Preetham Adiga

People often laugh when they hear about my PhD topic. “Memes?” they ask. “You did a PhD on memes?” Yes. But the real joke wasn’t the memes. The real joke was the academic system that forced me to study them. And the two elderly gatekeepers who made sure four years of my life became the punchline. How This Started: I Made the Mistake of Having Real Experience I did my master’s from a well-known media institute. After graduating, I did something that academia often treats as suspicious behavior: I worked in the real world. For four years, I worked in a digital marketing agency. Content writing. Branding. Social media management. Actual campaigns. Actual audiences. Actual money being spent and earned. In other words: the exact ecosystem universities claim to be preparing students for. So when I applied for a PhD at the same institute, I proposed something radical. I wanted to research the gap between digital marketing education and real industry practice. A shocking idea, ap...

 Prestigious research institutes are supposed to be places where ideas grow—spaces where scholars are encouraged to question, experiment, and contribute to knowledge without fear. That is the image universities proudly present, especially those connected to institutions recognized under the Institutes of Eminence Scheme . When I began my PhD in a reputed media institute that forms part of such a university, I believed in that promise. I expected intellectual freedom, mentorship, and the opportunity to pursue meaningful research questions. What I encountered instead was an environment where hierarchy and administrative power often seemed to override academic judgment. This is my personal experience of navigating that system. A Supportive Guide in a Difficult System To be fair, my own research guide was supportive throughout much of my doctoral journey. He encouraged my research interests and tried to help me navigate the institutional requirements. However, the difficulty I e...

Universities are supposed to be places where truth can be spoken without fear. They claim to nurture critical thinking, intellectual freedom, and ethical responsibility. When an institution is granted the prestigious label of an Institute of Eminence , the expectation is even higher: that it represents the best values of academia. My experience as a PhD scholar within such an institution forced me to confront a painful contradiction between those ideals and the reality I encountered. This blog is not written out of bitterness alone. It is written because silence protects systems that harm the very people who keep them running. Witnessing the Treatment of the Most Vulnerable One of the earliest incidents that disturbed me deeply involved retired housekeeping staff. These were individuals who had spent years serving the institution quietly and faithfully. What I witnessed during certain interactions involving them left me uncomfortable and troubled. The tone and manner in which they were...

Colours of Passion and the Politics of Art Art has been a subject of debate and discussions throughout history. Several artists had to face opposition from others for the elements portrayed in their artworks. ‘Freedom of Expression’ is a term that has been often contested. But how much liberty does an artist have to express in the name of art? Is art independent of menial politics, or is it obliged to abide to politics for its survival? These questions remain valid in all societies and at all times. Although acclaimed critically for its depiction of art elements, Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya (Colours of Passion) is not his best artwork, especially when we expect it from the same director, who has given us Mirch Masala and Mangal Pandey: The Rising . Perhaps it is due to the jam-packing of numerous topics such as the biopic, the unusual love story of an artist and the societal issues prevailing in the colonial 19 th century put into a tight frame that overloads the screentim...

The Melody of a Cuckoo: A review of Satyajit Ray’s Charulata Charulata or The Lonely Wife is Satyajit Ray’s sixteenth film. In one of the interviews, he had mentioned that Charulata is his most favourite personal film. Even several critics opine that Charulata is the finest of Ray’s works.Despite being released half a century ago, Charulata continues to amaze film lovers and critics with its aesthetically appealing visuals and lyrical rendering of the story. Charulata is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novella Nastanirh (The Broken Nest). The plot of the story revolves around Charulata (played by Madhabi Mukherjee)– the lonely wife of Bhupati, who runs a political newspaper in Bengal. Although the timeline in the novella is 1900s, Satyajit Ray has adopted it to be in 1880s where the Bengal Renaissance was at its peak. Bhupati is a workaholic, who is highly influenced by Brahmo philosophy and is passionate about bringing a change in society. In his view, modern writers...

An Ode to the Fools who Dream It has been quite some time since the release of 2016 Hollywood musical La La Land , yet its music never gets old! Hollywood musicals are generally popular among young masses because of their dreamy narratives, although they are commonly interpreted to be out of touch from reality. However, in case of La La Land , the fantasy is consolidated with strong doses of reality through lyrical rendering. No wonder the movie received multiple nominations due to the superimposed themes of reality and fantasy melding the storyline. The most profound lines in the film can be found in the song “The Fools Who Dream” rendered by Emma Stone who plays the role of Mia. Towards the end of the film, Mia – who has failed in her acting aspirations as well as personal relationship – sings the song as a part of auditioning for one last acting role. At this point in the story, Mia will be tired of giving failed auditions repeatedly and is in the verge of letting go of he...