Sindhu Rajasekaran

Sindhu Rajasekaran is a writer, academic and independent filmmaker. Her debut novel Kaleidoscopic Reflections was longlisted for the Crossword Book Award in 2011,[1] while her non-fiction book Smashing the Patriarchy – A Guide for the 21st Century Indian Woman[2] was published by Aleph Book Company. Her last book Forbidden Desire – How the British Stole India’s Queer Pasts & Queer Futures was published by Simon & Schuster.[3] She created art/culture platform The Subjective Space.[4]

Sindhu's prose and poetry have appeared in literary magazines. In 2 published a collection of short stories titled So I Let It Be.[5]

Her independent film production company, Camphor Cinema has produced one Indo-British feature film Ramanujan,[6] based on the life and times of the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Early life and education

Sindhu was born in Madras to IAS officer and Film Director Gnana Rajasekaran and Sakunthala Rajasekaran. She grew up in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Trained as an Electronics and Communications Engineer at Anna University, Sindhu studied for a master's degree in English from the University of Edinburgh.

A recipient of the Dean's Global Research Award at the University of Strathclyde,[7] Sindhu's research revolves around queer South Asian pasts, creative epistemologies & decolonial storytelling. She has presented her research at various international academic conferences including the Association for Asian Studies AAS-in-Asia Conference, Asia in Motion: Memory, Preservation and Documentation, in South Korea,[8] the 50th Annual Conference on South Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Network,[9] and at the Centre for Gender History, University of Glasgow.[10] Sindhu graduated with a PhD in Creative Writing in 2025.

Literary works

Sindhu's debut novel Kaleidoscopic Reflections has two reviews on Amazon and was longlisted for the Crossword Book Award in 2011.[11] The novel tells the tale of an inter-caste Tamil family, spanning five generations, and how their destiny is inextricably linked to the fate of India.

In her second book, So I Let It Be, the themes of love, loss of individuality, sexuality, and sense of saudade are explored. Stories from this collection have previously been featured in literary magazines. The Sacred Cow appeared in the Asia Literary Review.[12] The Routine was published in Elsewhere Lit.[13] Huffington Post[14] listed this story among 14 contemporary short stories that will spark your mind. Her short story Mountain of God was published in Kitaab.[15]

Sindhu's acclaimed third book, Smashing the Patriarchy, was published by Aleph Book Company in 2021.[16] Centred around the bold voices of millennials and Gen Zs, Smashing the Patriarchy explores how young Indian women from diverse backgrounds ingeniously overcome the patriarchy in their everyday lives.

In 2021, Canadian feminist literary magazine, Room, published Sindhu’s creative non-fiction Breasts, Being and Nothingness.[17] Her poem Unreal love/r(s) appeared in the Association for Scottish Literature’s anthology, New Writing Scotland 42: “Don’t. Even. Ask. Too. Hot.” in 2024.[18]

Her poems Meghdooth and Let Me Molest You have been published by Muse India as part of an anthology of poetry,[19] and So I Let It Be and Mermaid[20] were published in The Dance of the Peacock by Hidden Brook Press, Canada in 2013.[21]

She has contributed articles on politics and culture to the Scottish website Bella Caledonia [22] and India's Impact. She was amongst the youngest writers invited to participate and speak at the Hyderabad Literary Festival in 2013.

Theatre and film

Sindhu co-wrote and performed her playThe Tiara Gynaelogues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2011.[23]

She performed spoken word for performance groups Illicit Ink[24] and Writers' Bloc in the UK.

With Ramanujan Sindhu has worked as an Assistant Scriptwriter[25] of the film and also the Producer of the film. She set up the production house, Camphor Cinema, in 2012.[26]

Ramanujan won an award for Best Production at Norway's NTFF in 2015, the Ananda Vikadan Best Production Award and V4 Entertainers Film Awards. The Rashtrapati Bhavan invited Camphor Cinema to screen the film for the President of India [27]

Personal life

Sindhu is bisexual and has written about her personal experiences in Gaysi,[28] Room and in her book Smashing the Patriarchy. Sindhu is a jury member of the inaugural Rainbow Awards for Literature and Journalism [29] – instituted to honour queer literature and journalism in India.

References

  1. ↑ "Crossword Book Award Longlist announced". IBNLive.com. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Sharma, Saloni (4 December 2021). "'Smashing the Patriarchy' argued for a new kind of feminism in India". Scroll.in. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Forbidden Desire by Sindhu Rajasekaran". Simonandschuster.ca. 20 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "The Subjective Space". thesubjectivespace.com. 20 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "So I Let It Be by Sindhu Rajasekaran". Pegasuspublishers.com. 28 February 2019.
  6. ↑ Krishnamachari, Suganthy (5 July 2013). "Saluting brilliance". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "PhD Creative Writing".
  8. ↑ "'AAS-in-Asia Program Book'" (PDF). 20 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "'The British Empire, Scotland, and Indian Famines: Writings on Food Crisis in Colonial India'". January 2024.
  10. ↑ "'Programme of Events'" (PDF). September 2022.
  11. ↑ "'Crossword Book Award Longlist announced'". 5 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "'Asia Literary Review'".
  13. ↑ "'Elsewhere Lit- A journey of literature and art'".
  14. ↑ "'14 Contemporary Short Stories That Will Spark Your Mind'".
  15. ↑ "'Short Story: Mountain of God'".
  16. ↑ "Smashing the Patriarchy". Aleph Book Company. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Sindhu Rajasekaran". City Rhythms. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  18. ↑ "Sindhu Rajasekaran". New Writing Scotland 42. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "Sindhu Rajasekaran". museindia.com. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Two in the Bush". 10 March 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  21. ↑ Dance of the Peacock. Canada: Hidden Brook Press. 2013. ISBN 978-1-927725-00-9.
  22. ↑ "'What Scottish independence means for Asia, for India'".
  23. ↑ "Literary Events in Edinburgh". cityofliterature.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "'FEATURE – Illicit Ink'".
  25. ↑ "Ramanujan shoots of the film at Cambridge and London". indianoon.com. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Camphor Cinema Presents Their First Film Ramanujan". boxofficeindia.co.in. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "'Prez Pranab Wowed by Ramanujan's Story'". 30 March 2013.
  28. ↑ "Gaysi".
  29. ↑ "Inaugural Rainbow Awards to honour queer literature and journalism".
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