2025a – ‘Regional, Global, National Sociologies: A View from My Corner of the World’, National Conference on Globalizing Sociology: Trajectories, Challenges and Possibilities, Sophia College, Mumbai, September 12, 2025.
2025b – ‘Creating, Using and Thinking Through: Musings on Feminist Archiving’, Valedictory Address at the Workshop on Rethinking the Trajectory: From Women’s Archives to Feminist Archiving, Women’s Studies Centre, Savitribai Phule University of Pune, February 8, 2025.
2024a – ‘Our Foremothers in Indian Sociology: Feminists, Honorary Males or Beyond Categories?’, Prof. Bela Dutta Gupta Memorial Lecture, Department of Sociology, University of Calcutta, December 13, 2024.
2024b – ‘The Swinging Pendulum: Ethnography’s Relationship with the Scientific Method’, Valedictory Address at the International Conference on Celebrating 100 Years of Sociology in India, Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad, April 3, 2024.
2024c – ‘Methodology and the Traffic of Methods in Feminist Sociology’, National Conference on Interrogating Sociology: Feminist (Re)Imagination, Research Committee 10 on Gender Studies of the Indian Sociological Society in collaboration with the Department of Sociology, K.C. College, HSNC University, Mumbai, September 20, 2024.
2024c – ‘Thinking Through Civilisation Studies’, Workshop on Aashiyana: Confluence of Asiatic Cultures, School of Civilisation and K.J. Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, December 2, 2023.
2023a – ‘Tamil, Tamils and the New Global’, Plenary 3: Challenges and Crises in Sustaining Society – The Case of Tamil Nadu, 48th All India Sociological Conference, Indian Sociological Society, Vellore Institute of Technology, December 30, 2023.
2023b – ‘Thinking Through Civilisation Studies’, Seminar on Aashiyana: Confluence of Asiatic Cultures, School of Civilisation and K.J. Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, December 2, 2023.
2023c – ‘Multiple Modes of Academic Writing: Potential and Perils’, Academic Writing Course, Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad, November 24, 2023.
2023d – ‘Critique of Positivism, Science and Feminism’, Workshop on Advanced Feminist Research Methodology, Department and Centre for Women’s Studies, Mother Teresa Women’s University, Kodaikanal, February 11, 2023.
2023e – ‘Anthropology’s Engagement with the Sciences and Humanities’, National Seminar on Methods Across Silos: New Reflections, Department of Liberal Studies, HSNC University, Mumbai, and K.C. College, March 10, 2023.
2023f – ‘Work-in-Progress: Critique, Empathy and Reaching Out’, Valedictory Address at the Seminar on The Sociological Ethic and the Spirit of Pedagogy: Contemporary Disciplinary Reflections, Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai, March 3, 2023.
2022 – ‘Tokens, Symbols or Incipient Feminists: The First Generation of Women Sociologists in India’, #WebPolicy Talk, Speaker in the Series The State of Gender Equality – #GenderGaps, Gender Impact Studies Centre, IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, July 26, 2022.
2019 – ‘Complicating “Victimhood” in Diaspora Studies: The Saga of Tamils in Exile’, Professor M.N. Srinivas Memorial Lecture, 45th All India Sociological Conference, Thiruvananthapuram, December 27, 2019.
2016 – ‘The Rebellious Woman and the Violence of Consensus: Contestations of the Domestic Space’, Plenary on Contemporary Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship, 42nd All India Sociological Congress on Rethinking Sociological Traditions in India, Tezpur University, December 27–30, 2016.
2014a – ‘Sociology: A Calling, an Approach or One of Many Hats?’, National Conference on Sociologists and Sociology: Autobiographies and Biographies, organised by the Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of Sociology, University of Pune, September 15–16, 2014.
2014b – ‘Ethnography as a Special Genre of Qualitative Research’, National Workshop on Introduction to Research Methodology for Academic Research, organised by Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, February 3–7, 2014.
2014c – ‘First Generation of Women Sociologists in India: “Honorary Males” or “Incipient Feminists” or What?’, National Seminar on Gender, Feminisms and Sociologies: Towards a State of Altered-ness, Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai, January 29, 2014.
2013a – ‘Qualitative Research and Its Presentation’, ICSSR–EPW Workshop on Writing Up Research, Shillong, September 9–13, 2013.
2013b – ‘Critiquing Sociological Theories from a Feminist Perspective’, paper presented at the Pre-Conference Workshop organised by the Indian Sociological Society RC 32 and the Samruddhi Foundation, Mysore.
2012 – ‘What Is Feminist Archiving? Three Illustrations and Some Reflections’, paper presented at the One-Day Workshop on Issues and Challenges in Feminist Archiving, organised by AWA and the Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.
2011a – ‘Relevance vs. Significance of Sociological Schools: A View from Mumbai’, ISS Diamond Jubilee Pre-Conference National Seminar on Sociological Tradition in India and the Lucknow School: Retrospect and Prospects, Indian Sociological Society and Department of Sociology, University of Lucknow, November 5–6, 2011.
2011b – ‘New Wine in Old Bottles: Family and Kinship Studies Then and Now’, ISS Diamond Jubilee Pre-Conference National Seminar on Sociology in India and the Bombay School: Retrospect and Prospects, organised by the Indian Sociological Society and the Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai, September 23–24, 2011.
2011c – ‘What Is Feminist Archiving? Three Illustrations and Some Reflections’, Workshop on Issues and Challenges in Feminist Archiving, organised by AWA, Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, April 1, 2011.
2011a – ‘Language and Diasporic Identity: Contrasting Tamils in Europe and South Africa’, National Seminar on Language and Culture in the Makings of a Nation, Department of Linguistics, University of Mumbai, January 27–29, 2011.
2010 – ‘Blurred Edges: On Being Tamil in Contemporary South Africa’, Paper presented at the RC04 Migration and Diaspora Studies, 36th All India Sociological Conference, Cuttack, December 2010.
2009a – ‘Religiosity in Exile: Sri Lankan Tamils and Diasporic Hinduism’, Research Committee 04, International Migration and Diaspora Studies, 35th All India Sociological Conference, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, October 10–12, 2009.
2009b – ‘The Materiality of the Symbolic: Gender in the New Discourses of Tradition and Modernity’, Invited Paper at the Symposium on Gender, Culture and Development, 35th All India Sociological Conference, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, October 10–12, 2009.
2008 – ‘Selective Amnesia: Indian Diasporas and Their Impact “Back Home”’, International Seminar on Diversities in the Indian Diaspora: Nature, Implications and Responses, organised by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, May 7–9, 2008.
2007 – ‘Bombay Parsis and the Diaspora: (Heated) Exchanges on Identity’, National Conference on Community and Communities in Mumbai: Issues of Cosmopolitanism, Citizenship and Civil Society, Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai, February 28 – March 2, 2007.
2006a – ‘Science, Technology and Gender: Emerging Issues’, Theme Paper at the Joint Session of RC10 (Gender Studies) of the Indian Sociological Society and RC32 (Women in Society) of the International Sociological Association, 32nd All India Sociological Conference, Loyola College, Chennai, December 28, 2006.
2006b – ‘Feminism and the Demands of Fieldwork: Multiple Concerns and Overlapping Methodologies’, Workshop on Feminist Perspectives on Research Methodology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, December 12, 2006.
2004a – ‘Gender and Caste’, National Seminar on Current Issues of Race, Class and Caste in Canada and India, organised by the Centre for Canadian Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, March 15, 2004.
1998 – ‘Intra-household Access to Resources: Theorizing Indian Specificities’, 8th National Conference of Women’s Studies, Indian Association of Women’s Studies, Pune, May 30 – June 2, 1998.
1997 – ‘Patrilineal Kinship and Agency of Women: Some Conceptual Issues Concerning Structure and Change’, Panel on Structure and Change, 24th All India Sociological Conference, Indian Sociological Society, Osmania University, Hyderabad, December 21–24, 1997.
1995a – ‘Incomplete Assimilation and Conditional Identity: Socialization of Women in Patrilineal Systems’, National Symposium on Socialization: Theory and Issues, Department of Human Development, M.S. University, Baroda, December 1995.
1995b – ‘Integrating Development into the Matrix of Culture’, Commonwealth Universities Studies Abroad Consortium (CUSAC) Workshop on Women and Development, Session on Folklore, Myths and Art, organised by SNDT Women’s University, Bombay, December 1, 1995.
1989 – ‘Constitution and Family Law: The Ethos of Caste and Kinship’, Workshop on Constitution and Family Law, organised by Max Mueller Bhavan, Bombay, March 6–11, 1989.
1986 – ‘Nutrition Policy and Women’s Studies’, XI World Congress of Sociology, New Delhi, August 1986.
2016 “Eelam in the Diasporic Imagination: The Reality of the Myth of the Tamil Homeland.” International Seminar on Migration, Heimat, Homeland, University of Hyderabad, February 11–12, 2016.
2015 “Victimhood Reconsidered: Victimhood and Agency among Sri Lankan Tamils in Exile.” International Conference on Revisiting the ‘Homeland’ Link in the Indian Diaspora, Group for Research on Indian Diaspora, University of Mumbai, January 27–28, 2015.
2015 “Building Bridges: Feminism, History and Sociology/Social Anthropology.” International Conference on Shifting Contours, Widening Concerns: Women’s History, Historiography and the Politics of Historical Representation, AWA and RCWS, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, February 11–13, 2015.
2012 “The Call of Home and Violence of Belonging: Diasporic Hinduism and Tamils in Exile.” India Beyond India: Debating Communalism and Belonging, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, May 24–26, 2012.
2012 “Journeys Back and Forth in the Old Diaspora: Tamils in South Africa and Elsewhere.” Empire, Nation and Diaspora: Mapping the Trajectories of Transformations in Indian Diaspora, Centre for Study of Indian Diaspora, University of Hyderabad, February 20–23, 2012.
2011 “Language, Identity and Transnationalism: Case Studies from the Indian Diaspora.” International Conference on Multilingualism: Concepts and Contexts, Department of German, University of Mumbai, in collaboration with University of Göttingen and University of Pune, October 12–15, 2011.
2010 “SRK, Karan Johar and the Creation of ‘Bollywood’: Beyond Diasporic Boundaries.” International Conference on Shah Rukh Khan and Global Bollywood, University of Vienna, September 30 – October 2, 2010.
2010 “Impact of Religious and Cultural Transnationalism on the Indian Middle Class.” Panel 31, The Emerging Middle Class: Shifting Locations, Values, Identities, European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, University of Bonn, July 26–29, 2010.
2010 “Negotiating Tamilness and Hinduism in the Indian Diaspora in South Africa.” International Conference on Turning Historical Adversity into Advantage, 150th Anniversary of Indian Indentured Labourers in South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Global Organization for People of Indian Origin, March 27–31, 2010.
2009 “Contemporary Reconfigurations of Hinduism: Tamil Diaspora in Germany and in the West at Large.” Shifting Images and Discourses: Revisiting Linkages and Exchanges between India and Germany, University of Mumbai and University of Bonn, March 12–14, 2009.
2008 “Survival before Equality: The Strange Relationship between Sex Ratio, Development and Patrilineal Kinship.” Oxford Round Table 20th Anniversary Colloquium on Women in the Modern World: The Struggle for Equality, Oxford University, March 16–21, 2008.
2006 “The Suffering Brahman? Mobility, Marginalization and New Social Categories.” India as a Model of Intercultural Life, Symposium organized by Bonn University at Bonn Biennale, May 16–17, 2006.
2003 “Diverse Forms, Plural Structures and Multiple Perspectives: Family in India.” Plenary paper, Council for International Fellowship (CIF) 25th International Conference on The Evolving Family in the 21st Century: A Social Work Challenge, Goa, February 25, 2003.
2001 “Altered Terrain, Changing Discourse: Care and Support of the Dependent Elderly in the Netherlands in the Year 2000.” Workshop on Citizenship, Care, Gender: Renegotiations of the Public and the Private in the Netherlands, International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS), IDPAD, and Leiden University, May 16, 2001.
2001 “Doing Research on Ageing: Issues in Fieldwork and Presentation of Research Findings.” Seminar on A Changing Social Welfare System versus Changing Social Relations in the Netherlands, Municipal Council of Leiden, May 17, 2001.
2001 “Between State and Family: Ageing and the Changing Discourse of Care in the Netherlands.” International Conference on Gross Domestic Product vs. Quality of Life: Balancing Work and Family, Institute of Women and Work, Cornell University, Bellagio, January 29 – February 2, 2001.
1994 “Life Stories as a Source for Understanding Women’s Perceptions: An Exercise in Feminist Methodology.” International Workshop on Women’s Ways of Living Their Realities, South-North Network Cultures and Development, Brussels, October 1994.
1994 “Culture and Development: Issues in the Indian Context.” International Conference on Cultural Dynamics in Development Processes, Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO, Woudschoten, June 8–11, 1994.
1993 “Seclusion and Gender Issues: Reflections on the Indian Context.” International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Mexico, August 1993.
1993 “Gender and Kinship Studies: Indian Material and Context.” International Conference on Changing Gender and Kinship Relations in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, University of Nairobi, February 1993.
1988 “The Issue of Secular Communication in Art: A Case Study of Stree: Women in India Exhibition at Moscow.” 12th International Conference of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Zagreb, July 1988.
1981 “Brief Notes on the Kottai Pillaimar of Srivaikuntam.” V International Conference–Seminar of Tamil Studies, Madurai, 1981.
1978 “Vellalas: A Socio-Historical Perspective.” X International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Studies, New Delhi, 1978.