US-based Assam author selected as Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow | Guwahati News - Times of India

Source: The Times of India

GUWAHATI: Georgia-based Assamese author and translator Aruni Kashyap has been selected as one of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute fellows for the year 2024-25, awarded by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at the Harvard University, which has brought a sense of pride among the people of the state.

Aruni, who is the first Assamese to get the prestigious fellowship, is among the 53 fellows selected from across the globe, for the 25th anniversary class of the fellows, this year.The yearlong fellowship programme will provide the recipients with the opportunity to pursue research-oriented projects in their disciplines that range from humanities, sciences and social sciences to arts.

Talking to TOI on Saturday, Aruni expressed his joy after getting selected for the fellowship. "I am deeply honoured and thrilled to receive this honour. During the fellowship year, I look forward to writing a novel set in the US and Assam and researching at Harvard University's Schlesinger Library. During my stay at the university, the fellowship will allow me to research the archives at Harvard. I am looking forward to the year-long series of activities, interacting and learning from the other fellows."

He added that the fellowship has brought to him a great opportunity to take time off from his work and solely concentrate on writing the novel. He would receive a fellowship amount of around $78,000.

Growing up in Guwahati, Aruni moved to Delhi to study literature at St Stephen's College in 2004. Later, he moved to the USA to complete his masters in creative writing. Currently, he is working as an associate professor of English and directs the creative writing programme at the University of Georgia.

A statement published by the Harvard Radcliffe Institute said, "This year's Radcliffe fellows will be part of a unique interdisciplinary and creative community that will step away from routines to tackle projects that they have long wished to move forward. Throughout the academic year, fellows convene regularly to share their work in progresswith the community and public. With access to Harvard's unparalleled resources, Radcliffe fellows develop new tools and methods, challenge artistic and scholarly conventions, and illuminate the past, present, and future."