Anthropological Encounters

In this collection of columns Mario Rutten shows how his training in anthropology has shaped his interpersonal relationships and how he learns from everyday encounters. He describes people from the state of Gujarat in north-west India whom he befriended as a young researcher. He has continued to follow them and their children over the years - first in India, later also in London when they temporarily migrate there, and in the Netherlands when they visit him. With some his relationships are so close that they call each other brother, sister, uncle or cousin. In other columns, he discusses his colleagues and people he got to know during his research in Malaysia and Indonesia.

This anthropological view of the world around him is not confined to his work. Almost imperceptibly it carries over into his personal life and daily activities. For Mario Rutten, personal experiences are a source of professional reflection, and vice versa. Time and again his stories attest to this, whether they concern comments made by his Indian ‘brother’ or his son, or the lessons in observation learned from behind a camera.