Book Recommendations
As a child – I loved Russian folktales – my early reading was mainly in Hindi; Nowadays, I dont read much fiction. Of the last few books of fiction I have read, I love Ellena Ferrante (works like My Brilliant Friend), Amitav Ghosh, Barbara Kingsolver, and Jhumpa Lahiri. Their non-fiction as well, like Lahiri’s In Other Words!
Movie Recommendations
Nowadays, I enjoy Indian films – Great Indian Kitchen (it is not dramatic, and perfectly portrays the tyranny of the everyday). Or Films like Newton and Sherni that are an anthropology of the state.
TV Show Recommendations
Paatal Lok. It depicts the different Indias and doesn’t stereotype.
Podcast Recommendations
The Seen and The Unseen. It gives you a list of references as show notes, which is really helpful.
Travel Recommendation
Best place I have visited and would love to visit again – Ladakh
Food Spot Recommendation
Bask, by Coffee
A Course you wish to introduce
Introduction to Himalayan Borders!
Favourite Theorists
Foucault (his work is generally applicable across several different phenomena and helps in explaining them), Robert Keohane (he defies the categorization of strong liberal, weak realist), Robbie Shilliam (he works on the intersection of Race and IR)
If I Wasn’t a Prof, I Would Have
Worked in the Media. I have worked there before as well.
Research Tips
Learn how to write without plagiarism. There is no active training given in it, and lot of the times students are inadvertently plagiarising. Research is not about putting together what the big names have said. Your experience is important. It should be what you think about the subject, and what your conclusion is. Most of the time, people tend to play safe and stick to what has already been written.
To Unwind
I used to bake. It keeps you in an environment with a nice smell, keeps you moving, keeps your hands occupied, and gives instantaneous results! And delicious too. Fieldwork is also an unwinding time for me. But mostly, nowadays, it is to not do anything.
One thing you wish to change about the Department
I would like the 5-year MA programme to be restarted.
Students shouldn’t be made to feel that their concerns are not legitimate, or the pressure to continually justify their needs. The system is hierarchical. The problem is not just of the Department or the Institute but stems from our social conditioning. But this can be changed.
Some General Advice for Students?
I don’t like giving advice, but here’s something you can keep in mind. It’s difficult to ask for help – don’t make that into a problem! Asking for help is the first thing you can do for your selfcare. There is also a life outside academics. Do other things. And do it because you like it!
Bonus
How did you first get interested in IR and specifically Tibet and China?
It was during my UG days, when I was studying Political Science. IR is a dynamic and constantly evolving field that requires you to always stay curious. So I joined JNU for Masters in International Relations, because it is the best institute in the country to pursue the subject. The interest in China came by when I took an elective, and loved the Professor who was teaching – Dr Madhu Bhalla. I wanted to take up research under her, and applied to Centre for China Studies, and then continued on that path.
When did you realise this (research, teaching) was something you wished to follow as a career path?
I always wanted to be a teacher – even as a child, I used to make my brother sit down, use the back of the carrom board as a black board, and explain things and teach. It has the appeal of accepting one needs to learn more, and not the attitude of ‘now I know what this whole thing is about’.
Interview by Article 19D
Design by Rosello Biju K
Article 19 