Good day, Sreelakshmi K. P.. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Yes.

Could you briefly share your professional journey in academia?

OK.

Yeah, good evening. My name is Sri Lakshmi KP, Doctor Sri Lakshmi KP. I completed my PhD very recently in last May 2025. Before that I was working as an assistant professor and government guest lecturer in various colleges in Kerala and Hyderabad. And about my qualifications, I completed my bachelors and.

Go ahead whenever

And masters then PhD all in English studies, English language and literature. That was my.

Major core subject and other than that regarding this Academy qualifications, I completed, I qualified NET, UGC NET in 2018 and 2021 also. So this is the basic, these are the basic qualifications, educational qualifications and about my academia. And currently I'm working as an EFL teacher under the Ministry of Uzbekistan.

Yeah.

Sri Lakshmi.

Yes.

I did not get the first word. Sir, could you please repeat?

To begin, can you discuss your experience and approach to teaching Commonwealth Literature, and how you make it engaging for students?

Certainly. Can you discuss your experience and approach to teaching Commonwealth Literature, and how you make it engaging for students?

OK, Commonwealth literature. So it's like.

Irrespective of the subject, what I do was if it is a topic like a poem or a short short story or a novel, what I do is like I introduce the topic through some anecdotes or personal experiences. That is the first thing I do. I ask them some questions regarding that particular subject if it is Commonwealth, post colonial or Dalit literature. So I gave them an instant or I gave them an instant. I asked them what do you feel about this or do you do you have any real life experiences?

For every class whether.

Like this. So that is the way I introduce the subject. And when there are anecdotes or real life experiences, students get connected to that area. It's not just like that. Something that is existing in a phase of writing or in literature. They we should make them understand that this is not only literature, but it is the reflection of life itself. So I think real life experiences is one of the things that every teacher can.

Take

Adapt to make their students interesting and they they can also maybe students from multiple backgrounds, they can also give their inputs and perspectives that can enrich our perspective also.

So that is one thing I do to make the students engage in class.

If it is like post colonial Commonwealth literature, I can talk about how these Commonwealth nations face so many problems or about their solidarity or what are the problems they are facing these days because they have been facing a lot of those countries or those nations have been facing a lot of problems. So I can give some real life examples also like that and make them or drag them to that particular topic. Yeah.

Irrespective of any subject.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Your emphasis on connecting literature to real-life experiences and encouraging student perspectives is a strong approach. What specific challenges have you encountered while teaching Commonwealth Literature, especially given the diverse themes and historical contexts it covers? How have you addressed those challenges?

If you ask me. So all of a sudden I can't maybe.

Remember any such things, but generally speaking, when we are dealing with students from multiple diverse cultural backgrounds, some students may agree with that idea, some students may not agree with the idea, but we have to reach to a common point where we can.

Bring the students to a common point. So that is one thing I always do.

I opened the platform forum for discussion, so since they are from multiple backgrounds, they'll they'll definitely have their own perspectives. As a teacher, I listen to them, their perspectives and.

Also I tried to bring them into some common points so that I can.

Impart my ideas also.

Yeah.

Especially also when we talk about this post colonialism, colonialism or Commonwealth literature, there are always some students who.

Maybe favoring the idea of colonialism or the idea of privileged people, all those things, but maybe they they don't realize what is happening on the other side.

Well, as I said in the earlier section when we talk about real life experiences.

Maybe students from my own class can?

Yeah.

Understood, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Your approach of fostering open discussion and guiding students to a common understanding is thoughtful and sensitive to diverse perspectives. How do you evaluate whether students have effectively grasped the complex themes of Commonwealth Literature, especially in terms of their critical thinking and engagement?

Uh.

Uh, yeah.

I'm not getting a proper answer as such now.

Critical thinking also I think it is.

Related to our mind mindset also like critical thinking, the way we perceive world, the way we understand the world is something that connects 2 critical thinking. So if I am thinking like Commonwealth literature and their problems, I understand because.

My perspective is similar or something aligns with the.

The problems and the other issues faced by Commonwealth literature or Commonwealth people, all those things.

So I think.

Of the student or the teacher.

Perspectives.

Plays a vital role there. I'm not sure whether I have answered it correctly, but at that at this moment, this is what I.

Failed to share with you.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. That perspective is valuable, and critical thinking is indeed deeply tied to how we perceive and process the world around us. Next, let us discuss your approach to teaching digital humanities. Could you share how you incorporate technology and digital tools to enhance teaching and research in this area?

Yeah, Digital humanities as a subject, I haven't got an opportunity to teach as a subject in class, but while I was doing my research or PhD and in other classes, we always use such kind of or we always incorporate how this digital tools or other things, other ideas can enhance our learning, especially in literature. I mean, while I was doing PhD, that was a very critical.

A tool or something that really helped us in tackling so many things starting from the proposal objective methodology and finding the app tools for doing literature review and organizing all those things I I found it very useful more than I am a person who.

Favor like manual reading, manual not making and other things but at the same time when.

Yeah, I sometimes I used.

As a good means that that is something I wanted to emphasize as a good means to improve our ideas or improve our research. How can we contribute to that area all those things I have done using this idea of digital humanities as such, Yeah.

I resort to these kind of ideas also like how we can use this technology as a good.

Uh, I don't know. Is it because whether I belong to the old school, I always prefer these kinds of like text reading. Even if I have a eReader kind of book, I always prefer manual book, physical book in my hand. But it's, but we can also understand that how far these things are helping us. Maybe some books or some articles, those things may not be available, but we can directly find it online.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. It’s insightful to hear how you have integrated digital tools in your academic journey, even alongside traditional methods. Since digital tools are evolving rapidly, how do you plan to stay updated and incorporate new advancements into your teaching methodologies?

So.

I think, uh, there should be a fine balance between both, uh, both the electronic media as well as the print media like both, not only.

Because we are. We are. We are growing.

Uh, day by day. And we are part of this technological world. And I understand that it's it that should be a fine balance between both like the digital era as well as the old school where I belong to.

Yeah.

Understood, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Striking a balance between traditional and digital methodologies is indeed essential, especially in academia, as both have unique contributions to make. Next, let’s discuss your ability to guide student projects and research. Could you describe your approach to mentoring students through their research or creative projects?

So initially I was working in Kerala in 2015 to 2019 there I was mender for like 30 years students there I got the opportunity to guide them for their projects. So they opted like different topics like somebody, some from gender studies and post colonial studies, all those points.

So I think I have the ability to guide my students in the sense I can give them proper idea.

And in one of the other colleges where I worked, there were only 14 students and we, four of four teachers got, I mean we divided those students. But I was very happy that all the students, whenever they had some doubts, they approached me. One thing they felt that I was approachable kind of person and other things I could pass on the information, whatever I had with me then.

And other than that while doing my research also.

It's a, it's a group of researchers, right? All around. I, I did my PhD at Christ University, Bangalore. So there were a group of people or there were a group of scholars. So it's, there were open discussions about research methodology and how can we find the proper review of literature and how can we arrange it, All those things. And in all those discussions, I understood that I can do something.

In the area of research as well as in the area of teaching, Because maybe, as I told you, I do some extra work to find all these things. If we use some AI tools or something, it is very easy to get a review of literature. Or how can we make it very short, like paraphrasing and other things. But as a person, I prefer.

Finding it manually, like I give keywords in Scopus or Google Scholar like that and I get the articles then I take time to read all those articles and when. So when I do all those things in a proper way, I can guide my students or I can help my fellow scholars also to how to do all these things. So yeah, research methodology, how to write the analysis chapters and how can we make a proper.

Research article and how can we find apartment journals for our articles? All those things. I think I took a lot of time even if I like.

A published papers and usually people get to know the.

Uh, what to say answers or the journal names from their friends. But what what I did was I downloaded the entire Scopus database, journal name of the journals from this corpus database and I went through the end air sheet. It's like almost 30,000 plus journal names are there out of which I found which is the app to inform me.

In in a proper way? In a positive way.

Yeah.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Your commitment to thorough research and your dedication to mentoring students and fellow scholars stand out clearly. It’s commendable how you blend diligence and accessibility to support academic growth. Based on your experience, how do you ensure that students remain motivated and consistent throughout their projects, even when they face challenges or setbacks?

Yeah. So when they face challenges, that is one thing. I added the word approachable. So when they face some kind of challenges or setbacks, they have the space to come to me to discuss about it, discuss those particular things, discuss those things. So, so when I get to know their problems or when I get to know their issues, like if somebody is not able to find a proper thing or a proper idea or a proper. Textbook.

Universities. So whenever, if somebody approaches, if one of my students is approaching me, then I'll tell if I have that particular idea or that particular books with me. I I used to share if, if I don't have, then I approach.

Or not something like that. I tried to help them in whatever the possible ways because I have some connections like my teachers in this college and.

Those ideas or those literatures available, they send it to me. So it's like maintaining A repo and academic community also.

My teachers so that they if they have.

And students, I think that is one thing I can be happy about how students approach to me and how they discuss their issues, like while doing this project and other things, or how they can narrow down their idea and how they can analyze all those things. Yeah, I help them in that way.

So that.

They can they they feel confident about what they are doing.

Because that there might be some self doubt within them. But I make them understand that this point is valid if it is valid. Of course if it is valid and if it if it is not correct then I tell them, Oh no, this is not the right way to take. You can think in another perspective then you might reach your point. So in that way also I try to.

Help them.

Thank

To tackle their issues.

Yes.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Your ability to build academic rapport and guide students through difficulties with practical support and constructive feedback is admirable. Now shifting focus slightly, could you elaborate on your research publications in reputed journals and how they contribute to your expertise as an educator?

Yeah. So during my PhD I have published three articles actually.

Studies in Linguistics, Culture and Flt, that is the name of the journal that primarily discusses the how commensality, the idea of commensality that is eating together. So that is part of culture, but how that commensality can show the hierarchy existing in the society. So that paper was based on Chinua Ache based Things Fall Apart. So that was his corpus publication and a Web of Science publication is based on a novel titled Kolokan.

First one is title commensality, Commensality in Genuine Things Fall Apart, which is published in SILC Studies in Linguistics and.

Since my research was.

Based on food, food and food representation and its connection to cultural identity in select tribal narratives. Most of the publication these two publications are based on food and tribal narratives. So this Kollikan is also a tribal narrative which is written by Pushpamma tribal writer from Kerala and in that.

Gender differences and all. So how this gastro politics was represented in that particular book, a particular novel and how that is showing the cultural idea of that particular tribal community, Urali tribal community. So these were the 2 main articles that I published with Scopus and Weber Science and another article I I published in the beginning.

Particular article I was looking at how this gastropolitics like how maintaining hierarchy or caste.

No, it was that is published in APW Economic and Political Weekly, which is titled Cast in Cast Casting, that primarily focused on the.

Caste discrimination that is existing in Malayalam cinema. I'm from Kerala so I was looking at in in a cast perspective. How casting can be done based on the cast? Cast that was done based on the famous actor Kalabhavan Mani. He he acted in some Tamil movies as well. And other than that I published articles.

In national journals and some edited books also.

Plus one or two articles is still under review that is also based on another.

Tribal narrative titled.

Which is written by.

Narayan Narayan is also another tribal writer from Kerala. So these are about. These are the major publications.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Your research on gastropolitics, cultural identity, and caste representation, particularly within tribal narratives and cinema, is both profound and nuanced. It’s evident how this depth of research can enrich your teaching by providing students with unique and thought-provoking perspectives. Given your extensive work, how do you ensure that your research insights translate effectively into your classroom teaching to create an engaging learning environment?

So.

That is the main thing about food, actually.

Food is very common and.

It it's very vital, but we really don't understand how this hierarchy or the cast discrimination and other things work through food. So my major focus on the research throughout the research and after the research was how this.

Food can create hierarchies in the society. Suppose if we are looking at our family we can see how food preparation is gendered in nature like maybe the father figure father brings or buys food to home and it is the duty of the mother to cook, serve, clean all those things. So it is like a.

It is all there in our everyday life, but we don't pay attention to those things. So that was the main thing that I was trying to convey, how this food can be a potential medium to express hierarchies, express gender discrimination, all those things that existing in society, not really on gender terms cast can be understood through.

Food maybe if we talk about Dalit literature and other things how food is a potent medium to.

Show the discrimination faced by Dalit people throughout like the boys and bread or water or Walt Meagh is Jew. Then all these are proper examples through which we can see. So I use these real life examples. Again connecting to the first point, I use these real life examples to make them understand This is a very valid point. Discrimination through food is a very valid point.

So real life examples, what is happening around?

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. Your ability to bridge real-life examples with research themes like food hierarchies, caste discrimination, and gendered roles is both insightful and impactful. It demonstrates how you successfully bring academic concepts to life in the classroom. Now, could you highlight your communication and structured teaching approach, particularly focusing on how you maintain clarity and engagement when teaching complex topics?

Our scheduled time for the interview is now up. Before we conclude, do you have any questions related to the role or the company?

I have already made a request to the HR that I am in another country now. I'm in Uzbekistan now, so I would like to attend the second round of interview in an online mode.

I would be grateful if you consider the request and give an opportunity to attend an online interview.

That is the main thing I need to communicate.

Thank you for sharing this request, Professor Sri Lakshmi. I will ensure that your note about attending the second round of interviews in an online mode due to your current location in Uzbekistan is communicated to the appropriate team. Before concluding, do you have any other questions or concerns you'd like to address?

Questions as such. Not now because I have heard.

I actually, I have been waiting for this interview because most of my professors always talk about VIT and working at the VIP institution. So this is something I have been waiting for a long time. That's what I I requested. If I get an opportunity to attend the interview online, I would be grateful and looking forward to connect and join also. Yeah.

Yeah, sure. We can conclude the interview.

Thank you, Professor Sri Lakshmi. It's clear you have a strong interest in this opportunity, and I will ensure your request for an online interview in subsequent rounds is noted and conveyed. If there’s nothing further, shall we conclude the interview?