kadapa, we bought a house there and my father settled there by doing job as auditor.

Now Kadapa became a region for me in my mind where I set up some things personally.

Triple crisis & Triple opportunities: (Vandana shiva)

When think about nature, place coherently then we might be able to think about serious problems geography in society  

Now most of the environment because of human interaction it is facing & ready to face these triple crisis (Oil, Energy & Food).

Now also if we mostly focus on knowing physical (product) things of geography like about its physical features, names etc. we may not any beneficiaries for our basic human needs like food, energy and oil. We might need to ready face these triple crisis that are food crisis, oil crisis & energy crisis. How means here mostly we are not thinking about source, but we are just focusing on product. We may not change the finished things,

If we focus on psychological (unfinished) things of geography like human interactions, relationships with nature we may get triple opportunities for us that are Economics opportunity for developing climate, democratic opportunity for energy & cultural opportunity for food.

“Economic opportunity- instead of depending on money we need to depend on humans. Then we may get rid climate crisis

Democratic (Political) opportunity- Need to encourage the indigenous and uprooting people and peasants. Then we may get rid from energy crisis

Cultural opportunity- Change from deadly consumerism to reclamation of our rightful place as co-creators & co-producers with nature. Then we get rid from food crisis”. (Shiva, 2007)

References:

Hill, A. D. (1996). Studying and Teaching Geography. In A. D. Hill, Teaching the social sciences and history in secondary schools.

Shiva, V. (2007). Triple crisis, triple opportunities. In V. Shiva, Soil not oil.