On October 23rd, the Humanities and Social Sciences Department hosted yet another engaging lecture in its R&D series. Professor Tejaswini Niranjana spoke on “Digital Intimacy: Young Women in Inter-Asia.” The lecture drew a lively audience of students and faculty who filled the room with enthusiastic questions and thoughts. Professor Mathangi Krishnamurthy coordinated and hosted the event, promoting an active discussion. Notable faculty members, including Professors Thanggoulen Kipgen, Sudhir Chella Rajan, Milind Brahme, and Sreenath VS, also participated. Professor Niranjana’s talk wrapped up on schedule yet left the room abuzz, prompting the audience to rethink how bodies, cities, screens, and histories intersect. The discussions challenged everyone to explore what it means to connect in modern Asia.
Professor Tejaswini Niranjana is Director of the Centre for Asian Studies at GITAM University, India, and Adjunct Professor at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. A noted scholar and award-winning translator, she has authored influential works, including Mobilizing India and Musicophilia in Mumbai, and edited Music, Modernity, and Publicness in India. Her seminal book, Siting Translation: History, Poststructuralism, and the Colonial Context (University of California Press, 1992), has had a lasting impact across anthropology, history, and postcolonial studies.
Professor Niranjana shared findings from her multi-cited research project that explored how university-going women in Asia experience intimacy in a world influenced by digital technologies. She explained how economic conditions, local histories, and legal frameworks shape the digital practices of Gen Z women aged 18 to 24. The research included in-depth interviews, which revealed variations in access conditions and the effects of legal and technological limitations on digital habits. It also examined the constant and frequent digital communication, along with the effort involved in “maintaining the flow.”
The talk also focused on the concept of “national modernity,” illustrating how modernization in non-Western societies introduces unique dynamics, regardless of whether the society was colonized or not. Professor Niranjana revisited debates around the “woman question,” social reform, and the role of women in sectors like domestic work and public-facing service jobs. Case studies included perspectives from Hong Kong, where prostitution has played a part in modern urban histories, and from Bangalore, which offered examples of changes in sociality and intimacy in public spaces.
She also spoke about changing communication patterns, such as micro-messaging and the constant flow of digital communication, raising questions about whether digital interaction leads to more meaningful conversations or if it sometimes signals a new and more surface-level intimacy. The event provided insight into how digital universality is always shaped by specific local histories and ongoing shifts in the boundary between private and public life. Professor Niranjana’s talk gave students and faculty an up-to-date look at the realities faced by young women navigating intimacy in today’s interconnected Asian cities.
The discussion ended with attendees gathering over cups of chai and coffee, along with samosas, as the familiar insti rains tapped on the green leaves in front of HSB, as they left Mahatma Hall, creating a familiar warmth and sense of community typical of a lively academic day in the department. They dove into deeper conversations and questions that lingered while they waited for the rain to stop.
—Design by Neenu Elza | Edited by Samhita
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