Dr. Rajyashree Khushu Lahiri Memorial Lecture Series
Late Dr. Khushu Lahiri, an esteemed alumna of IIT Kanpur, earned her PhD in English under the guidance of Professor R. K. Gupta. Her distinguished academic journey was marked by several prestigious accolades, including the Fulbright Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, the UGC Postdoctoral Fellowship, an Associateship at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, and a British Council Grant at Oxford University.
She began her academic career at St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, and joined the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Roorkee in 2006. In 2011, she moved to IIT Ropar, where she served as Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Mr. Somdeb Lahri instituted Dr. Rajyashree Khushu Lahiri Memorial Lecture Series in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences , IIT Kanpur.
Past Speaker
Ms. Laila Tyabji
Ms. Laila Tyabji spoke on 'Craft in the Age of Technology' on 28th January, 2025. Ms. Tyabji is Chairperson and founder member of Dastkar, an NGO working with crafts and craftspeople all over India. Her work with artisans over the last 40 years includes the chikan workers of SEWA Lucknow, tribals in Karnataka, and the aari, mirror-work and kantha craftswomen in Kashmir, Kutch and Bengal. Many of her projects involve creating new employment avenues through craft for pastoral and marginalised rural communities. She was awarded the Padma Shri for her work in craft and development in 2012, and is also the recipient of the Aid To Artisans Preservation of Craft Award New York 2003 and the NIFT Lifetime Achievement Award among others.