Academic CV
The scholarly paper trail
PhD candidate in the Cultural and Religious History of South Asia at Heidelberg University, supervised by Prof. Ute Hüsken. Sanskrit and North Indian vernacular texts, Hindu ritual, and the digital humanities.
Download as PDF (April 2026)
Education
PhD, Cultural and Religious History of South Asia
Universität Heidelberg, Germany. Supervisor: Prof. Ute Hüsken.
MA, Cultural and Religious History of South Asia
Universität Heidelberg, Germany. Grade: 1.2.
Postgraduate Diploma in Sanskrit, Gujarati and Hindu Studies
Shree Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval, India. Grade: Distinction.
Year-Long Program in Sanskrit
American Institute of Indian Studies, Deccan College, Pune, India. Overall mark: 96%.
BA, South Asian Studies and Study of Religion
SOAS, University of London. Grade: Upper Second Class.
Publications
“Computer Says No: Authority, Accountability, and the Human Intermediary in the Age of AI Astrology”
Journal article.
“Phalāhāri Potatoes: The Dynamics of ‘Fasting Food’ in Hindu Traditions”
Book chapter, Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Food.
Review of Philology and Criticism: A Guide to Mahābhārata Textual Criticism by Vishwa Adluri and Joydeep Bagchee
Reading Religion (American Academy of Religion).
“The Prevalence of Advaita in Modern Indian Philosophy: Conditioned by the Colonial”
Journal of Oriental Studies, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.
“When the Absolute is not the Ultimate: The Mystical Experience of Akṣarabrahman as the Guru in the Swaminarayan Tradition”
UCLA Journal of Religion, Vol. 2.
Conference presentations & talks
“Sitting with the Divine: Ritual Space, Maṇḍalas and Worldmaking in Swaminarayan Tradition(s)”
Sanskrit Language Acts and Worldmaking in Philosophy and Religion, King’s College London, UK.
“Virtual Venerations and Digital Devotion”
Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, Oxford, UK.
“‘Great Worship’, Online”
Digital Religion III: Challenges of Communication and Excommunication, Katowice, Poland.
“Computer Says No: A Discussion on Astrology, Technology, and Sanskrit”
Südasientag, Leipzig, Germany.
“Phalāhāri Potatoes: The Dynamics of ‘Fasting Food’ in Hindu Traditions”
American Academy of Religion, San Antonio, TX.
Panel chair, “Digital Humanities: Studying and Teaching Hinduism”
American Academy of Religion, San Antonio, TX.
Participant, Roundtable: Southern Theorising for South Asia
Universität Heidelberg, Germany.
“Arguing with Mantras: Transmitting Philosophical Ideas through Ritual Texts”
European Conference on South Asian Studies, Turin, Italy.
“Saying, Self, Sampradāya: The Introduction of Three New Mantras in the Swaminarayan Tradition”
Mantras: Sound, Materiality, and the Body Workshop (MANTRAMS), University of Vienna, Austria.
“Theology for Ethno-Indologists: The Case of a Rewritten Pūjā Text”
European Conference on South Asian Studies, University of Vienna, Austria.
“The Commentator Wears Many Hats: Observing Discipline within the Svāminārāyaṇabhāṣyam”
Tradition of Commentaries and Dynamics of Knowledge, Shree Somnath Sanskrit University, Gujarat.
“‘So the Wise Say’: Exploring Intertextuality within the Mahābhārata and the Manusmṛti”
International Indology Graduate Research Symposium, University of Oxford, UK.
“The Chaste Krishna: Hāsya-Rasa as a Means of Devotion” & “Born from the Same Tree: The Vedic Canon as a Vedamūla Paramparā”
European Association for the Study of Religion, University of Tartu, Estonia.
“Ancient Form, Modern Interpretation: Reading a 21st-Century Vādagrantha”
International Indology Graduate Research Symposium, SOAS, London.
“Can we Discuss Upanishadic Principles in English? The Limits of Language on Indian Philosophical Discourse”
All India Oriental Conference, Shree Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval, India.
“What is the Difference Between Rāma and a Yakṣa? An Intertextual Reading of the Haṃsasandeśa and the Meghadūta”
Rāma in Sanskrit Literature, JNU, New Delhi, India.
“When the Absolute is not the Ultimate: Akṣarabrahman Guru in the Swaminarayan Tradition”
Akshar Purushottam Darshan Conference, AARSH, Gandhinagar, India.
“Power to Name: Recognising Figures of Power in the Satsaṅgijīvanam”
Colonial Hangover Conference, Warwick University, UK.
Academic service & work
Editor, Religions of South Asia (RoSA)
Co-Convener, Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions
Committee Member, Rethinking Hinduism in Colonial India
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, UK.
Copyediting, Typesetting, and Design (Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft)
Journal of Transcultural Studies, HCTS, Universität Heidelberg.
Wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft, Cultural and Religious History of South Asia
South Asia Institute, Universität Heidelberg.
Symposium Co-organiser, Heidelberg Indology Doctoral Research Symposium: Disruption
South Asia Institute, Universität Heidelberg (hybrid).
Officer, Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions
Conference Co-Organiser, Akshar Purushottam Darshan Conference
AARSH, Gandhinagar, India.
Research Assistant to Sadhu Brahmasetudas
English translation of the Iśopaniṣat-Svāminārāyaṇa-Bhāṣyam (Swaminarayan Aksharpith, Ahmedabad). Yagnapurush Sanskrit Mahavidyalay, Sarangpur, India.
Student Representative
Department of South Asia and South East Asia, SOAS, University of London.
Teaching
Department Assistant, Cultural and Religious History of South Asia
Universität Heidelberg.
Sanskrit Tutor
Shree Somnath Sanskrit University and private tuition.
English as a Second Language Tutor
Shree Somnath Sanskrit University.
Latin, Sanskrit and Gujarati Tutor
Private tuition.
Media & documentary work
Gifting God: An Untold Story of Devotion
Cinematographer and co-producer (planning and interviews).
First of Its Kind: The Untold Story of London Mandir and Its Creator
Consultant, editor, camera and audio operator.
HeidelbergKRS (YouTube channel)
Content editor and channel manager. Cultural and Religious History of South Asia, SAI, Universität Heidelberg.
Languages
Native: English, Gujarati · Fluent: Sanskrit (speaking, reading, and writing), Hindi · Advanced: German · Reading: Brajbhasha, Pali, Latin · Working: French.
Skills & interests
Digital humanities: LaTeX, TEI, Tesseract, Transkribus · Programming: Node.js, Python, Ruby, C#, GoLang, SQL; AI and LLMs; data management and processing · Audio-visual: field recording, videography, podcasting, archiving; DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop · Design: graphic design and typography (InDesign, Illustrator) · Music: classical Indian music (bansuri, harmonium, sitar, composition).