Thursday
14
August 2025
11:00 - 12:30 PM IST
Location
Room 209, School of Arts and Sciences
Central Campus
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Ethnographic Engagement with Tantra in the Himalayas
Arts and Sciences Research Seminar Series
Rohit Singh
Assistant Professor of Religion
Denison University
Speaker
Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic fieldwork in Ladakh and the broader Himalayas, this talk explores everyday ritual life through the lens of Tantric practice. Challenging common misconceptions about Tantra, I draw on ethnographic insights and my own audiovisual documentation to examine its role in ceremonial life, religious authority, healing, and astrological sciences. Rather than viewing Tantra as esoteric or marginal, this talk reveals Tantra's deep entanglement with everyday pragmatic concerns, ritual performance, and the lived experiences of time in the Himalayas.
Speaker
Rohit Singh
Rohit Singh is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Denison University. He earned his PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research in the Himalayas focuses on ritual healing, inter-religious dialogues, and Tantra as a lived religion.
