INTERVIEWS AND TRANSLATIONS

The interviews for the Virtual Village project were done by both Peter Gottschalk and Mathew Schmalz. In the translations, we have decided not to identify ourselves individually. All interviews were tape recorded and sound files of selections from most of the interviews are included on the Virtual Village web site. In all cases we asked residents for permission to tape record interview, translate them, and post them on the internet. While the interviews range broadly, we decided on a core group of general questions about India and the village. The intent was to ask open ended questions so as not to “lead” those interviewed in a particular direction by emphasizing caste or religious identity. Of course, these elements sometimes do figure into how residents in Arampur describe themselves—although not always in ways that one would conventionally expect.

The tape recorded interviews were transcribed by Mr. Vimal Mehra, a resident of Varanasi and a researcher and teaching assistant for the University of Wisconsin College Year in India Program. The translations from the original languages (Hindi, Urdu and Bhojpuri) were completed by Vimal Mehra and Mathew N. Schmalz. The translations differ in style—some are more literal, others are more free. In certain cases, all words have been translated into English, in others some of the original vocabulary is retained. Slight editorial adjustments have been made to protect the anonymity of persons and the village itself. While both translators have tried to be as accurate as possible, inevitably there will be mistranslations and outright errors. For this reason, we invite commentary and questions from users of the web site. For any specific questions relating to the translations, the transcripts, and recordings, please contact Mathew N. Schmalz at mschmalz@holycross.edu. Credits for specific translations are listed below according to the name of the person interviewed.

Vimal Mehra: Laksmi Devi, Saraswati Devi, Ibrahim Khan, Kuber Tiwari (all interviews), Syed Nizami, Prabhunath Singh, Syed Umar,.

Mathew N. Schmalz: Mukhtar Ansari, Shada Chaurasiya, Srilal Chaurasiya, Lacchan Das, Premnath Dubey, Arvind Jaswar Indra Jaswar, Laila Khan, Muhammad Khan, Rukhsan Khan, Sanjay Kumar, Virendra Kumar, Vivek Kumar, Shiv Mistri, Jaganath Pandit, Ahmed Qasim, The RSS Song, Jnana Singh, Tariq Sohail, Arjun Srivastav, Ajay Upadhyay, Faisal Yacqub, P. R. Yadav.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Except for the images in the “My Life” section that were made by five of Arampur’s residents, the photography for the Virtual Village project was executed by Peter Gottschalk. Most of the photographs for “A Virtual Village” were made during the month-long visit to Arampur by Mat and Peter in December 2000. However, other images are included that were made during Peter’s dissertation work in Arampur (1994-1995) and a subsequent visit there (2004). The update section will contain images from future visits.

Those who see these images often wonder whether those pictured consented to having their picture made. The designers have included photography of specific individuals only with the permission of the individual to take their photo and post it on the internet. Many of the group images were made during Peter’s fifteen months of participant-observation in the Arampur area when his use of a camera became an accepted and expected part of his presence. When they didn't see his camera out, residents often encouraged him to make photos of their activities. Images that pictured those who expressed discomfort with this photography have not been included on this web site. Some of those interviewed declined to have a photograph accompany their interview as is noted in their interview.

Of course, the images in the “My Life” section are those of the resident photographers themselves. As explained in the introduction to that section, these residents were asked to make photos of any part of their daily lives they chose. Once the images were developed, the residents were asked to remove any that they did not want included on the web site. One photographer removed all images of his family; most removed none. Mat and Peter elected to exclude only one of the images made by residents since it was one that would have defied specific legal constraints.

Certain photographs of signs were altered to erase the name of the village in an effort at anonymity. No other images were changed.

Chris Williams of the University of Texas at Austin offered important insights into photographic technique before the project’s fieldwork. Allyn Wilkinson and Matthew Elson did vital work digitalizing and clarifying many of the images. Suzanne Bonefas offered valuable lessons in how to make panoramic images. Angela Townley, Francis Chu, Rebecca Pierce, and Brian Brown also digitalized many of the images. For questions regarding the images, their production, and their use, please contact Peter Gottschalk at pgottschalk@wesleyan.edu.

RESPONSES

Because Arampur does not yet have internet access at the time of this project’s completion, Arampur residents in 2005 will be shown a computer-stored image of the web site. when Peter returns for his next visit. The responses to the site will be recorded and added for users to read.