Vishes Kothari (India)

Vishes has a deep interest in the linguistic landscape of Rajasthan and adjoining regions in North-Western and Western India.

After a degree in Physics from King’s College, London and then an MSc in Maths, from Cambridge, returned to his native Rajasthan and engaged in language and social activism setting up two foundations and publishing translations. He is also one of the Founding Trustees of the Rajasthani Bhasha Academy, which runs language learning and research programs focussed on Rajasthan and its language. He has two books of Rajasthani to English translations published-- Timeless Tales of Marwar (Penguin Random House, 2020) and Garden of Tales (HarperCollins, 2023).

His activism stems from Rajasthani’s lack of official recognition, but also he recognises the historical and social importance of the great variety of Rajasthani dialects: early ones that link with Sanskrit, Prakrit, Buddhism, and Jainism; those found in the rich archives of princely states, still preserved in locally; and community languages in contemporary use.

It is no surprise, therefore, that his main area of study at Oxford is linguistics. He has a clear vision of what he wants to gain through his master’s degree: the tools and methods of descriptive linguistics, an understanding of area studies including the complex social and historical interactions in the area and parallels elsewhere, and the academic authority to lead the foundations he has set up and its work, and to accurately and successfully translate a wider range of Rajasthani literature, including early Rajasthani literature and literature with complex social/religious/political aspects.