Scholars' Featured on The Atharva Forum
Dr. Ramakant Angiras
Dr. Ramakant Angiras, now 90 years of age, is a distinguished Sanskrit scholar, a Shastri, M.A. in Hindi and Sanskrit, and Ph.D. He served as Professor of the Kalidas Chair at Panjab University, Chandigarh, with 42 years of teaching experience, guiding M.Phil. and 26 Ph.D. students. A former Visiting Professor at Charles University (Czechoslovakia). Also an Ex-Fellow Editor of PHISPIC (New Delhi), Ex-Fellow at the Research Institute for Himalayan Studies (Shimla), and Ex-Fellow Senate at Punjab University. He is the Founder Member of ‘Saaraswatam’ (Chandigarh Sanskrit scholars’ association) and current President of Darshan Yoga Sansthan, Dakshina Murti Bhavan, Dalhousie (HP).
Internationally, he delivered lectures at Jouve (South Italy), Oxford (England), and Woodstock (USA). Renowned for expertise in Indian aesthetics, philosophy, Tantra, Shaivism, literature, and oriental/modern studies, he has published 70 research papers and 4 books: शाङ्कर वेदान्त – एक अनुशीलन , Trilogy of Tantra, Etymological and Philosophical Interpretation of Tantra and दृष्टि एवं दिशाएँ. He continues active writing in prose, poetry, and swadhayaaya, and advising on Sanskrit ethos across disciplines.
Dr. Pushpa Dixit
महामहोपाध्यायाचार्या डॉ. पुष्पा दीक्षित ने लगभग ४० वर्षों के तप से ‘पाणिनीय अष्टाध्यायी’ के प्रक्रियाविज्ञान को स्पष्ट करने वाली एक ऐसी सर्वथा नवीन गणितीय विधि आविष्कृत की है, जिससे ‘अष्टाध्यायी’ का समग्र प्रक्रियाविज्ञान दस मास में हृद्गत हो जाता है। पाणिनि के बाद से लेकर अभी तक ३५०० वर्षों में पाणिनि को किसी ने इस प्रकार व्याख्यात नहीं किया है। इस प्रक्रिया का नाम पौष्पी प्रक्रिया है। माताजी के रूप में संदर्भित पुष्पा जी लेखिका और कवि भी हैं ! https://pushpadikshit.in/
Dr Padma Subrahmanyam
Dr Padma Subrahmanyam uniquely blends the roles of dancer, scholar, choreographer, teacher, singer, music composer, author, and Indologist, driven by a deep passion for art, culture, and Bharatvarsha. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981, the Padma Bhushan in 2003, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2024.
Dr Padma mentions that, in addition to uncovering connections between the Natyashastra and Indonesia. She recognized the significance of ancient Tamil literature through the teachings of the Mahaswami of Kanchi, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati. Tiruppavai and Tiruvempavai are utilized in Thailand, where she featured them in her group presentation entitled பாவை நோன்பு, with Thai dancers performing alongside her own troupe of artists.
Dr Padma mentions that, in addition to uncovering connections between the Natyashastra and Indonesia. She recognized the significance of ancient Tamil literature through the teachings of the Mahaswami of Kanchi, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati. Tiruppavai and Tiruvempavai are utilized in Thailand, where she featured them in her group presentation entitled பாவை நோன்பு, with Thai dancers performing alongside her own troupe of artists.
Prof MD Srinivas, Padma Shri
Professor MD Srinivas is a distinguished Indian scholar, theoretical physicist, and historian of science, recently honored with the Padma Shri in 2025 for his outstanding contributions to Indian science and civilization. He completed his MSc at Bangalore University and his PhD in Theoretical Physics under Prof. Emil Wolf at the University of Rochester, NY, USA (1976). He is the Founder Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai, and Chairman of committees for Indian knowledge systems in higher education curricula. Involved in pioneering studies on Indian scientific and technological traditions, epistemology of Indian science, and study of Indian mathematical, astronomical, and combinatorial texts, Indian Society, Economy, and Polity: Research and publications contextualizing Indian civilizational perspectives and their relevance in present-day policy and education. He has contributed major scholarly work on the Kerala School of mathematics and astronomy, Indian combinatorics, and mathematics of magic squares. Srinivas pioneered rigorous analyses in quantum measurement, including work on entropic uncertainty relations and disturbance trade-offs in quantum mechanics. Prof Srinivas helped found the PPST Group in Chennai in 1981, aimed at promoting India-oriented and tradition-informed scientific research.
Dr R Ganesh
Dr. Ganesh is a ‘Shatavadhani‘ and one of India’s foremost Sanskrit poets and scholars. He writes and lectures extensively on various subjects pertaining to India and Indian cultural heritage. He is a master of the ancient art of avadhana and is credited with reviving the art in Kannada. He is a recipient of the Badarayana-Vyasa Puraskar from the President of India for his contribution to the Sanskrit language.
Prof Gautam Desiraju
Prof Gautam Desiraju is a structural chemist who has been in the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Prior to this, he had been in the University of Hyderabad for 30 years. He has played a major role in the development and growth of the subject of crystal engineering. He is noted for gaining acceptance for the theme of weak hydrogen bonding among chemists and crystallographers. In 2023, he published Bharat: India 2.0, exploring India’s constitutional history and its identity as a civilizational state.
Prof Meenakshi Jain
Prof Meenakshi Jain is a nominated Member of Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House). A historian who served as an associate professor of history at Gargi College, Delhi. Her areas of research include cultural and religious developments in medieval and early modern India. Her works, including Rama and Ayodhya (2013) and The Battle for Rama (2017), provided historical evidence supporting the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, influencing the 2019 Supreme Court verdict. She has critiqued leftist historiographical narratives on topics like gender, society, and temple destructions, advocating for indigenous perspectives.
Pranav Kumar Vashishta
Pranava Kumar Vasishta G V is a student of Dharmashastra-s and the Constitution of India. He is associated with the thought of Center for Exact Humanities,IIIT-Hyderabad and Purnapramati – A Center for Integrated Learning, Bengaluru. He is in an advisory role with Atharva and has been associated with the Atharva Forum since its inception.
Prof V Ramanathan
Prof V Ramanathan is an Advisor with the Atharva Forum and an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at IIT (BHU) Varanasi. He serves as Coordinator of the Center of Excellence in IKS and is a Member of the Research Council in History of Science at the Indian National Science Academy. He is also an Editorial Board Member of *Nature Scientific Reports*. Deeply interested in India’s scientific heritage and classical music, he is comfortable in seven Bharatiya languages. He is a Fulbright scholar and a core committee member of Indian National Young Academy of Science (a body of Indian National Science Academy—INSA). He also serves as the Chairman, UGC-NET paper on IKS.
Bhavesh Kansara
Bhavesh Kansara is a satirist who loves to comment on society, culture, and politics, a theme that he explored in his book, Twisted Threads. He has been a part of Atharva Forum conversing especially about the facets of Indian history during the British era such as indentured servitude and forced prostitution. When not active on X as @kansaratva, he busies himself working with industry and academia on digital engineering solutions.
Dr. Sampadananda Mishra
Dr. Sampadananda Mishra is working now as the Director, Center for Human Sciences, Rishihood University, Sonipat, Haryana. He worked as the Associate Editor of the Collected Works of Vasishtha Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni published in twelve volumes. He founded and launched the first ever 24 hours Sanskrit Radio called Divyavani Sanskrit Radio in 2013 CE. In the year 2014, Dr. Mishra founded Samskrita Balasahitya Parishad with the aim of creating, evaluating and propagating children’s literature in Sanskrit. The Govt. of India has conferred the President’s award (Maharshi Badarayna Vyasa Samman 2011) on Dr. Mishra for his outstanding contribution to Sanskrit. He was also conferred the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Bala Puraskar for 2018 for his work, Shanaih Shanaih – A book of rhyming songs in Sanskrit for children.
Prof Rangachar Narayana Iyengar
Professor RN Iyengar is renowned for his contributions to Earthquake Engineering, Random Vibrations, Mathematical Modeling, Structural Dynamics and Nonlinear Systems. As faculty at the Indian Institute of Science from 1969 till his retirement in 2005 as KSIDC Chair Professor in Civil Engineering. He held the Distinguished Schmidt Chair at the Florida Atlantic University, USA in 1995. He was Director of CBRI-CSIR (1994-2000); Raja Ramanna Fellow of Dept. of Atomic Energy (2005-10). After establishing the Centre for Disaster Mitigation with a unique Fire Research Lab, he is currently Distinguished Emeritus Professor and the Director of the Centre for Ancient History & Culture (CAHC) at the Jain University, Bengaluru.
He was initially trained in Sanskrit studies through the traditional method, that enabled him to evolve Bharatiya knowledge traditions using modern methodologies.. His findings on comets, eclipses, earthquakes, ancient geography, effect of precession and the Pole Star Dhruva in Vedic literature, Concept of Probability in classical music, have attracted worldwide attention. He brought out the Parāśaratantra, an ancient Sanskrit treatise on astronomy and natural sciences, with text, translation and notes in 2013.
Professor Singanapalli Balaram
Prof S Balaram is an internationally reputed designer with four patents to his credit. An industrial designer; senior faculty and former Chairman of Education at the National Institute of Design (NID), India, he is also a founding and governing council member of The Craft Development Institute in Kashmir and is currently the Dean of DJ Academy of Design in Coimbatore. He is the Emeritus professor of CEPT University, India. Prof Balaram was part of the advisory board of ‘Design Issues’, a journal of international repute. He even worked with his team on the life-saving oxygenator and received India’s prestigious National Meritorious Invention Award. His varied pursuits include short story writing; package design and film criticism.
Sayak Mitra
Sayak Mitra is a multifaceted persona—Natyashastra scholar, musicologist, Rudra Veena player and a performer in the field of dance and theatre. As the Chief Assistant Director to Shri Piyal Bhattacharya, an eminent Natyashastra scholar and researcher. Sayak is the main Nata in his dramaturgical reconstruction of Marga Natya. Sayak has worked with Orao tribes of Jharkhand to reconstruct the ancient Veena tradition named as Alapini Veena (one stringed stick zither); for this work he received the National Fellowship Award from Ministry of Culture, India. Sayak Mitra has also researched with the Kinnera tribes of Telangana to find out the tress of first fretted instrument of India, the Kinnari Vina.
He has been an assistant director and protagonist in Bhaanak, Padmanka Gatha, Viraha Gatha, Samvatsar Katha, Bhaanika and many more. Sayak has worked with eminent theatre directors in the field of Sanskrit, Bengali and Hindi theatre like Smt. Usha Ganguly, Devesh Chattopadhaya, Arpita Ghosh, Piyal Bhattacharya. At present, he is working on musicological treatises and surveying ancient instruments, dance style and dramaturgy mentioned in Bharata’s Natyashastra under the guidance of Shri Piyal Bhattacharya and is also mentoring new talent.
He has been an assistant director and protagonist in Bhaanak, Padmanka Gatha, Viraha Gatha, Samvatsar Katha, Bhaanika and many more. Sayak has worked with eminent theatre directors in the field of Sanskrit, Bengali and Hindi theatre like Smt. Usha Ganguly, Devesh Chattopadhaya, Arpita Ghosh, Piyal Bhattacharya. At present, he is working on musicological treatises and surveying ancient instruments, dance style and dramaturgy mentioned in Bharata’s Natyashastra under the guidance of Shri Piyal Bhattacharya and is also mentoring new talent.
Sandeep Balakrishna
Sandeep is a writer and author of Indian history, Hindu civilisation and culture for over two decades. He writes in both English and Kannada. Sandeep is also a former Information Technology professional with a long and successful career at major multinational corporations. He is the founder of the very popular online magazine dharmadispatch.in
Halley Kalyan
Halley Kalyan is an inquisitive Hindu trying to understand Sanatana Dharma. He has a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIIT-Hyderabad and also holds an MBA degree from IIM-Lucknow. He works as a product manager in the IT industry. He has 16 years of experience as an IT professional. He is an independent IKS Researcher with interests in studying topics related to Modernity-Tradition-
Dr. Sushruti Santhanam
Dr. Sushruti Santhanam is a classical musician, trained in Carnatic music since childhood in the rigorous Gurukula of her esteemed mother and Guru Vidushi R.Vedavalli Sushruti holds degrees in Sociology and Journalism, besides a PhD in History and has extensive field experience working with traditional creative communities in several parts of India. Her special focus is on the form and use of ‘tradition’ in Indian knowledge systems especially in arts & craft practice. She founded Dakshina Dvaraka Foundation, a non profit established in 2015, that houses research in performing arts and crafts archival work, supports communities of traditional artists and artisans and mentors younger researchers who work with traditional creative communities. Sushruti, brings together three very different worlds of inquiry and practice, Humanities, intensive engagement with artists and artisan communities across India and her insights into the world of an art practitioner. She extends this exciting journey to include a discerning public through workshops, lectures and publications. dakshinadvarakafoundation.org
Dr Venketeswara Pai
Dr Venketeswara Pai is an Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, India. With a PhD in History of Astronomy (2011), earned from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. He is a distinguished scholar specializing in the history of astronomy and mathematics in India, with a particular focus on the Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics, the Vākya system of astronomy, manuscriptology, and scientific literature in Sanskrit and Malayalam. Trained as a physicist, he possesses expertise in technical Sanskrit and Malayalam languages, enabling him to analyze ancient Indian astronomical texts and models. His work includes critical studies of works like Dṛkkaraṇa and Siddhāntaśiromaṇi of Bhāskara II (in collaboration with scholars such as Prof MS Sriram). His research often involves translating and annotating Sanskrit astronomical treatises, contributing to the global understanding of pre-modern Indian science.
Dr Prathosh
Prathosh received his Ph. D from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in 2015, in the area of temporal data analysis. He submitted his Ph. D thesis three years after his B.Tech in 2011, with many top-tier journal publications. Subsequently, he worked in corporate research labs including Xerox Research India, Philips research, and a start-up in CA, USA. His work in the industry, focussing on healthcare analytics, led to the generation of several IP, comprising 15 (US) patents of which several are commercialized. He joined IIT Delhi in 2017 as an Assistant Professor in the computer technology group of Electrical Engineering where he was engaged in research and teaching of the machine and deep learning courses. Currently, he is a faculty member at the department of ECE at IISc, Bangalore. His current research includes deep-representational learning, cross-domain generalization, signal processing, and their applications in computer vision and speech analytics. He has co-founded a start-up Cogniable Tech which builds learning algorithms for behavioural healthcare using video analytics (first-place winner of the recent AI startup challenge by Govt. of India) and also actively engaged with several corporate industries, start-ups, and medical centres (E.g., AIIMS) in solving interesting technical problems. He also happens to be a student of Samskrut Language and Indian Philosophical sciences.
Dr Manoj Gundanna
Dr Manoj Gundanna is a Researcher on Temple Architecture and an archaeologist by profession. His research work focuses on the study of ancient Dravidian temple architecture based on traditional āgama-s and
Anand Venkatraman MD
Dr Anand Venkatraman is a Neurologist. He developed an interest in the Bharatiya mind-body practices during his clinical education, as he noticed surprising similarities between what was talked about in ancient Hindu texts and modern neurology books. Since then has been working on understanding how these practices can interface with modern neuroscience and consciousness research. A native of Chennai, he completed his MBBS from AIIMS New Delhi, and subsequently did advanced clinical training from multiple prestigious academic centers including the University of Alabama and Harvard Medical School.
Dr R.Rangan
Dr. R. Rangan is the son of Sri Krishna Premi Swamigal (also known as Sri Sri Anna). He is a scholar who has been inspired by his father and is known for his expertise in the Ramayana, the Vedas, and other dharmic texts. He leads spiritual and educational initiatives, including the Shrutiram Gurukulam in Bengaluru. Dr. Rangan is the also the founder of WEBOLIM – they hold workshops and classes related to Sanatana Dharma. He holds a doctoral degree in Yoga from SVYASA, Karnataka. He has also authored various books on Sanatana Dharma, and is known for his insightful discourses on the Srimad Ramayana.
Sudarshan HS
Sudarshan is a researcher in the area of History of Science and Culture and presently works as a Senior Researcher at the Sarasvatam Research Center in Bangalore. He is an engineer by education and worked in the software industry for many years in India and in the US. He became an entrepreneur and ran a successful Location Tech business. He retired from that job and his interests in Indian cultural & intellectual history took him to study Sanskrit. He completed his MA in Shastras at the Karnataka Samskrit University and a PhD in History of Science at the Center of Ancient History & Culture, Jain University, Bangalore. His publications are in the area of Archaeo astronomy and History of Time Measurement. He co-founded the Sarasvatam Research Center in Bangalore, and the Manuscript and Inscriptions Digitisation Foundation, New Delhi. sarasvatam.org
Dr Radhavallabh Tripathi
Dr Radhavallabh Tripathi is a distinguished poet, storyteller, and playwright in Sanskrit and Hindi. Born in 1949, in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh into a family of scholars, his father was a poet-critic with deep expertise in both Sanskrit and Hindi. Tripathi obtained a D.Litt. for his research on The Origins and Evolution of Theatre in Ancient India. His academic journey began in 1970, spanning roles from research scholar to professor and from dean to head of department. He has also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the National Sanskrit University. Additionally.
Prof. Gauri Mahulikar
Prof. Gauri Mahulikar serves as the Academic Director of the Chinmaya International Foundation. She has significantly enriched the Department of Sanskrit at the University of Mumbai by pioneering new courses in Manuscriptology, Mysticism, Bhakti Literature, and an Advanced Diploma in Sanskrit.
Parag Tope
Parag is an entrepreneur based in the US. He has an interest in studying history deeply, he also has a master’s degree in engineering and an MBA in strategy. In a quest to understand the real history of the Anglo-Indian War of 1857 he published his first book “Tatya Tope’s Operation Red Lotus”, with Rupa Publications.
Dr Probal Roy Chowdhury
Dr Probal is currently Professor and Head of the Department of English at Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata. Earlier he taught at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore. His doctoral thesis Changing Profile of Community Participation in School Education in Madras Presidency: 1820-1920, has been in continuation of the perspective presented by the late historian Dharampal (1922-2006) in his seminal work, The Beautiful Tree.
Sunder Chakravarty
Sunder Chakravarty is a researcher at the Centre for Ancient History and Culture, Jain University, where he applies computational analysis to explore archeoastronomy and linguistics in ancient manuscripts. Collaborating with Prof. R.N. Iyengar, he has co-authored two papers in the Indian Journal of History of Science regarding the Sun’s transit through seasonal Nakṣatras and Equinoctial full moons. This work synthesizes his interest in Sanskrit and Indian Astronomy with his technical background. Previously, Sunder spent decades in software engineering leading teams in ML and data mining.
R S Hariharan
RS Hariharan has a background in science and technology with experience in research, linguistics, and industry. His work explores Sanskrit literature and India’s civilisational and scientific thought.
Ashok Vardhan Viswanadha
Ashok Vardhan Viswanadha is working at Google, California. Hailing from a traditional middle-class family, he earned a Gold Medal for his state rank by the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, the late Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy—reflecting his strong academic record. He later completed his B.Tech. (Honors) in Computer Science at IIIT-Hyderabad on a reputed scholarship. Alongside his technical career, he maintains a deep interest in Bharatiya Sanskriti and tradition, drawing from the works of scholars like Viswanadha Satyanarayana. He writes on his blog at ashokviswanadha.net and on X (@ashokiiit).