Congratulations, Catherine Nelli, recipient of the 2023-2024 Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Award for India! Catherine's research project promises to be a fascinating exploration of the French and English colonial reception of the Gītagovinda, a renowned classical Sanskrit love poem, as well as its intracultural reception within Sanskrit and Bengali commentarial traditions.

This project grows out of her two honors theses, “On Nineteenth-Century Indology: Divergences Between Sanskrit and Colonial French and English Reception of Jayadeva’s Gītagovinda” (Comparative Literature) and “Between Empire and Post-Colonial Nation-Building: A Comparative Analysis of Nationalism’s Role in French India’s Decolonization in Chandernagore and Pondicherry (1947-1954)" (International and Public Affairs).

As Catherine embarks on her research journey, we anticipate that her work will contribute significantly to the field of literature, colonial studies, and cultural exchange. Her project has the potential to unveil new perspectives on the Gītagovinda's colonial and intracultural reception, fostering a deeper appreciation of the poem's impact and resonance throughout history.