Antipodal paradoxes: reading power through the eye of the needle

Authors

  • Patatri Baidya Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute

Abstract

A childhood observation from a rickshaw in Kolkata (where expensive cars traveled below crowded buses) revealed something troubling about how we understand spatial power. This paper introduces "antipodal paradoxes" to describe situations where power operates through spatial contradictions rather than confirmations of our hierarchical expectations. The piece has drawn on fieldwork in the Sundarbans to strengthen my argument that those positioned as marginal observers develop "inversional literacy", which is the ability to read power dynamics through their spatial contradictions. Development interventions meant to "elevate" communities often create systematic inversions where supposed beneficiaries become burden bearers. These insights help cultural geography to recognize that our vertical metaphors for authority may systematically obscure actual spatial operations of power, particularly dynamics visible from positions that dominant systems dismiss as peripheral.

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Published

2025-12-19

Issue

Section

Reviews and Essays

How to Cite

Baidya, P. (2025). Antipodal paradoxes: reading power through the eye of the needle. Fennia - International Journal of Geography, 203(2), 246–252. https://fennia.journal.fi/article/view/163785