Nature Culture Bind and Relationality of Riverscapes: Ecosociality of the Gandak (Narayani) Riverscape in Sonepur, Bihar

The Gandak River, also known as the Gandaki or the Kali Gandaki, and Narayani, meets the mighty Ganga River near Sonepur on its west bank in Saran district of the state of Bihar. Ecologically, socially, and culturally, it is key to Sonepur's identity as a place. Popularly known as the ‘HariHar Kshetra’, Sonepur is the site of the Sonepur Mela (Fair), which has historically been considered Asia's largest cattle fair, an annual event that continues to draw large crowds to Sonepur. This paper explores the nature-culture bind in the Sonepur riverscape, offering a place-based understanding of ecosociality. It analyses the nature-culture relationality in the organisation of Sonepur's riverine lifeworld, analysing its intertwined physical, spiritual, religious, social and economic practices around the river. It explores the plurality of interactions in Sonepur, tracing its ecosocial historiography, its sociality of water, and the Sonepur Mela as an ecosocial congregation. It is based on a mixed-methods study, comprising a survey of 150 riverscape actors, 50 in-depth interviews, 15 personal histories, and 10 focus group discussions. Drawing upon hydrosocial theory that views the relationship between water and society as a genuinely “internal” one, the concept of the “homo iunctus (the connected man)” and the ‘relational conception of wellbeing’, which views humans as relational beings, and all life forms on Earth as being interconnected ( Hirvilammi, and Kortetmäki,2025). This paper analyses the Sonepur riverscape historically and sociologically as a web of relationships. It argues that the river water at Sonepur is a socio-natural “hybrid” which is mediated through society. It is not looked upon simply as a “resource” to be extracted, nor denied its history and sociality. Instead, Sonepur's social relations of water play a significant role in shaping its ecosocial character, with human life and activities of its riverscape being nested within the river ecosystem, supporting cultural syncretism, and contributing to planetary well-being.