Achievements - BITS Pilani

Prof. Maya Vinai

Associate Professor,
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Ocean Humanities, Postcolonial Literature

Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani
Hyderabad Campus
Jawahar Nagar, Kapra Mandal
Dist.-Medchal-500 078
Telangana, India

mayavinai@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in

+91 40 66303616

Conferences and Seminars:

Presented a paper titled Maritime Memory along the Littoral: Ancient Ship Building Techniques in the Tottam of Marakkalathamma in the conference Memory, Narrative Designs, and Strategies of Preservation at IIT Madras (27–29 October 2025).
Presented a paper titled Beyond Ships and Spices: Exploring Gender through Nelycinda and Other Stories by Susan Visvanathan in the national conference Embracing the Paradigm Shift: Navigating the Interdisciplinary Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences Research at IIT Roorkee (11–12 July 2025).
Presented a paper titled Preserving the East African Faith, Knowledge Systems, and Identity along the Pepper Highway to Diamond Mines of Golkonda in the 17th Century: A Critical Analysis of the novel Idris: Keeper of Lights by Anita Nair at an international conference organized by Yale MacMillan Center, Yale Council on African Studies, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music (April 2–3, 2025).
Presented a paper titled Agency, Materiality and Narratives: Exploring the ‘Blue’ Legends and Maritime History in Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) Comic Books at the International Conference Graphic Narratives and Comic Studies as World Literature Phenomena, EFL University, Hyderabad (12–14 February 2025).
Presented two joint papers titled Ecology and Aesthetics of Water Bodies: Incantations Over Water as a Transformative Narrative and Sailing Beyond Precarity: A Critical Study of the Subversion of Caste, Class and Gender in the Ship-building Activities of the Malabar Coastline at an International Conference, IIT Patna (24–25 February 2024).
Presented a paper titled Stories by Ila, the Mesmerizing Mermaid in the conference Reimagining Planetary: Planetarity and the Earth Family at BHU (24–25 Nov 2023).
Presented a paper titled Spice Wars, Explorers and Pirates in the Indian Ocean as Represented in Comic Books for Children at the IGU Conference Ocean and Seas in Geographical Thought, University of Milan, Italy (6–7 June 2023).
Presented a paper titled Representation of Violence: Women and Maritime Attacks in Indian Ocean in Comic Books for Children at IIT Roorkee (April 12–13, 2023).
Presented a paper titled Representation of Hydrocolonialism and Spice Feuds in Popular Culture and Literature at Pondicherry University (Nov 10–11, 2022).
Presented a paper titled The Ambivalence of ‘Belonging’ and ‘Un-belonging’ to the Jew Street at University of Lisbon, Portugal (Sept 7–9, 2022).
Presented joint research Re-Presenting the Hinterland: Chenkalchoola and the Reconfiguration of Social Imaginary at University of Wroclaw, Poland (Mar 18–20, 2022).
Presented a paper titled Recalibration of the Colonial and Gender Paradigms by Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi at IIT Roorkee (3 Dec 2021).
Presented joint paper Conditional Kinship: Mahe and Muziris Remembering their Overseas Visitors at GITAM University, Hyderabad (Jan 6–8, 2020).
Presented a paper titled Maritime Politics along the Pepper Highways of Malabar at Murdoch University, Australia (27–28 June 2019).
Presented a paper titled Inducing ‘Precarity’ through Cultural Stereotypes at AURO University, Surat (Jan 27–29, 2019).
Presented a paper titled The Propensities of Being a Gulf Wife at FSLE–India Conference, Delhi (31 Jan 2019).
Presented a paper titled Defying the ‘Difference’: Understanding the Scamper for Space amongst the Migrant Middle Class in Mumbai at Universiti Sains Malaysia (26 July 2018).
Presented a paper titled Unravelling the Spice Politics & Cosmopolitanism of Kochi at EFL University, Hyderabad (5–7 April 2017).
Presented research on Palimpsest Memories of Colonial Regimes along the Malabar Coastline at SALA Conference, Philadelphia, USA (Jan 2–4, 2017).
Presented a paper on Temple Art Forms like Krishnanattam and Koodiyattam at University of Hyderabad (24–26 Aug 2016).
Presented Negotiating Faith and Culture: Lives and World-view of Boatmen in Banaras at IIAS Shimla (July 27–29).
Presented Challenging Matrilineal Identities Lost in Space and Time at IIT Roorkee (Mar 21–22, 2015).
Presented Re-Imagining the Narratives of the Gulf Diaspora at SALA Conference, Canada (Jan 6–8, 2015).
Presented Mapping Madness: A Critical Analysis of Jerry Pinto’s Em and the Big Hoom at OUCIP, Hyderabad (Feb 3–5, 2014).
Presented Trauma Narratives in the Works of Parsi Writers at St. Thomas College, Kerala (Sept 2013).
Presented Globalization of Cuisines at Pune International Seminar (Sept 2013).
Participated in International Conference on Corporate Culture and Spirituality, Bangalore (Feb 2013).
Presented Diasporic Consciousness in the Works of Anita Nair at MGIT Hyderabad (Nov 9–10, 2012).
Presented a paper on Stereotyping in the Works of Parsi Writers at ISCS International Conference (Dec 16–18, 2010).

Workshops Attended:

Participated in a National Workshop on Understanding Social Exclusion: Concepts and Context, organized by the Department of Social Exclusion Studies, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, 29th October 2010.
Participated in the Memory Studies Workshop organized by IIT Madras (26–30 April 2021).
Participated in the Food, Memory Machines Workshop organized by IIT Madras (17–20 August 2021).

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Prof. Maya Vinai

Conferences and Seminars:

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