I was born and raised in Ramannapet, a beautiful village in south-central India with a population of roughly two thousand people. Telugu is the spoken language. It is the kind of place where nearly everyone knows one another. It has a rich and fairly a unique culture of its own that the world has no idea about, which I hope to share to the world one day.

I spent much of my childhood on our farm fields, an experience I would never trade.

I was fortunate to attend a government middle school in the village, and a high school in a nearby town. Then I got to go to Osmania University in Hyderabad, for college, a rare opportunity for people in villages like ours.

I then crossed the ponds to pursue graduate studies in the United States. A country that welcomed me with generosity and opportunity. Within months, it began to feel like home. It was especially because I lived in rural Missouri (Rolla) for the first six months, which had a lot of resemblence with rural India that made me feel home.

I find myself drawn not only to scholarly pursuits but also to broader questions related to humanity such as the gaps between rural and urban perspectives, disparities in education, economic inequality, human dignity, and opportunity. These concerns may be wide-ranging, but I have come to believe that human lives are not meant to be one-dimensional. Depth and expertise matters, but so does breadth and broader contributions, and sometimes the most meaningful impact emerges at the intersection.

In spare time, I read nonfiction, write small notes, and reflect on how our world came to be, and how we might carry it forward. I practice calisthenics as an amateur. I am also currently learning (although at very slow pace) two foreign languages: Russian and Hindi.

Glimpses of the region’s deeply rooted cultural life.