JAYANT BHALCHANDRA BAPAT Marika Vicziany (Professor Emerita, Faculty of Arts, Monash University) heads up a number of international research projects including one about Kolis in Mumbai. She has had an enduring interest in the minorities of Asia. Her research is informed by ulti-disciplinary approaches that cover the disciplines of political economy, public health and other policies, history, archaeology, culture, and environmental science. She has published some 20 books and over 140 scholarly papers in peer reviewed journals and books. Her most recent book was published by Archaeopress in late 2019: The Cultures of Ancient Xinjiang, Western China: Crossroads of the Silk Roads edited and authored by her in collaboration with Alison Betts, Peter Jia and Angelo Andrea di Castro. Her fieldwork since 1974 has taken her to cities, towns and villages in India, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Jayant Bapat holds doctorates in Organic Chemistry and Indology and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University. He is also a Hindu Priest. Jayant's research interests include Hinduism, Goddess Cults, Koli fishers in Mumbai, and Diaspora Studies. He is the co-editor with Ian Mabbett of The Iconic Female: Goddesses of India, Nepal and Tibet (Monash University Press, 2008), Conceiving the Goddess: Transformation and Appropriation in Indic Religions (Monash University Publishing, 2016) and a co-author of Indian Diaspora: Hindus and Sikhs in Australia (DK Printworld, 2015, Second Edition, Manticore Press, 2019). His latest book, The Lajjagauri and Anandanayaki, is a translation of R. C. Dhere's pioneering work in Marathi on the primordial mother goddess (Monash University Publishing, 2020). Recently, Jayant has published a book in Marathi about his experiences as a migrant to Australia. He is a member of Monash University's Koli Research Project. Read More Read Less