Academic Profile
Research Interests
Teaching Experience
Administrative Roles
Courses Taught
Fall/ Monsoon Semester
Modern World Literature, Poetry, Indian Cinema, TV & Culture, Great Books and Ideas, Theatre Workshop, Indian Cultural Heritage, TV, OTT & Digital Content
Spring/ Winter Semester
Modern Indian Literature, Novels, Introduction to Cultural Studies, Drama, Transcreating Text, Literary Theory, Popular Culture & Media, Discover India
Fellowship/ Award/ Grant
Publications
Chapter/ Essay:
Book Review:
Popular Writing/ Newspaper Article:
International and National Conference Papers:
"Floods, Scrolls and Songs: An Ecological Study of Selected Patachitras of Bengal” at the International Research Symposium of UVPA-ICTM, Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 12-14, 2019.
"Gendering Practice & Politics of Dance: The (In)visible Dancers in Early 20th Century Bengali Jatra” at the World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific Ocean Dance Conference and Festival, Cox Bazar, Bangladesh, November 22-25, 2019.
"The Crowning Wish: Representation of Transgender Identities in Indian Cinema” in the panel Indian Cinema: Politics, Representation and Nationalism at the 2019 AAS-in-Asia Annual Conference, Asia is Rise?, Bangkok, Thailand, July 1-4, 2019
"Love in the time of Smart-phones: Reading Caste and Masculinity in Gay Cruising and Tourism in India” at the Third Ireland India Institute Conference on South Asia, Ireland India Institute, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, April 24-26, 2019.
"Beyond the Language: Understanding Bengali Culture in the US” at the Fulbright Symposium, Pedagogy Across Borders, University of Notre Dame, May 5, 2018.
"The Songs of Rebellion: Swadeshi Jatra and Politics of Censorship in Colonial Bengal” in the Asian Popular Culture Area at the 2018 National Conference of the Popular Culture Association- American Culture Association, Indianapolis, March 28-31, 2018
"Hijra, Kothi, Bowdi, Ladies . . . : The Importance of Indian Bhasas in Queer Activisms in India” at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Washington DC, March 22-25, 2018.
"Sports, Desire and Law: Who is Afraid of Forbidden Sex/Body?” at the 17th Annual Conference of the South Asian Literary Association, Precarity, Resistance, and Care Communities in South Asia, New York, January 8-9, 2018.
"Mapping Heritage in Digital India” at the 19th General Assembly & Scientific Symposium, Heritage and Democracy, ICOMOS, New Delhi, December 12-15, 2017.
"Yoga, Music and Theatre: Teaching Bengali in the USA” at the Fulbright FLTA Mid-year Conference, Washington DC, December 7-9, 2017.
"Modi’s "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and Trudeau’s "It’s 2015”: From "Imagined” India to Multi-cultural Canada” at the International Conference, "No map, no trail, no footprint, no way home”: Rethinking Memory, History and Representation in India and Canada, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, February 16-18, 2016.
"The Rise of the 'Political' Jatra of West Bengal: Audience, Left-politics and ‘Public Secret’” at the XII Annual International Conference of ISTR, Interactivity and performance Practice: Local and Global Paradigms, Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa, January 28-30, 2016.
"‘Rituparno like’: Interrogating ‘Textbook’ Masculinity and Male ‘Feminities’” at the National Queer Conference, Femininities and Masculinities, Sappho for Equality, Kolkata, September 11-13, 2015.
"Queering the Campus: The Tales of the Erotic and the Phobic” at the Anveshan Conference, Social Transformation: Perspectives and Alternatives, JNU, New Delhi, July 25-26, 2015.
"Modernity, City, Negotiations and Survival: Jatra of Bengal” at the XI Annual International Conference of ISTR, Semiotic Encryption of Global Conflict and Idea of Modernity in Folk Theatre: India and the World, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, January 14-17, 2015.
"Tender is the Night: a mono-act”, performance-paper, at the Planning Modernity: Colonial Continuities, Postcolonial Discontinuities Workshop of "Planned Violence: Post/colonial Urban Infrastructures and Literature” Collective (English Faculty at the University of Oxford), Centre for English Studies (CES), JNU, New Delhi, October 24-25, 2014.
"Tales of Erotic: The female impersonators, sexuality and performing arts” at the English Department Seminar, Straight Lines: Queering Texts, Shyam Lal College, Delhi University (DU), Delhi, April 17, 2014.
"Desired Self: Performing Sexuality” at the International Annual Conference, Texts and Technology, Department of English and the Centre of Gender, Culture and Social Processes, St. Stephen’s College, DU, Delhi, March 28-29, 2014.
"Theatre Ecology and Education: Towards a Sustainable Methodology” at the Graduate Student’s Seminar, Interdisciplinary in Educational Studies: Concepts, Theories and approaches, Zakir Husain Centre For Educational Studies, SSS, JNU, New Delhi, March 12-14, 2013.
"Theatre in Education for a new theatrum mundi” at the Comparative Education Society of India’s Annual International Conference, Education for a Changing World, University of Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, October 10-12, 2012.
"Imagined Urban/ Desired Urban: Law, Gag, Borderline and Tour” at the International Conference, Demystifying the Urban: Borderlands of Canada and India, Centre for Canadian Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, February 1-3, 2012.
"The songs of Rebellion: Performance, Mukunda Das and Swadeshi Jatra” at the National Young Researchers’ Seminar, Travelling Genres: English in India, India in English, CES, JNU, New Delhi, January 11-13, 2012.
"Performing the Tales: Atha Chandbibi Katha” at the National Queer Conference, (non)normativity…nevertheless! Sappho for Equality, Kolkata, September 23-25, 2011.
"Politics of Performance/ Performance of Politics: A Study of the Political Jatra of Bengal” at the Young Researchers’ Workshop, New Research in English Studies, EFLU, Hyderabad, August 25-28, 2011.
"Inuit and Global Warming: Analyzing the Possible ‘Fear’ for a Theatre Ecology” at the International Conference, Building Bridges: Negotiating Cultural Memory in Canada and India, Centre for Canadian Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, February 16-18, 2011. "Indian People’s Theatre Association: A Utopia or a Cultural Revolution?” at the VII Annual International Conference of ISTR, Colonial and Post- Colonial in Indian Theatre, Hyderabad, January 28-30, 2011.
"Rani Kahini: The Tales of the "queer” Erotic” at the International Conference, The Architectures of Erotica: political, social, ritual, SAA, JNU, November10-13, 2010.
"The Cherry Pickers: Study of Australian Aboriginal Theatre in the New Theatrum Mundi” at Australian Studies: Indian Perspectives, CES, JNU, New Delhi, October 28-29, 2010.
"The Role of the Stroboscopic Spectator(s) of Jatra: A Study on Selected Spectacle-Spectator Cases in Jatra” at the Visual Culture Conference, See-Saw: Context of Spectatorship, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, February 25-27, 2010.
"The Rectangular Site: A Cultural Study on Selected Jatra Performances and the Role and Scope of Criticism in Jatra” at the VI Annual International Conference of ISTR, Gujarat, January 6-9, 2010.
"The Postcolonial Postmortem of Jatra: A Critical Study of the Industry” at the International conference, Image, Word and Music in the Age of New Media: Postcolonial Readings, IACLALS, Bhubaneswar, January 4-6, 2010.
"Bollywood Film Posters and Item Numbers: An Introduction to Sexuality (Fe/male) Represented through the Item Numbers” at the workshop, Explode Softly: Sexualities in Contemporary Indian Visual Cultures, TISS, Mumbai, February 26-27, 2009.
"Transcending Translation: Study of Selected Works of Tagore Translated by Tagore, Ketaki Kushari Dyson and William Radice” at the annual IACLALS conference, Translating Postcolonialities, University of Karnataka, Dharwad, February 16-18, 2009.
"Problematising the Wardrobe: Hamlet in Lingerie” at the V Annual International Conference of ISTR, Language(s) of Theatre, JNU, New Delhi, January 28-30, 2009.
Invited Talks/ Performance or as a Discussant/ Panelist
Invited to deliver a lecture, "Performing Queer: Queering Performance”, on 8 May, 2024 at the School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU.
Invited as a Speaker for the Panel Discussion at "Parda Faash Film Festival” organized by the Asia Society, Mumbai, April 27-28, 2024.
Invited as a Speaker on the panel, "Queer Friendly Workspaces: Practices, Policies and Possibilities” organized by Spriha Society, online, 30 June, 2023.
Invited to perform "Atha, Chandbibi Katha” and to talk about the history of female impersonators in Bengali Jatra at the South Asia Institute, SOAS University of London, United Kingdom, 15 November 2019.
Invited to perform "Atha, Chandbibi Katha” at Marlboro College, Vermont, USA, 30 March, 2019.
Invited to deliver a talk, "Queering the Campus: University, Nationalism and Queer Activism in India" at the Women Gender and Sexuality Studies and the LGBT Studies at Yale, USA, March 29, 2019.
Invited to deliver two presentations, titled "Being an FLTA: Discipline, Integrity and Positivity” and "Exploring the New Home: Connectivity, Necessity and Mobility” at United States-India Educational Foundation, New Delhi, June 12, 2018.
Invited as a Discussant to the "JMC Student Activism in an Age of Social Unrest” of Research Showcase, James Madison College, Michigan State University, USA, April 27, 2018.
Invited to deliver a lecture, "The Erotic and the Phobic: Queer Politics and Struggles in India” at the Fulbright Speaker Series, University of Notre Dame, April 12, 2018.
Invited to perform "Atha, Chandbibi Katha” and to deliver a lecture on the history of female impersonators in Bengali Jatra at Ohio University, Athens, USA, April 5, 2018.
Invited to perform "Atha, Chandbibi Katha” and to discuss about queer performances and social movement in India by the Department of Comparative Cultures and Politics, James Madison College, MSU, USA, February 9, 2018.
Invited as a Discussant to the Special Lecture, "Is it Possible to Talk Peace?” of the Eminent Scholar’s Lecture Series of the Peace and Security Research Group (PSRG) of the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, January 5, 2018.
Invited to perform "Atha, Chandbibi Katha” at the Outrageous organized by ivo theatre, London and Queer Ink, Mumbai at Sitara Studio, Mumbai, January 29, 2017.
Invited as a Mentor for the Workshop, Gender Bender and to judge the street play competition at FEMEN 2017 and CHANAKYA 2017, Women Development Cell and the Department of Political Science, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Delhi University, March 7-8, 2017.
Invited to deliver a lecture, "Reading Melodrama, Disability and Betrayal in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie” at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University, November 3, 2016.
Invited to deliver a lecture along with a performance for "Acting the Part: Gender Roles (a performative portrayal of gender) in Atha Chand Bibi Katha” at the Literati 2016, Department of English, Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University, October 24, 2016.
Invited as a Panelist at the annual event Sarfarosh, Praxis Makes Perfect? Theory, Practice and Activism, The Gender Studies Cell, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, March 29, 2016.
Invited as a Speaker in the Panel Discussion at the National Young Researchers' Conference The Return of the Body: Revisiting Cultures of the Body, Centre for English Studies, JNU, New Delhi, February 4-5, 2016.
Invited as a Speaker Speaker in the Panel Discussion at the Screening of In the Mood for Love, The Gender Studies Cell, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, October 28, 2015.
Invited as a Discussant at the national workshop on "Documentation, Conservation and Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage of India–With special reference to Dravidian Languages”, Delhi Karnataka Sangha, New Delhi, December 5-7, 2014.
Invited to deliver a lecture, "Are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Dead?” at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University, February 5, 2014.
Works Related to Theatre/ Performance
Performed in a number of plays in Hindi, English and Bengali, including:
● The Lover (dir. Soumick De)
● Prajapati.com (dir. S.P. Ganguly)
● Shakara: The Dance-hall Queen (dir. K.S. Rajendran, H.S. Shivaprakash and Kumaran)
● Ha Ja Ba Ra La (dir. Shubhayan Ganguli)
● Golokdham (dir. S.P. Ganguly)
● Birinchi Baba (dir. S.P. Ganguly)
● Sundardas (dir. H.S.Shivaprakash)
● Humare Samay Mein (dir. K.S. Rajendran)
● Life of Galileo (dir. H.S. Shivaprakash)
● Black Board Brigade (dir. Suman Kumar)
● Rosoms Universal Robot (RUR) (dir. Mushtaq Kak)
● Spartacus (dir. Ajay Manchanda)
● Ekalavya Uvaach (dir. S. Mukhtalif)
Solo Performances:
● Atha Chandbibi Katha (dir. Soumick De and Gourab Ghosh), based on my research work on the female impersonators of Jatra.
● Caliban after the Earthquake (dir. Soumick De);
● Tender is the night: a mono-act (dir. Gourab Ghosh);
● Caliban’s Christmas Pantomime (dir. Kiran Pawar and Gourab Ghosh);
Direction:
● "Chhuti” for the Theatre Workshop Course at JDSoLA, 2023.
● Rabindranath Tagore’s Chirokumar Sabha for the International Tagore Conference 2012 in JNU
● Madhyamavyayoga (2013), a play in Sanskrit for Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, JNU
● Adaptation of Hamlet for the students of Shivaji College, DU for the Inter-college competition of the Shakespeare Society of India.
● Assistant Director and a voice-over artist in Sabar Shiksha, Sabar Swastha, UNESCO Community Radio Series (dir. Rashid Ali), December 2010.
Works Related to Film
UG Research Supervision
Academic and Cultural Projects/ Events Initiated
Other Work Experience in Projects/ Organisation
