Dr. Nimeshika Venkatesan is an aspiring theorist, nascent folklorist trained as an Assistant professor of Literature with a specialization in Folkloristics and Bhakti Studies. Her doctoral thesis is a contribution towards a transdisciplinary approach in creating a reading framework that integrates theoretical methods from literary criticism and folkloristics to strike a balance between western epistemology and indigenous criticism to examine the South Asian influences of storytelling in select Novelised Saint Narratives of three Vīraśaiva saints namely Mahadevi, Basveshwara and Allamaprabhu. Her current research interests explore transdisciplinary approaches aligned with folkloristics exploring the domain of religious studies, particularly bhakti studies at the nexus of intermediality. She represents India as one of the advisory members for the Taylor and Francis journal, Folklore since January 2025. She is currently the primary investigator for an institution-funded project for creating a digital hub for archiving and promotion of indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage. Her most recent co-authored publications include Toppling the Tables: Navigating from the Periphery to the Centre through (Inter)sectional Subalternity in Regional South Asian Films” published by New York Folklore . She has also co-authored a book chapter entitled “Decolonizing Through Desi Genres: Trans-generic Approaches to South Asian Fairy Tales” for the Routledge Companion to Fairy Tales (forthcoming).
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- Awarded the Dora Plus Erasmus Fellowship from September 2018 to May 2019.
- Member of Society of Ethnology and Folkloristics since 2019
- Member of International Society for Folk Narrative research since 2018
- Qualified TN SET conducted by Mother Teresa University for Women, Reg No. 18123488 in September 2017.
- Member of the Indian Folklore Congress since 2014
- Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child Govt. of India –2008-2011.
- Post graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child- 2011-2013
- CBSE Merit Scholarship for Single Girl Child (Class X) – 2006
Delivered a guest lecture for the postgraduate students of English at Stella Maris College on Literature and Mysticism, January 2017, Chennai, India. Invited public lecture on Tamil Culture at the Estonian National Museum on 9th October 2018, Tartu, Estonia.
Delivered a guest lecture on Folklore and Literature at Women’s Christian College for the undergraduate students of English for a new elective course on Literature and Folklore, July 2016, Chennai, India.
Co-Host of the What the Folk Podcast
A podcast that features concepts and theories in folklore studies, bringing personal experiences from the lives of the hosts, breaking down academic jargon to make academics accessible. Available on Mixcloud and Spotify.
Co-organizer of an eight-week international lecture series Literature and Folklore Talks – “Unravelling Tales: Exploring Intersections between Folkloristics and Literature” (LAF Talk 2021), in collaboration with the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu, Estonia (July 2021 – 26th August 2021).
Course Writer for the MA Folklore and Cultural Studies Program (IGNOU).
Special Guest Lecture titled “Folkloristics in Literary and Cultural Studies: a Glimpse into Interdisciplinary Methodologies” for a webinar series on Research and Methodological Practices organized by St Joseph’s College for Women, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu.
2023
Special Invited Panel Speaker at Vachana 2023 (Panel Title: Folk-verse: Exploring Folk Cultures in the 21st Century), Annual Postgraduate Conference Speaking of Folklore: Examining, organized by the Department of English and Cultural Modalities, Medialities, and Methods Studies at Christ (Deemed to be University), Bannerghatta Road Campus, from 10th–11th January 2023.
- Projects: Internally funded project : Creating a Digital Hub for Archiving and Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Heritage (Ongoing)
- Advisory members for the Taylor and Francis journal, Folklore since January 2025 . https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rfol20/about-this-journal#journal-metrics
- Invited resource person at the ICSSR funded National Seminar titled “Art Artefact and the Artist: Sociology and History of North Indian Folk Theatres” at Government College for Women, Pali, Rewari , 21-22nd February, 2025.
- Invited as a resource person for “Roots and Ritual Online Lecture Series” organized by Sultana Niger, in affiliation with the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Indiana University Bloomington on 17th May, 2025, talk was entitled “Evolving Voices of Bhakti: Reassessing Narratives and Narratology in South Asian Religion”
- 2022: “Re-narrating Vikram and Vetal: A Visual Adaptation of a Popular Folktale” in Dogo Rangsang, Vol 9.15, (2022): 495-504 indexed in the UGC CARE.
- 2021: “Skirting Boundaries of Folk and Popular: Role of Intermediality in Shaping Mirabai as a Folk Cultural Icon” in Literary Voice Vol 2.13 (2021): 240-246 indexed in the WebofScience.
- “Dialogic Interactions in Vernacular Hinduism: A Perspective onTherukoothu, Folk Ritualistic Theatre of South India” in Kalyan Bharathi vol 36.1 (2021): 48-61 indexed in UGC CARE.
- 2019: “Detours: Mystical Speech Genres as Vernacular Expressions of Religion.” Volume 7, 2019. http://www.isfnr.org/ISFNR-newsletter.php.
- 2015: Venkatesan, Nimeshika.”Examining the Surrealist Landscape in Karaikkal Ammaiyar`s ThiruvālangattuMuthātha Thiruppadhikam.” The Investigator 1.2 (2015):123129 Peer Reviewed.
- 2014: Venkatesan, Nimeshika. “Contextuality and Postmodern Manifestation of Folk Material Culture in Commercial Decorative Art and Artifacts.” Repositioning Folklore and Indigenous Knowledge Systems” (2014) as book chapter.
Dr. Nimeshika Venkatesan & Kikee Doma Bhutia for a book chapter entitled “ Decolonizing through Desi Genres: Transgeneric Approaches to South Asian Fairy Tales” as a part of the Routledge Companion to Fairy tales, forthcoming ( 2026). https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Fairy-Tales/Schwabe-Jones/p/book/9781032517759?srsltid=AfmBOorVid90SnXZwK8XWliTkmEDX14dw3nbqsEtypCB-9AY_6T5gd2l Kikee Doma Bhutia & Nimeshika Venkatesan published a paper Toppling the Tables: Navigating from the Periphery to the Center through (Inter)sectional Subalternity in Regional South Asian Films in the Journal Voices New York Folklore, Vol 49, pp 15-22. Print.
| Year | Conference/Webinar/Seminar Description Paper Title |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Nimeshika Venkatesan & Kikee Doma Bhutia. “Intersectional Subalternity and the Case of Cinematic Storytelling in Regional South Asian Films,” 19th ISFNR Congress (International Society for Folk Narrative Research) “ Folk Narratives in the Changing World” Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia, June 17-21, 2024, pp. |
| 2024 | Dr. Nimeshika Venkatesan and Bysani Vishal. “Mythology, Ontology and Technology: (Re) Reading Memory in the Age of AI”, INMS 2024 Annual Conference “ Memory, Security and Sustainability, Centre for Memory Studies , IIT Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, September 16-18, 2024, pp. |
| 2023 | Nimeshika Venkatesan. “ Storying Saints: A Folkloristic Study on South Asian Storytelling in the ICSSR and NERC funded national conference titled Reading Narratives: Storying Humanities, organized by the Department of English Assam University Silchar, Assam, India, 24-25th August 2023. |
| 2022 | International Memory Studies Conference organised: “A Method to Memory,” by the Centre for Memory Studies, IIT Madras – “Dialogue on Memory as a Tool in Ethnography,” held from 23rd to 25th August 2022. |
| 2021 | Panel Chair and Co-Author at the 18th Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR): “God Will Poke Your Eyes: Encountering the Ontology of Fear in Emotions in Folk Narrative and Folklife,” virtual congress hosted in Zagreb, 5–8 September 2021. Panel: Emotions and Religious Practices of South India. |
| 2019 | Presented at "Track Changes: Reflecting on a Transforming World," held April 14–17, 2019, at Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. Paper: “Pilgrimage – A Case Study of Southern India.” Panel: RELI02 – The Changing Character of Pilgrimages. |
| 2018 | 8th International Conference of Young Folklorists: “Dialogic Interactions, Folk Aesthetics, and the Ethics of Fieldwork,” held September 19–21, 2018, in Riga, Latvia. Paper: “Therukoothu – A Study.” Panel Chair: Fieldwork Ethics. |
| 2017 | Participated in the University of Tartu Workshop "Ways for Cooperation", Tartu, Estonia, September 12–13, 2018. 41st Indian Folklore Congress, Imphal Campus, Manipur, November 16–18, 2017. Paper: “Folkloric Intertextuality and Dialogism – A Case Study of the Film Vikram Vedha.” |
| 2016 | 40th Indian Folklore Congress, held October 18–20, 2016, at Kalina Campus, University of Mumbai, India. Paper: “Exploring Mystical Madness in the Riddles of Viraśaiva Saint Allamaprabhu.” |
| 2015 | 39th Indian Folklore Congress at N. S. Patel Arts College, Anand, Gujarat, October 9–11, 2015. Paper: “From Folk to Popular Through the Material – Transposing Folk Cultural Icon Meera into Popular Culture Through Literary, Visual, and Artefactual Forms.” |
| 2014 | 38th Indian Folklore Congress at Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Parlakhemundi, Gajapati, Orissa, December 19–21, 2014. Paper: “Postmodern Manifestation of Folk Material Culture in Commercial Decorative Art and Artifacts.” |
| 2013 | International Conference on Folklore: “Reinventing Literary Nonsense – Subjective Past Through Folk Traditions,” organized by the Centre for Russian Studies, School of Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, October 23–25, 2013. Paper: “And Subversive – A Perspective on Tamil Folk Traditions.” |
| 2012 | National Conference on Interfaith Dialogue and Peace Building, organized by the Department of English, Stella Maris College (Autonomous), Chennai, February 8–9, 2013. Paper: “Maadhuriya Bhava – Bridal Mysticism in the Works of Āndal and St. John of the Cross.” |
| 2011 | National Symposium on Thinking Subjectivities, organized by the Department of English, Christ University, Bangalore, February 9–10, 2011. Paper: “The Atman-Dharma-Samskara Trinity – An Indic Journey into Subjectivity.” |