Stories of Wind: Monsoon, Cyclones, and Climate Change in the Lakshadweep Islands of India

The Lecture

This lecture engages with the stories and songs of wind in an Indian Ocean archipelago. India's Lakshadweep Islands have witnessed heavy rains and cyclones for centuries. The wind is a part of the islanders' everyday life. The monsoon winds that aid in the growth of islands are considered to be benevolent. On the other hand, some cyclones led to the destruction and separation of islands. This lecture is based on ethnographic vignettes on monsoon socialites, cyclone adaptations, and climate change in these small islands. They reflect the fluid and visceral relations between land and sea in Lakshadweep. In the context of the Anthropocene, the islanders' relations to climate are mediated through the discourses of coral bleaching and interventions for island protection by scientists. This lecture will describe how life on Lakshadweep oscillates according to the aqueous and porous nature of the coral habitat, along with its history, politics, and society. 

The Speaker

Dr Lakshmi Pradeep is a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She specialises in the fields of Environmental Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies, and Island Studies. Her PhD research, completed at the National University of Singapore, explored the questions of conservation and climate change in the Lakshadweep Islands of India. She holds an MPhil degree in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University and an Integrated Master's (Sociology) from the University of Hyderabad. In addition, she is a project partner in co-creating a 'Sea Lexicon' for the 'Southern Collective,' an ongoing initiative of the Transdisciplinary Collaborations on the Indian Ocean.

Registration (required)

Please register using the form on this page by 22 January to reserve a seat and lunch.