After spending 23 years of my life in India, I was privileged to be given an opportunity to pursue a fully funded DPhil at the University of Oxford. 

Being originally from Berhampur, Odisha, my parents thought it best to enrol me into Khallikote Autonomous College, an institution of local repute, for a BA in English. Not knowing what awaited me, I took a plunge into unknown territory. Even as I pursued my degree there, I had realised that I wanted a career on the international stage.

I joined an MA English program at The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, which I knew to be an institution valuing academically rigorous research in literary studies. During my time there, I found myself to be inclined towards cultural studies and ended up digging through literature about a rather obscure ritual for my MA dissertation.

Soon after I completed my MA, I applied to Oxford for a DPhil in Theology and Religion in 2023. I got accepted but was stranded without any funding. Despite the odds, I applied again the following year, and to my absolute disbelief, secured the Felix Scholarship Fund's generous offer of a fully funded DPhil.

I now approach the rituals in the context of the religious traditions of Odisha with an anthropological focus. I intend to explore expressions of religious nature as sites of counter-history and counter-culture. In the long run, I believe my research will contribute to the decolonisation effort and risk shaping the "New Humanities" in India that is rooted in the myriad cultures that populate its geography. 

I hope to also aid constructively in policy-making and governance in India to uplift the artist and performer communities of India.