A Punjabi village in Pakistan: perspectives on community, land and economy Zekiye, Eglar

Includes bibliographical references (p. [460]-462) and index

The two volumes, the award-winning A Punjabi Village in Pakistan and The Economic Life of a Punjabi Village are based on extensive fieldwork in Pakistan and contain relevant insights into Pakistani society, particularly women, still pertinent today, as well as a more holistic and humanistic view of village life. Eglar's study is useful for precisely what she focused on-the patterns of ritual service and gift exchange which underlay every facet of life in the village. Together the two books present an in-depth outsider-insider perspective into the social and economic patterns of a village in Pakistan prior to the Green Revolution of 1958 which heralded the beginnings of change in village agriculture and land ownership.Of particular advantage to the research was the fact that Eglar's sources of information were not limited to one or the other gender. As a guest of the Chowdhry family she could initially stay in the baithak (guest house), traditionally an all-male preserve situated close to the main house where villagers would gather over a smoke and chat after their day's work. In addition, as a woman, she could freely enter the women's domain and participate in and observe their daily activities. (http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780195477238.do)