Meghalaya: NEHU faculty selected for Charles Wallace Fellowship

Tura: Dr Namrata Pathak of the Department of English, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Tura Campus, has been selected for the prestigious Charles Wallace Fellowship at the South Asia Institute (SOAS), University of London.

According to the British Council, the Charles Wallace India Trust (CWIT) enables early to mid-career practitioners to develop their knowledge, skills, and experience via fellowships and scholarships. These grants are extremely competitive and only a handful of candidates are awarded scholarships each year.

The fellowship is provided to an Indian academic, writer, or translator between the age of 25-45 years. These fellowships enable academics (historians and social scientists), as well as writers and translators to spend around three months at a specified host university in the UK. 

“Her proposal has been selected from a very competitive field for the unique research angle and potential for excellence in the area of performance studies,” stated the intimation from the selection committee.

During the fellowship term of three months between January to May, 2023, Pathak will focus on her own research besides taking part in university life at the SOAS, University of London.

Fellows and artists are expected to contribute to the life of the host institution by giving lectures or leading seminars presenting their own research or writing.

Every year, assistant professor Pathak organises a 12-day “Theatre in Education” workshop at the English department, NEHU, Tura in collaboration with the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi, which, in the words of the participants, provide a rich platform to local students to showcase their talents.

She has organised talks and events, giving students in Garo Hills the scope to interact with literary stalwarts including Ambai (Sahitya Akademi awardee) and Sukrita Paul Kumar (Aruna Asaf Chair at Delhi University).

Apart from many writing credits in national and international journals, magazines and other sources, Pathak has published five books.

Her debut collection of poems, “That’s How Mirai Eats a Pomegranate”, published by Red River in 2018 was well-received in the creative circles of Northeast India.

Pathak’s recent publications include “Indira Goswami: Margins and Beyond”, which is a part of the “Writer in Context” series by Routledge, UK and South East Asia, 2022, and a reader on Arun Sarma, which is to be published by the Sahitya Akademi towards the end of 2022.

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