Dr. Neela Bhaskar

Neela Bhaskar completed her Masters in Tamil Philology in 2019 from Universität Hamburg. Her topic of research was the technical commentary by Aṭiyārkkunallār to the Cilappatikāram. She then pursued her PhD in the same university (2020–2024), focusing on the provenance, preservation and translation of selected manuscripts of the Mackenzie Collection. As a postdoctoral researcher, her goal is to produce a critical edition and annotated translation of the Cilappatikāram root-text (ca. 6th century CE), while also working on both its medieval commentaries. Neela's expertise in South Indian dance and music aids her in her research work on the Cilappatikāram, for it contains rare, often cryptic passages on performing arts in the first millennium. Neela's other research interests include Nampi's Tiruviḷaiyāṭal Purāṇam, the Caṅkam text Paripāṭal and the development of Tamil prose.