Research & Writing

I specialize in anthropological and ethnographic research, exploring how dance traditions evolve, sustain themselves, and interact with contemporary worlds. My work often focuses on the intersections of ritual practice, cultural transmission, and storytelling within Indian traditional forms. My current research focuses on the Dance style- Kai Silambattam

Parivartan Grant Project (2024–25)

Sustaining Kai Silambattam: An Interdisciplinary Study of Cultural Patronage, Ritual Practice, and Economic Challenges in a Tamil Dance Tradition

As a Parivartan Grant awardee (2024–25), I explored the Tamil ritual dance tradition of Kai Silambattam. My research focused on the social, economic, and ritual structures that support this form, examining how community-based patronage systems — both formal and informal — sustain its practice during festivals and processions. At its core, the project asked how such traditions survive in today’s world, what challenges they face, and where their support structures show gaps. This inquiry combined fieldwork, performance study, and cultural analysis to trace how Kai Silambattam continues to live as both art and ritual.

Selected Research & Presentations

• Conference Presentation – Bangalore University (2025)
  “Kai Silambattam: Preserving a Traditional Ritual Dance in a Globalized World”

• Research Thesis – NTNU (2024)
  Silambu on the Move: Mapping the Relationship Between Urvalam and Space

• MA Thesis – University of Madras (2022)
  Analysis of Tīrmāṇa Aḍavu

• Seminar – Kalakshetra Foundation (2020)
  The Scope of Bharatanatyam in Movement Therapy