I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Madras. I was previously an Assistant Professor at the Department of HSS, IISER Bhopal. I obtained my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I work in the larger domain of literary studies with special focus on Literary Theory, Sanskrit Poetics and Aesthetics, Colonial Modernity, Postcolonial Studies, Intellectual History, Translation Studies (with special emphasis on Malayalam literature).
I have authored two books An Introduction to Indian Aesthetics: History, Theory, and Theoreticians and Sanskrit Poetics in the Postcolonial Space: Beyond the Canon, both published by Bloomsbury. The first book, which gives a good glimpse into the world of Indian literary theories, has been selected as one of the featured titles in Bloomsbury Medieval Studies, a significant resource for Medieval studies. My second book critically examines interventionist intellectual historiography in Sanskrit poetics, proposing a fresh approach to this ancient epistemology. Furthermore, I have also co-edited a book titled Aesthetics in India: Transitions and Transformations (Orient Blackswan). This volume seeks to redefine conventional notions of aesthetics in literary studies by exploring its various dimensions through contemporary critical lens.
I am also a recipient of the prestigious Meenakshi Mukherjee Memorial Prize for the year 2022 by the Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (IACLALS). This award was conferred for my article titled “What To Do with the Past?: Sanskrit Literary Criticism in Postcolonial Space,” published in the Journal of Indian Philosophy (Springer). The esteemed jury which selected me for this award comprised Prof. Robert JC Young (Julius Silver Professor of English and Comparative Literature, New York University), Prof. Rajeswari Sunder Rajan (Global Distinguished Professor of Literature, New York University), and Prof. Rukmini Bhaya Nair (Professor Emerita, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, IIT Delhi).
Furthermore, I have also contributed research articles to esteemed journals such as Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademy), Journal of Indian Philosophy (Springer), South Asian Review (Taylor and Francis), Journal of Dharma Studies (Springer), and Economic and Political Weekly. Additionally, I also serve as an Area Editor in the field of Literary and Critical Theory for Oxford University Press.
Research Interests:
My work largely revolves around the ontological and epistemological changes that the indigenous knowledge systems from the early period underwent during the colonial and postcolonial periods. The core question that I often grapple with vis-à-vis these epistemologies is how they were radically redefined and reinvented to suit the political and social agendas of the colonial and postcolonial period, especially with respect to the larger questions of modernity, decolonization and nation building.
The area that I am currently dealing with in connection with this larger project is Sanskrit literary theory (kāvyaśāstra). Drawing inspiration from my own subjectivity as a student situated in the larger domain of contemporary political and philosophical theories, I aim to investigate this area of knowledge with the goal of achieving three objectives: firstly, to comprehend the politics involved in the ontological and methodological transformations it went through during the colonial and postcolonial eras; secondly, to assess its significance, if any, and its prospects in contemporary times; and thirdly, to critically reflect on how it to see it beyond the traditional boundaries of literary studies as a means of societal influence. I employ two methodological approaches to situate these knowledge systems in the contemporary socio-political plain—1) history of ideas and 2) interventionist intellectual historiography.
I strongly believe that although it is important to record how classical knowledge systems were originally/canonically understood and practiced, an obsession with this process in the realm of research will only impede any new developments in this field. The papers I have published so far and the ones that are forthcoming reflect this ethos of interventionist intellectual historiography which examines these theoretical positions from different vantage points to prevent them from becoming ossified ‘texts’ of research.
The following are the broader areas I am interested in: Literary Theory, Postcolonial Studies, Intellectual History, Colonial Modernity, Translation Studies (with special emphasis on Malayalam literature and language).