Academic and Professional Qualifications

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

1

2003

Ph.D., Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Pune, Dept. of AIHC & Archaeology, Advisor Prof. Viswas D. Gogte 
Dissertation: Glass Beads in Ancient India: An Ethnoarchaeological Approach
2

1994

M.A. (AIHC & Archaeology), Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute
Dissertation: An Archaeological Report on Hunsgi, Advisor: Prof. K. Paddayya
3

1992

B.A., University of Berhampur (Khallikote College)
Major Subjects: Anthropology (Hons.) and Political Science (Pass)
Dissertation: A Study of Democracy and Political Organization of Village Puttabagada of Ganjam District, Advisor: Dr. J.P. Kuanr
4

2005

P.G.D., Museology, Solapur University, Solapur
Dissertation: Gargoti Museum: A Mineral Wonder, Advisor: Dr. Ravi Jadav

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND 

1

2012

Intensive course on Deutsch als Fremdsprache, did deutsch-institut, Berlin, Germany
2

2010

Course on Archaeology of South Asia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Diploma in Ancient Technology & Invention, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
3

2005

Diploma in Museum Object Handling, Horniman Museum, Forest Hills, UK

4

2003

Advanced Course in Indian Grammatical Tradition, Pune University
5

2000

e-com@asset (Windows NT, Java, WebPages & e_com), Asset International, Pune

6

1997

DCA (Multimedia Programming using Authorware), Edit Computer Art, Pune
7

1996

DCA (Computer Fundamentals, Basic, dBase, C & Unix, Window, System Analysis)
Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies & Research, Pune

Work Experience

Organization: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar
Period: From 29th September 2014 to date

Responsibilities
• Developing and teaching courses on Indian Culture.
• Teaching Ancient Indian Technologies, Ancient Indian Structures and Hydrology, and, Digital Repatriation and Indigenous Archaeologies.
• Guiding students with projects on Indian Culture, Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Metallurgy, Ethnography, Museology and Sustainable Heritage.
• Inviting the scholars of repute to the Institute for academic & research collaborations.
• Carrying out anthropological, archaeological, archaeometry research leading to peer-reviewed publications.

Significant Achievements
• Authored and edited six books (one on glass, two on the glass beads and bangles, one on the stone beads, one on the Nagas, and another one completed on behalf of Prof. V.N. Misra on the Mesolithic South Asia) and co-edited a MDPI special issue on Sustainable Heritage, besides two dozen research papers during my stay in IITGN.
• Contributed in establishing the centre of archaeological sciences, laboratory and repository, besides programs on experimental archaeology.
• Designed a three-module course on Ancient Indian Technologies and have been teaching the first two modules: 1. Stone, Ceramic, Metal and Glass and 2. Structure and Hydrology.
• Established IITGN student internship program at Flinders University.
• Organised three international conferences-cum-workshops: 1. ‘Unsettling Archaeology’ during 26-29th September 20221, 2. ‘History, Science and Technology of Ancient Indian Glass’ during 21-25th January 2019, and 3. ‘History, Science and Technology of Stone Beads’ during 10-14th August 2015. Experts and participants from fifteen countries including USA, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Denmark, Cyprus, Japan, Poland, Iran, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka besides India participated and deliberated on the subject of the conferences. These workshops trained 200 participants from all over India and abroad.
• Organised four training programs: two on Elemental Analysis with ICP-MS and Isotopic Analysis with MC-ICP-MS and TIMS in July 2018 and June 2019, one on Early Urbanization and Science of the World in May-June 2022, and one on Western Frontiers of the Urbanized World in January 2023.
• Organised two national Symposiums: one on ‘Regional Mahabharata’ and another on ‘The Nagas’ on 13th and 15th September 2015.
• Co-organised one International Webinar on Gandhi and the Adivasi question in contemporary India, Webinar IIT Gandhinagar, 01 October 2020. 

Organization: History and Archaeology in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University, Australia
Period: From July 2020 to June 2023

Responsibilities
Collaborative teaching and research involving India and Australia 

Organization: Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Germany
Period: From March 2012 to June 2014

Responsibilities
• Enquiry into History and Culture of the Nagas through the objects in Museums in Germany.
• Documenting the objects collected from Naga Hills to various museums in Germany before IInd World War.
• Correlating the finds with the then archival records and diaries of the collectors, administrators, military personnel and ethnographers.
• Giving invited lectures at universities such as that of Heidelberg, Koeln, Bonn and Karlsruhe.
• Bringing back the ethos, national and cultural pride to the Naga communities. 

Significant Achievements
• Discussed with Himalayan region exponents like Profs. Michael Oppitz, Toni Hubber, Peter von Ham, Aglaja Stirn and Paul Yule.
• Exchange of skills and establishment of collaborative network with Humboldt University, Institute fur Ur- und Fruhgeschichte, Kommission fur Archaologie Aussereuropaischer Kulture, Verein für Erhalt und Förderung der Naga-Kultur and Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften. 

Organization: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Period: From March to December 2010

Responsibilities
• Enquiry into History and Technology of South Asian Glass.
• Analysing finds from Kopia in labs to understand the ancient Indian technologies.
• Giving Invited talks in various universities such as that of St. Lawrence, California, California State, Arizona, Harvard and Wisconsin-Madison.

Significant Achievements
• Exchanged skills and established collaborative network with Field Museum, Corning Museum of Glass, University of Arizona Dating Lab and Dept. of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Discussed and established contacts with experts on South Asian Anthropology, like Profs. Mark Kenoyer, Richard Meadow, Monica Smith, Michael Witzel, Robert Brill, Steven Koob, Randall Law, Paul D. Fullagar, Sinhu A. Abraham, Praveena Gullapalli, Laure Dussubieux and Greg L. Hordgins 

Organization: Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi
Period: From March 2004 to September 2009

Responsibilities
• Strategizing, planning, budgeting, implementing and evaluating Kopia Excavations and socio-cultural initiatives of the Society.
• Excavating the early historic site of Kopia and writing the report of the same.
• Raising fund for the excavations, analyses, drawings, conservation, storing of finds, exhibitions and report writing.
• Taking community initiative to make the locals part of the work and take ownership.

Significant Achievements
• Exhibited the Kopia finds in various parts of India (artefact) and abroad (poster) to display the indigenous Indian technologies including that of glass.
• Gave a series of talks at local, national and international levels on Indian glass.
• Through community initiative could protect the site from further destruction and helped making the village of Kopia a place to visit. 

Organization: Homi Bhabha Fellowship Council, Mumbai
Period: From December 2008 to February 2009 and from January to October 2011

Responsibilities
• Researching the Nagas in Naga Hills.
• Visiting European museums for comparative study with their collections.
• Taking community initiative among the Nagas.

Significant Achievements
• Exhibition of Naga Culture at TIFR, Mumbai during Bhabha Centenary Celebration, November 20-22, 2009.
• Besides a few research articles, gave a series of interviews in newspapers on the importance of Nagas’ cultural past.
• With community initiative and different village councils’ help prepared a draft urging the different museum across the globe to repatriate the skeletal materials and bring the non-skeletal materials back to Naga Hills in form of mobile exhibition(s).
• Designed the Concept of Naga Arts and Crafts Museum, Kohima. 

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