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Slum area is an area marked by deprivation of various necessities of life and basic amenities required for good living condition. “Space” for living is a crisis in most of the cities in India and the world and the slums in cities of the developing countries are the worst affected. The paper reveals the crisis of space for living in the slums of Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) area which in turn affects the living condition of the slum dwellers of the area. In order to get a better picture of the crisis of space for living and its impact on the living condition of the slum dwellers the total slum area of SMC has been divided into Inner slum and Outer slum and the housing condition and its impact on living condition of the slum households of this area is studied and an attempt has been made to find out whether the Inner slum dwellers or the Outer slum dwellers are more affected by the space–crisis. The study concludes with suggestion to better the condition of slum dwellers in this regard.

Key words: Living conditions; slum dwellers; Inner slum; Outer slum; Siliguri Municipal Corporation, space.

The term social environment refers to the physical and social setting in which the human beings live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual is educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact. The social environment has a great impact on child’s social, emotional or psychological development. Development of children depends on some key factors like socio–economic, political and cultural context, social position and daily living conditions etc. Children development is mainly shaped by the social environment they experience during childhood period. The nature and quality of social environment influence the development of children. But there are so many children in our country whose developments are being affected seriously due to poor social environment and in this context the present studied children are a burning example. The focus of this paper is on the social environment that influences the development of children of the stone crushing families of Balasan River Basin, Darjeeling district, West Bengal.

Key words: Social environment, Children, Development, Stone crushing, Poverty, Culture, Personality.

There is a paucity of contemporary research that closely analyzes contemporary and indigenous Lepcha medical practices. Lack of literature that explores the manifestation of both traditional and modern health care practices informs how a native ethnic community upkeep their overall health status within their environment. This study is an interdisciplinary approach to understand the dialectics of health seeking behaviour by adopting medical ecological perspective in the Sikkim Himalayas. The survival of the Lepcha (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group) through antiquity until now can be unequivocally attributed to the Lepchas acute understanding of their cognized ecological world. It is reflected in Lepcha vocabulary to incorporate a distinct designation for almost the entire flora and fauna that occupies the tribe’s homeland. A detailed study of Lepcha health care system and practices reveals the intimate connection with their land that enabled them to be efficient within their ecological zone to sustain since millennia.

Key words: Lepchas, Ecology, Health, Ritual Specialists, Well–being

The Present study has focused on practice of ethno–medicine in primary health care system among the Hira (pottery maker) community of Bamuna village. People use some locally available plants for curing of several kinds of diseases. In this study 40 numbers of medicinal plants were collected from the village. Most of the medicines are extracted from several parts of plants like steam, fruit, leaf, flower, seed etc. The study reveals that maximum no of medicinal plants are used for curing of several diseases such as dysentery, cough, kidney problem piles, jaundice, sinusitis, respiratory disorder, fever, skin disease, hair problem etc.

Key words: Ethno–medicine, Health care, Hira.

Food is a basic requirement for human existence. Unlike other necessities the need of food consumption is recurrent. To acquire energy and nutrition for growth and continuation of life a person needs food several times a day. The capacity to consume food which has been provided by nature in wide varieties enabled man to survive even in uncongenial environments of this planet. The importance of food for human survival is more important than shelter and dress. Food is the alphabet of human’s culture. Food habit of a society is indispensably related to its physical environment, mainstay, tradition, prescription and prohibition, beliefs and rituals and a number of culture traits which made it a culture complex in every society. Food habits should be studied from both psychological and socio–cultural standpoints. The present paper is based on the empirical data collected from an Assamese Hindu village, viz., Panbari of Lakhimpur district, Assam. The mainstay of these people is agriculture and they produce paddy as the principal crop. Rice is not only a food among them, but it is the expression of their life. Their culture can be termed as ‘Rice Culture’. Rice is integrally related to their norms and values, material culture, crisis rites, folklore, beliefs and rituals and in almost all the dimensions of their life. In this paper a modest attempt has been made to depict the food habit of the Assamese Hindus of Panbari village and its rigid relation to some other dimensions of their culture.

Key words: Food habit, Assamese Hindus, Panbari, Assam, Rice Culture

Assam is a region of rich cultural heritage and homeland of various ethnic communities along with their distinctive cultures such as dress and ornaments, food habits, fair and festivals, belief systems, material objects related to traditional economy, religious activities, rites and rituals etc. However, food is one of the basic needs of every living creature for their survival. Besides the biological importance, food habit is also a symbol of human cultural and social identity. From time immemorial food habit varies from society to society depending upon the geographical location, availability of natural resources etc. On the other hand, the dress pattern and ornaments is also an important part of material culture of any particular community and weaving culture is closely associated with it. In this context Bodo is an indigenous ethnic group of North East India, dwelling in the districts of Darrang, Udalguri, Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Goalpara, Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh etc. in Assam. Bodo is an autochthonous group of people of north east India which is well known for their colourful and artistic dress and ornaments with beautiful style and attractiveness. The present paper is an attempt to focus on the traditional food habits as well as weaving culture and ornaments of Bodos which is a significant art of Bodo tribe. Bodos have some unique ethnic dishes which are prepared by a traditional way. The Bodo traditional attire is basically hand woven and the raw materials are dependent on natural resources.

The present study is an attempt to discuss about the different traditional food items and various colourful dresses and beautiful jewellery of Bodos. The paper also tries to analyze on the traditional knowledge system related to preservation and processing of their ethnic foods. The paper has been prepared through both primary and secondary data. For primary data an intensive fieldwork was done among the concerned people.

Key words: Food habit, Tradition, Dress, Ornaments, Bodo.

In human society there are certain events which occurs only once during the life time of an individual among which death is one. It is one of the indispensable crises events and is indispensable part in human life. Death is always associated with care and disposable of the corpse where various exotic customs and traditions are observed by different societies and communities of the world. The Karbis of the present study area also have some elaborate parochial belief system regarding the event of the death, rebirth as well care and disposable of the corpse. In this present endeavour an attempt has been made to study about the different facets of the event of death and disposal among the Hill Karbis in a rural context.

Material culture constitutes one major aspect of human culture. In folklore, material folklore is one of the main branches of the discipline. In the domain of material folklore, folk art is probably the most prominent and widely studied representative. However, this important branch of folklore studies received less attention in formal academic exercise by the scholars in comparison to its more fortunate counterpart of formalized genres of folklore. The study of folk art as a category was started more than a century ago. Defining folk art has never been an easy task and free from debate. Its boundary appeared to be somehow porous. The earlier studies on folk art showed a tendency to appreciate the artistic creativity of its makers. These studies either focused on the regional specialty/ affiliation or the particular form that it represented. The studies were descriptive in nature and tried to find out origin and distribution of a particular folk art. The next important trend that emerged in the study of folk art aimed at finding out the social significance of folk art. Then the emphasis was not restricted to the object only, its makers also received a great deal of attention. Thematic discussions on the different dimensions of folk art have been emerging as popular undertakings. Apart from serious or formal academic studies popular writings on the folk art can be seen as another development. Therefore, it can be said that the theoretical approach to the folk art studies was more of an evolutionist and diffusionist bent at the beginning, which gradually shifted to a functionalist approach. Again there were some aesthetically oriented researches on folk art. At present the study is characterized by a postmodern epistemology that grows out of the blurring of genres, de–contextualization, and intervention by media. The more pragmatically oriented studies of this period were informed by the concerns that used to take an account of the impact of increased commercialization and globalization on folk art. Another trajectory of growth may be seen from a salvage folk art to an invented tradition that is again enmeshed with the applied and public folk lore in general and folk art in particular.

Key words: Folk–art, Folklore, Materialculture, Contemporary, Globalization.