Latest Publications
Of Culture and Nature: Interdisciplinary Forays into Cultural Ecosystem Services through Human–Wildlife Relationships
The value that local communities ascribe to ecosystems is fundamentally emergent from the cultural bonds to their lands and associated natural elements. Human–wildlife relationships (HWR) in the multicultural Global South are often deep-rooted, owing to a long history of people and their neighbouring species sharing and co-constructing spaces and lives. This diversifies our current definitions of cultural ecosystem services (CES), and we argue that the use of interdisciplinary tools that unpack the complexities of HWR can provide necessary, often-overlooked insights into CES.
A House for Mr Dove
'A House for Mr Dove' describes the life of a Husband and Wife living alone in an apartment. They love the birds and other life-forms which visit them, and their life revolves around these visits. Their delight knows no bounds when a family of doves decides to make a nest in their apartment, and they exult as they hear baby sounds in their house after many years.
It has been published as a bilingual (Hindi and English) book as a story book for children, and to encourage them to paint birds and other living beings around their place of stay.
Doctoral Research Programs in India: Bridging Policy Gaps for Knowledge Economy’s Imperative
The Doctoral Program of any country is the central pillar of higher education. The conspicuous absence of a well-thought-out doctoral program in India's national research policy has resulted in asymmetries in policies and practices related to research and development. The history of doctoral research in India presents a unique trajectory with a mixed influence of the colonial past and isolated efforts of genuine intellectuals who have thrived in an environment of deep motivation and passion that defined their research pursuits.
Bowing to surrender or to fight?: Interpretations of diversities in a Kalaripayattu salutation
This study documents and interprets different modes of a salutation, namely 'poothara (also puttara) thozhal / vandanam', across various styles of kalarippayattu, a traditional martial art and healing system, popular in the southern states of India.