Participant Observation With Santhal Adolescents: Understanding Space and Place

The concepts of space and place are often taught through rigid and highly structured classroom practices, which limit children’s perspectives and diminish their ability to relate to the world around them. So, by decolonising geography, I mean moving ahead of these static constructions to create possibilities for children to perceive, interpret, and engage with the world in a more situated and relational way. Through participant observation of the daily lives of Santhal adolescents, I tried to understand how they interact and make sense of the different spaces in their locale, thereby transforming each space into a meaningful place. What emerged from the study is that the sense of space and place is not static; it is continually shaped and reshaped through ongoing interactions, relationships and shifting dynamics, turning each corner of space into a meaningful place imbued with lived memories and everyday experiences.